\n<\/p>\n
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nBird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Northern Mockingbird, South Shore of Pueblo Reservoir, Pueblo, Colorado, United States. Starts slowly, but becomes quite virtuosic.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#time\">Trump<\/a>: Time\u2019s \u201cPerson of the Year.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#hegseth\">Why Ernst changed her mind<\/a> on Hegseth; some speculation.<\/li>\n<li>Thumbs down on <a href=\"#ai\"> UCLA\u2019s AI-designed textbook cover<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"helper\"\/><strong>Look for the Helpers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow a middle schooler found a new compound in a piece of goose poop\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2024-12-middle-schooler-compound-piece-goose.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Phys.org<\/a>]. \u201cA group of young students became bonafide biomedical scientists before they even started high school. Through a partnership with a nearby university, the middle schoolers collected and analyzed environmental samples to find new antibiotic candidates. One unique sample, goose poop collected at a local park, had a bacterium that showed antibiotic activity and contained a novel compound that slowed the growth of human melanoma and ovarian cancer cells in lab tests. Inequities in educational resources, especially those in science, engineering, technology and math (STEM), where experiments are expensive, have kept some students underrepresented in these fields. By engaging a group of these students early in real, high-quality research, a team from the University of Illinois at Chicago led by Brian Murphy is providing young learners a chance to see themselves as scientists and explore careers in science with hands-on experience. The team partnered with a Boys and Girls Club in Chicago to bring interested middle schoolers into a 14-week applied science program.\u201d \u2022 So being on a flyway has its advantages\u2026 <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>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 <em>normal<\/em> 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).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\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><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Biden Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.79020979021\">\n<p>\u201cBiden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-pardons-clemency-4432002d67334e6716c2776fd73f3cc8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cPresident Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It\u2019s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history\u2026. Biden said he would be taking more steps in the weeks ahead and would continue to review clemency petitions\u2026. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and 34 other lawmakers are urging the president to pardon environmental and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger, who was imprisoned or under house arrest for three years because of a contempt of court charge related to his work representing Indigenous farmers in a lawsuit against Chevron. Others are advocating for Biden to commute the sentences of federal death row prisoners\u2026. More clemency grants are coming before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20, but it\u2019s not clear whether he\u2019ll take action to guard against possible prosecution by Trump, an untested use of the power.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"time\"\/>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"100.43515087348\">\n<p>Well, who else?<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.2007874015748\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.8425196850394\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Donald Trump is TIME’s Person of the Year <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IjP5W2otV5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/IjP5W2otV5<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CVHX9o0DB3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/CVHX9o0DB3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 TIME (@TIME) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TIME\/status\/1867187660814504285\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">December 12, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Trump to Time cover artist: \u2018Make sure my hands are <em>big<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDonald Trump 2024 TIME Person of the Year\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7200212\/person-of-the-year-2024-donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Time<\/a>]. \u201cTrump has a ready explanation for his improbable resurrection. He even has a name for its climactic final act. \u2018I called it 72 Days of Fury,\u2019 he says as the interview gets under way. \u2018We hit the nerve of the country. The country was angry.\u2019 It wasn\u2019t just the MAGA faithful. Trump harnessed deep national discontent about the <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7095898\/donald-trump-economy-plan-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">economy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7171654\/donald-trump-immigration-plan-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">immigration<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7174687\/what-donald-trump-win-means-for-lgbtq-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">cultural issues<\/a>. His grievances resonated with suburban moms and retirees, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7175758\/hispanic-men-us-election-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Latino<\/a> and Black men, young voters and tech edgelords. While Democrats estimated that most of the country wanted a President who would uphold the norms of liberal democracy, Trump saw a nation ready to smash them, tapping into a growing sense that the system was rigged.\u201d \u2022 Or, to put matters more concisely: \u201cThese parasites had it coming.\u201d That is, Trump may be surfing a more powerful wave than he, or anyone else, knows. It would be a dark historical jest if Trump turned out to be this century\u2019s Kerensky.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"hegseth\"\/>\u201cPete Hegseth Will Be Confirmed\u201d [Mark Judge, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splicetoday.com\/politics-and-media\/pete-hegseth-will-be-confirmed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Splice Today<\/a>]. \u201cSen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who was reluctant to support Hegseth, emerged from a meeting recently saying Hegseth should get a chance to make his case at a public confirmation hearing. \u2018We\u2019re having really good discussions, and we discussed several items that were really important to me,\u2019 Ernst said. This is remarkable coming from Ernst, someone considered a leader in the fight against sexual assault in the military. Hegseth was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017\u2026. So what changed? Joni Ernst is a survivor of sexual assault. Why did her opinion shift so abruptly? I don\u2019t know the answer to that question, but I\u2019m willing to make a guess. I think that in 2017 Hegseth was extorted by DNC goons who set him up. I think, now freed from any non-disclosure agreement, Hegseth has been able to talk about the extortion. I think that\u2019s what the FBI and senators know and what turned the tide.\u201d \u2022 Big if true. In the author\u2019s view, he was set up in similar fashion during the Kavavanaugh hearings. And see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/11\/200pm-water-cooler-11-22-2024.html#governors\">Water Cooler back in November<\/a>: \u201cDemocrats are enlisting high-powered lawyers, while opposition researchers at the Democratic National Committee are compiling dossiers of incoming federal officials.\u201d And oppo the Hegseth stories (true or not) certainly were.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBillion dollar squirrel: Trump effect fuels crypto\u2019s \u2018memecoin\u2019 boom\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/66fe7655-704a-407f-8f20-a3f081296a36\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Financial Times<\/a>]. \u201cCryptocurrencies representing a euthanised grey squirrel, a Thai pygmy hippopotamus and a cartoon dog have exploded in value since last month\u2019s US presidential election, as Donald Trump\u2019s victory triggers a surge in speculation in so-called memecoins. The market for tokens representing online viral moments has expanded rapidly since early November as traders bet that Trump\u2019s administration will usher in more crypto-friendly attitudes and regulation in Washington. There are millions of memecoins, which can easily be set up using online memecoin generators. They have no business model, cash flow or fundamental value, and do not give their owners a share of any physical asset. Instead, these highly volatile tokens rely on their popularity among traders to generate liquidity. \u2018They have no value, they never will have value,\u2019 Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of the Cardano blockchain, said about memecoins recently. \u2018There\u2019s no utility behind them, nobody wants them \u2014 when they lose their lustre they go to zero.’\u201d \u2022 Look, the Thai pygmy hippopotamus (\u201cMoodeng\u201d) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2024\/11\/07\/moo-deng-donald-trump-election-cake\/76117691007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">called election 2024<\/a>. If that\u2019s not \u201cvalue, I don\u2019t know what is.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSave a Reagan Initiative From Musk and Ramaswamy\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/cYCyS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. The deck: \u201cThe Department of Government Efficiency may seek to slash the National Endowment for Democracy\u2019s funding.\u201d \u2022 What\u2019s wrong with slashing funding for the spooks?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlow Up Washington\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tabletmag.com\/sections\/news\/articles\/moving-federal-agencies-washington\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tablet<\/a>]. \u201cThe entire history of the republic has taken place against the backdrop of steady expansion in the scope and concentration of power at the federal level\u2026. While too many new presidents have embraced this process, Reagan sought to reverse it, only to slow the sprawl for a few years. Is the lesson, then, that Washington will continue to expand at the expense of the rest of the country? Is this process unstoppable? It needn\u2019t be. While striking a balance between the attributions of the federal and state governments is complicated, controlling the physical location of government activity is much more straightforward. Let\u2019s disperse the government agencies away from the gridlocked highways and overpriced real estate of the Washington, D.C., area to the economically depressed regions of the country they serve, recycling the federal budget back to the economy from which it came. If the agencies are in fact dispersed throughout the country that supports them, recycling tax dollars into the local economies from which they came, it would not only be beneficial to the country at large, but also, unlike the well-intentioned but only temporarily effective reforms of the Reagan era, it would prove irreversible. Once the government agencies that now crowd Washington and its suburbs are relocated to Appalachia, the Rust Belt, and the poverty pockets of the West, the states that would welcome them will fight in the halls of Congress to keep their share of the $60 billion-plus payroll from returning to the banks of the Potomac.\u201d \u2022 Much depends on the locations chosen. One might argue, for example, that a (hypothetical) Dental Floss Protection Agency should be placed in the midst of the alabaster waves of dental floss fields in the heartland (to be \u201ccloser to the customers\u201d). But might that lead to more industry capture, rather than less?<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cChris Wray folds like cheap suit. Don\u2019t be Chris Wray\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnotice.co\/p\/chris-wray-resignation-obeying-in-advance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Public Notice<\/a>]. \u201cFBI Director Christopher Wray became the latest public official to remove his own spine and dissolve into a puddle of genuflecting goo for the greater glory of MAGA with his announcement Wednesday that he\u2019ll resign before Trump\u2019s inauguration. FBI directors are supposed to be independent, and Wray still has more than two years left on his term\u2026. Wray said that, in light of Trump\u2019s animosity, his resignation was \u2018the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray.\u2019 For Wray, apparently, the appearance of resistance is a bridge too far, so it\u2019s best just to let the fascist win so he can impose the swift, unilateral peace of autocracy.\u201d \u2022 I admire \u201cfascist\u201d; it shows a commitment to the bit few Democrats have. More centrally: \u201cYou\u2019re gonna have to learn your clich\u00e9s.\u201d One folds \u201clike a deckchair\u201d (a cheap suit may wrinkle, but it does not fold). The \u201ccheap suit\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=2094\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">snowclone<\/a> (phrasal template) <a href=\"https:\/\/idioms.thefreedictionary.com\/all+over+someone+like+a+cheap+suit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">works like this<\/a>: \u201cThe ____ were all over ___ like a cheap suit.\u201d The blanks could be filled in with, say, \u201cpress\u201d and \u201cme.\u201d Or \u201cspooks\u201d and \u201cthe Trump campaign.\u201d Or \u201cventure capitalists\u201d and \u201cAI.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA Scandalous Resignation\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/1RMWz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Atlantic<\/a>]. \u201cBut a scandal it most certainly is. By , FBI directors serve 10-year terms, a norm designed to insulate the FBI from pressure to serve the president\u2019s whims.\u201d \u2022 The Norms Fairy sheds a tear\u2026..<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>2024 Post Mortem<\/p>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n<p>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"31.849853372434\">\n<p>\u201cDemocrats can work with DOGE. I know exactly where to start.\u201d [Ro Khanna, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/opinion\/msnbc-opinion\/ro-khanna-doge-spending-musk-ramaswamy-rcna182644\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MSNBC<\/a>]. \u201d I look forward to working with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce waste and fraud at the Pentagon, while strongly opposing any cuts to programs like Social Security, Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. There are several areas of waste and abuse that I hope DOGE will address.\u201d \u2022 And the CIA Black Budget. Note, however: \u201cDOGE co-chair Elon Musk.\u201d Musk is not the co-chair of anything, because DOGE is not an officially constituted entity of any kind (\u201cHey kids! Let\u2019s put on a show!\u201d doesn\u2019t meet that criterion). And when (if?) it becomes one, I would bet it will have to conform to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), just like HICPAC. From <a href=\"https:\/\/sgp.fas.org\/crs\/secrecy\/IF12252.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">GAO<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13\">\n<p>Federal advisory committees are created by Congress, Presidents, and executive branch agencies to gain expertise<\/p>\n<p>and policy advice from individuals outside the federal government. Establishing an advisory committee may also allow the federal government to provide a forum where potentially controversial topics may be discussed by experts outside the political arena and reduce the workload of executive branch employees and Congress.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>That sure sounds like DOGE\u2019s use case to me. Elon can opine and collect suggestions on the Twitter all he wants, but at some point DOGE needs to, as it were, engage the clutch and begin transmission to the government; FACA is the obvious API for that. Otherwise, Elon is just jawboning, and I wouldn\u2019t give much for his chances of success, even if he does manage to induce the occassional DOGEpile on some hapless civil servant.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Syndemics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\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><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk&null=Risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>); Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>, <del><a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a><\/del>; includes many counties; <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wastewater Scan<\/a>, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/businesssolutions\/covid-19-index.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a>); \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iowacovid19tracker.org\/hospitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Iowa COVID-19 Tracker<\/a>\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/icemsg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts<\/a>\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n<p>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<p>Resources, United States (Local): AK (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/af2efc8bffbf4cdc83c2d1a134354074\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AR (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/633006d0782b4544bd5113a314f6268a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AZ (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azdhs.gov\/covid19\/data\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); CA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdph.ca.gov\/Programs\/CID\/DCDC\/Pages\/COVID-19\/CalSuWers-Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.marinhhs.org\/surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marin, dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/healthalerts.stanford.edu\/covid-19\/wastewater-dashboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stanford, wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/?v=SC2_N&l=Oakland%2C+CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Oakland, wastewater<\/a>); CO (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.colorado.gov\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/d79cf93c3938470ca4bcc4823328946b#utility=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); CT (<a href=\"https:\/\/data.ct.gov\/stories\/s\/COVID-19-data\/wa3g-tfvc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); DE (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.delaware.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); FL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/5b9d75ba683849928dc1a49c39ab0b1c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); GA (<a href=\"https:\/\/dph.georgia.gov\/ga-nwss-wastewater-surveillance-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); HI (<a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); IA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmmwra.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater reports<\/a>); ID (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Boise; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/?plantId=1056f05c-0e46-4e3d-b007-c0453ba7dc0d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Central Idaho; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/#:SARS-CoV-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Coeur d\u2019Alene; dashboard, <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.srhd.org\/topics\/spokane-county-case-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Spokane County<\/a>); IL (<a href=\"https:\/\/iwss.uillinois.edu\/wastewater-treatment-plants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); IN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.in.gov\/indiana-covid-19-dashboard-and-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); KS (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov\/160\/COVID-19-in-Kansas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/4456bae8a38f4b6180e008477382fff9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Lawrence); KY (<a href=\"https:\/\/louisville.edu\/envirome\/thecoimmunityproject\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Louisville); LA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ldh.la.gov\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/info-details\/covid-19-wastewater-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MD (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.maryland.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); ME (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/dhhs\/mecdc\/infectious-disease\/epi\/airborne\/coronavirus\/data.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/coronavirus\/stats\/wastewater-surveillance\/dashboard\/sentinel-wastewater-epidemiology-evaluation-project-sweep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/gisportal.state.mi.us\/portal\/apps\/insights\/index.html#\/view\/52bbb104ed574887918f990af9f3debe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/diseases\/coronavirus\/stats\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MO (<a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/f7f5492486114da6b5d6fdc07f81aacf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MS (<a href=\"https:\/\/msdh.ms.gov\/page\/14,0,420.html#Mississippi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>MT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/MapSeries\/index.html?appid=7c34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; NC (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.ncdhhs.gov\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard)<\/a>; ND (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NE (<a href=\"https:\/\/atlas-dhhs.ne.gov\/Atlas\/Respiratory_Illness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NH (<a href=\"https:\/\/wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov\/wisdom\/dashboard.html?topic=covid-19&subtopic=recurring-updates&indicator=covid-19-wastewater#tabnavbarid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NJ (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.nj.gov\/forms\/datadashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NM (<a href=\"https:\/\/cvprovider.nmhealth.org\/public-dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NV (<a href=\"https:\/\/nvhealthresponse.nv.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/empower.unlv.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Southern NV); NY (<a href=\"https:\/\/mbcolli.shinyapps.io\/SARS2EWSP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OH (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.ohio.gov\/dashboards\/other-resources\/wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OK (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/51657c21386d4f1a962b1853c76ec589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>OR (<a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/app\/profile\/oregon.health.authority.covid.19\/viz\/OregonsCOVID-19DataDashboards-TableofContents\/TableofContentsStatewide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; PA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.pa.gov\/topics\/disease\/coronavirus\/pages\/Cases.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); RI (<a href=\"https:\/\/ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SC (<a href=\"https:\/\/scdhec.gov\/index.php\/covid19\/covid-19-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SD (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.sd.gov\/COVID\/Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/health\/cedep\/ncov\/data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TX (<a href=\"https:\/\/txdshsea.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/4ae43eefd0f641d59d35c3df82ee59cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); UT (<a href=\"https:\/\/avrpublic.dhhs.utah.gov\/uwss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/sars-cov-2-in-wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthvermont.gov\/disease-control\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WA (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.wa.gov\/emergencies\/covid-19\/data-dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.bfhd.wa.gov\/cases-and-roadmap-to-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.wisconsin.gov\/covid-19\/wastewater.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); WV (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/oehs.wvdhhr.org\/news\/oehs-coivd-19-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>); WY (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/covidwastewatermonitor.wyo.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Government of Canada<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/en\/Data-and-Analysis\/Infectious-Disease\/COVID-19-Data-Surveillance\/Wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); QC (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspq.qc.ca\/covid-19\/donnees\/eaux-usees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>les eaux us\u00e9es<\/em><\/a>); BC (<a href=\"https:\/\/bccdc.shinyapps.io\/respiratory_wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); BC, Vancouver (<a href=\"https:\/\/metrovancouver.org\/services\/liquid-waste\/testing-for-the-covid-19-virus-in-wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>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, KidDoc, 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<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"mask\"\/>Maskstravaganza<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"16.847122302158\">\n<p>\u201cAn Interview with Zhou Liang, the Creator of Zimi Mask\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/covidaware.com\/2024\/12\/an-interview-with-zhou-liang-the-founder-of-zimi-mask\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CovidAware<\/a>]. LIANG: \u201cI started designing and producing masks in 2013. Zimi is my third entrepreneurial project\u2026 Zimi mask = frame + filter element. The frame is made of plastic, does not contain metal, and is available in a variety of sizes. The frame has elastic properties and can be reused until it breaks or cracks. This time is not fixed. For example, if you ask me, how long can your phone case last? The filter element is mainly composed of filter material and sealing material. The filter material is a polypropylene-based fiber material with static charge. It has multiple layers, and static electricity is constantly consumed during use. The sealing material is a new composite material with a 2+1 structure. There is a layer of airtight material in the middle, so it is comfortable and does not allow air to penetrate. The filter element can be replaced after use\u2026.. As of December 2024, Zimi masks have 4 frames, and the frames for XS and XL sizes are completed within a month\u2026.\u201d \u2022 Interesting to listen to a working engineer!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Sequelae: Covid<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"19.09842519685\">\n<p>\u201cHow Covid Can Change Your Gut\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/Vvr5J\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Times<\/a>]. \u201cWe don\u2019t have good estimates for what percentage of people with Covid go on to develop persistent gastrointestinal symptoms, but some limited and small studies suggest they can be <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/34468069\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">between 16<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1542356521011332\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">40 percent<\/a>\u2026. One theory about how the coronavirus might cause these symptoms is that it may ramp up inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Covid can also disrupt <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s12866-022-02686-9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the gut microbiome<\/a>, Dr. King said, resulting in fewer of the \u2018good\u2019 microbes that tamp down inflammation and more of the \u2018bad\u2019 ones that cause inflammation. Over time, inflammation can damage the lining of the intestine, making it more permeable or \u2018leaky,\u2019 Dr. Chey said. That leakiness may allow molecules from foods to escape from the gut, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-020-03118-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">causing immune cells to mount an allergy-like response to foods<\/a>. Covid-induced inflammation may also \u2018chew away\u2019 at the nerves that control contractions and pain signals in the gut, said Dr. Braden Kuo, a neurogastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. This might cause the nerves to send pain signals to the brain, even when digestion is working normally, he said. Anxiety and depression often worsen gut symptoms, too.\u201d \u2022\u00a0If the Times is covering this, it must be bad\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lambert: CDC\u2019s wastewater page loaded. No Thanksgiving surge that I can see.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.856573705179\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6190476190476\">\n<td valign=\"top\">This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 2<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Last week[2] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> (until next week):<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1-300x227.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"align: left; margin-left: 0px !important; padding: 9px 0 9px 0;\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x185.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6470588235294\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 7<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Emergency Room Visits<\/strong>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#trends_select_7dayeddiagnosed_00\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-300x255.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x173.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Hospitalization<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.8513513513514\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data December 10:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 5:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283723\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6-300x169.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-300x297.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.5915492957746\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> December 9:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> November 23:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283589\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-300x188.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.5932203389831\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 19:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 4:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1.png 642w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1-624x327.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-300x218.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Deaths<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.7647058823529\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 20:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronadisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 20:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"189.93902439024\">\n<p><strong>LEGEND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1) <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n<p>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<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] (CDC) Good news!<\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Leveled out.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Actually improved; it\u2019s now one of the few charts to show the entire course of the pandemic to the present day.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Employment Situation: \u201cUnited States Initial Jobless Claims\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/jobless-claims\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cUS initial jobless claims soared by 17,000 from the previous week to 242,000 on the first week of December, well above market expectations that they would fall to 220,000, to mark the sharpest count of new claims since October.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Inflation: \u201cUnited States Producer Prices\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/producer-prices\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cProducer Prices in the United States increased to 146.49 points in November from 145.94 points in October of 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cInside Boeing\u2019s struggle to make its best-selling plane again\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/inside-boeings-struggle-make-its-best-selling-plane-again-2024-12-12\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing\u2019s cautious approach, following criticism that the planemaker for years rushed production, has garnered praise from regulators and some airline CEOs. But it also has some smaller suppliers who cut jobs or operating hours during the strike hesitating to staff-up again, creating further uncertainty in an already fragile supply chain, according to three suppliers, one analyst and an industry source\u2026. At the factory, daily tasks are paired with exacting efforts to clean up and take steps to avoid error, with note-taking FAA officials carrying clipboards and donning reflective vests a regular sight, they said\u2026. [FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker] told Reuters that Boeing has a long journey to achieve its targeted safety culture. \u2018, as you would expect, but they\u2019re frank about the fact that they\u2019ve got a long way to go,\u2019 he said\u2026.. Seattle-area supplier Rosemary Brester hoped she and her husband would be able to get their metal aircraft components processed more quickly following the end of the strike, but delays persist\u2026 \u2018Until I see some real stability, I\u2019m not going to hire anybody,\u2019 Brester said.\u201d \u2022 The plant wasn\u2019t <em>clean<\/em>? The mind reels. When I bought printing, I always made sure to visit the candidates. Beer bottles under the tables were a strong no. And the press should <em>always<\/em> be running (\u201ctime is money\u201d). If \u201ccleaner\u201d means what I think it means, it sounds like if Boeing were a printer, I would have gone elsewhere. And not a monopoly player, of course. Can any readers confirm?<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cA Closer Look at Boeing\u2019s Options Market Dynamics\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.benzinga.com\/insights\/options\/24\/12\/42462767\/a-closer-look-at-boeings-options-market-dynamics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Benzinga<\/a>]. \u201cHigh-rolling investors have positioned themselves bullish on Boeing, and it\u2019s important for retail traders to take note. This activity came to our attention today through Benzinga\u2019s tracking of publicly available options data. The identities of these investors are uncertain, but such a significant move in BA often signals that someone has privileged information. Today, Benzinga\u2019s options scanner spotted 10 options trades for Boeing. This is not a typical pattern. The sentiment among these major traders is split, with 60% bullish and 40% bearish. Among all the options we identified, there was one put, amounting to $227,500, and 9 calls, totaling $410,750.\u201d \u2022 I don\u2019t play the ponies, but if you do\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing\u2019s India exports remain high, climbing over $1.25 billion\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindubusinessline.com\/economy\/logistics\/boeing-india-exports-remain-high-climbing-over-125-bn\/article68976756.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BusinessLine<\/a>]. \u201cGlobal growth of civil aviation, along with high domestic demand, has led aerospace major Boeing to remain the largest exporter of aircraft parts and software from India. Speaking exclusively to businessline, Boeing India and South Asia President Salil Gupte cited that the aerospace major\u2019s annual sourcing from India has grown significantly over the past decade, rising from $250 million to over $1.25 billion annually. \u2018This marks a substantial increase, driven by the expansion of the supplier network and advancements in manufacturing capabilities,\u2019 Gupte told businessline. \u201cIt is also fair to say that this growth is truly remarkable considering that the production of the aeroplanes themselves on the civil side has been much lower than before the pandemic.’\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cOpinion: Why Embraer Might Be Ready To Take On Airbus And Boeing\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/aviationweek.com\/aerospace\/manufacturing-supply-chain\/opinion-why-embraer-might-be-ready-take-airbus-boeing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Aviation Week<\/a>]. \u201cMuch focus has been on China\u2019s Comac. Conventional wisdom holds that China\u2019s rapid advances in military propulsion and space eventually will extend to commercial aviation\u2026. I\u2019m not so sure. In the near term, Comac does not need to be a global player for its new C919 narrowbody to succeed. China\u2019s domestic market is big enough to soak up most of Comac\u2019s limited production capacity. Developing a truly competitive international product will require certification in the West and the creation of a global maintenance and support network, no small tasks. The ongoing decoupling of the Chinese and Western supply chains poses yet another challenge. The company to keep an eye on in 2025 is Embraer, the feisty Brazilian manufacturer that was almost bought by Boeing and then jilted at the altar. With excellent engineers and visionary leaders, Embraer has built world-class airplanes for decades while protecting the intellectual property of its suppliers. It is certainly capable of upgauging to a bigger airplane that could challenge the duopoly. Aviation Week has learned that multiple large airlines in the U.S. and Europe have told Embraer they will collectively order hundreds of airplanes if a new program is launched.\u201d Hoo boy. But: \u201cA key question, of course, is whether Embraer can play in the big leagues. It has 1\/20th the revenue of Boeing and thus would need a financial partner with billions of dollars to develop a new product. Talk has focused on investors from the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia. Another challenge is that Embraer\u2019s business model relies heavily on outsourcing major components.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cGM to retreat from robotaxi operations once championed by CEO Mary Barra\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/industry\/auto\/gm-to-retreat-from-robotaxi-operations-once-championed-by-ceo-mary-barra-124121101403_1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Business Standard<\/a>]. \u201cWith the decision to fold Cruise into the parent company, GM is giving up on hopes of transforming itself into a multi-platform technology company that targeted bringing in $50 billion in revenue from robotaxi fares and subscriptions by 2030. The carmaker had hoped to double its revenue by 2030 on the twin pillars of autonomy and electric vehicles. That goal, which GM has called \u201caspirational,\u201d also now looks remote without Cruise as a new business and after GM scaled-back its EV production goals.\u201d \u2022 Ah, \u201caspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 51 Neutral (previous close: 48 Neutral) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 56 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Dec 11 at 1:27:47 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Christmas Pre-Game Festivities<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemonic Christmas Display at State House Destroyed\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/nhjournal.com\/demonic-christmas-display-at-state-house-destroyed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NH Journal<\/a>]. \u201cForget St. Nick; someone in Concord may end up on Satan\u2019s naughty list after The Satanic Temple\u2019s Baphomet statue was destroyed Monday night in an act of yuletide mayhem. Concord Deputy Police Chief John Thomas told NHJournal that while the investigation into the vandalism is active and ongoing, he can rule out at least one possible suspect. \u2018Santa wouldn\u2019t do this,\u2019 Thomas said. \u2018Santa loves everybody.\u2019 The statue of the hooded demon was found broken in half around 7 p.m. Monday night, a few hours after the marble slab showing The Satanic Temple\u2019s seven principles was cracked. State Rep. Ellen Read (D-Newmarket), who helped organize The Satanic Temple\u2019s display, was spotted gathering up the broken shards of the goat-headed figure Tuesday morning after getting a call about the destruction. She\u2019s not sure if members of The Satanic Temple plan to put their monster mannequin back together.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"zeitgeist\"\/><strong>Zeitgeist Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dry, very dry:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.2300613496933\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.312883435583\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As a veteran, which company should I start?<\/p>\n<p>A podcast called “WARFIGHTER MINDSET” where some former water purification specialist interviews other vetbros about “the warrior lifestyle” while hawking their own line of “tactical” beard oil<\/p>\n<p>Yet another veteran-owned coffee company\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Warlizard (@War_Lizard) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/War_Lizard\/status\/1866236982558392470\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">December 9, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTactical beard oil.\u201d The responses are great.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArgument escalates when man visits neighbor with sword and firebomb, Florida cops say\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsobserver.com\/news\/nation-world\/national\/article296977379.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">News & Observer<\/a>]. I\u2019ll say! \u201cWhen interviewed, the 36-year-old man confirmed using a bottle with some gasoline in it and brandishing a sword \u2018to make a point,\u2019 police said. The suspect said \u2018he went to the residence to send a message regarding disrespect to a family member,\u2019 police said. Details of that incident were not released.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Groves of Academe<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"ai\"\/>\u201cUCLA\u2019s new AI-designed literature course has the worst-looking textbook cover I\u2019ve ever seen\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/uclas-new-ai-designed-literature-course-has-the-worst-looking-textbook-cover-ive-ever-seen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Literary Hub<\/a>]. \u201cUCLA announced the other day that \u2018Comp Lit 2BW will be the first course in the UCLA College Division of Humanities to be built around the Kudu artificial intelligence platform. The textbook: AI-generated. Class assignments: AI-generated. Teaching assistants\u2019 resources: AI-generated.\u2019 The professor\u2019s explanation of why any of this is good doesn\u2019t make any sense to me \u2014 she seems to be describing standard teaching practices like discussing texts and putting together a syllabus, but now AI is involved. Which to me always feels like a looming labor issue \u2014 I wouldn\u2019t be shocked to see this software cited as justification to fire professors or TAs, or reduce their pay.\u201d <em>Plus \u00e7a change<\/em>\u2026. More \u201cBut what really got me fuming was the horrible, horrible textbook cover that was extruded for this course.\u201d \u2022 Here it is:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ucla-bad-ai-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"678\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ucla-bad-ai-cover.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ucla-bad-ai-cover-265x300.jpg 265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Concluding: \u201cThis cover sucks, it\u2019s so bad. Have some dignity people, we don\u2019t have to live like this.\u201d \u2022 UCLA administrators: \u201cYes, you do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Poetry Nook<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Villanelle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">villanelle<\/a> (?):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/buyers_remorse.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"780\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/buyers_remorse.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/buyers_remorse-192x300.png 192w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe villanelle has been noted as a form that frequently treats the subject of obsessions, and one which appeals to outsiders; its defining feature of repetition prevents it from having a conventional tone.\u201d Maybe the poet is an outsider <em>now<\/em>\u2026. <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeattle road sign\u2019s message raises questions after CEO\u2019s shooting\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/komonews.com\/news\/local\/seattle-road-signs-disturbing-message-sparks-investigation-amid-ceo-shooting-aftermath-highway-99-one-less-ceo-many-more-to-go-lake-union-wsdot-sdot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">KOMO<\/a> (PI)]. \u201cIt is not yet known who was responsible for programming the sign or which agency operates it \u2014 Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) \u2014 or a private company.\u201d \u2022 Wowsers:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/one_less.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283785\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/one_less.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/one_less-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Those swing voters are getting really antsy\u2026. <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNearly half of US teens are online \u2018constantly,\u2019 Pew report finds\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/teenagers-social-media-internet-pew-survey-02defc5b53dc4216da1efa63c82a30af\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cNearly half of American teenagers say they are online \u201cconstantly\u201d despite concerns about the effects of social media and smartphones on their mental health, according to a new report published Thursday by the Pew Research Center. As in past years, YouTube was the single most popular platform teenagers used \u2014 90% said they watched videos on the site, down slightly from 95% in 2022. Nearly three-quarters said they visit YouTube every day. There was a slight downward trend in several popular apps teens used. For instance, 63% of teens said they used TikTok, down from 67% and Snapchat slipped to 55% from 59%. \u2026 X saw the biggest decline among teenage users. Only 17% of teenagers said they use X, down from 23% in 2022, the year Elon Musk bought the platform. Reddit held steady at 14%. About 6% of teenagers said they use Threads, Meta\u2019s answer to X that launched in 2023.\u201d \u2022 Probably good news, actually, on Musk\u2019s hellsite (as its users have affectionately dubbed it).<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact information for plants<\/strong>: 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) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-10-2024.html\">here<\/a>. From AM:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/roger_williams.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/roger_williams.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/roger_williams-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>AM writes: \u201cMy favorite evergreen tree with a half moon shining between the branches on the left \u2013 Roger Williams Park.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"donate\"\/><strong>Readers<\/strong>: Water Cooler is a standalone entity <em>not<\/em> covered by the annual NC fundraiser. Material here is Lambert\u2019s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. If you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! <em>Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I\u2019m on the right track with coverage<\/em>. When I get no donations for three or four days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:<\/p>\n<p>Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-226891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"606\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png 606w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!<\/p>\n<div class=\"printfriendly pf-alignleft\"><a href=\"#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF & Email\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow:none; padding:0; margin:0\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.printfriendly.com\/buttons\/print-button-gray.png\" alt=\"Print Friendly, PDF & Email\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .entry-content --><\/p>\n<footer class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\tThis entry was posted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/guest-post\" rel=\"category tag\">Guest Post<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/water-cooler\" rel=\"category tag\">Water Cooler<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-12-2024.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2024-12-12T14:00:16-05:00\">December 12, 2024<\/time><\/a><span class=\"by-author\"> by <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/author\/lambert-strether\" title=\"View all posts by Lambert Strether\" rel=\"author\">Lambert Strether<\/a><\/span><\/span>.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info\" wp_automatic_readability=\"20.197005056398\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-avatar --><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-description\" wp_automatic_readability=\"35.467911318553\">\n<h2>About Lambert Strether<\/h2>\n<p>Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (\u201cBecause markets\u201d). I don\u2019t much care about the \u201cism\u201d that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don\u2019t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. <br \/>\n <br \/>\nTo me, the key issue \u2014 and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me \u2014 is the tens of thousands of excess \u201cdeaths from despair,\u201d as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics \u2014 even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton\u2019s wars created \u2014 bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow \u2014 currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press \u2014 a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let\u2019s call such voices \u201cthe left.\u201d Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn\u2019t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I\u2019ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-link\t-->\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-description -->\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-info --><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- .entry-meta --><br \/>\n\t<!-- #post --><\/p>\n<nav class=\"nav-single\">\n<h3 class=\"assistive-text\">Post navigation<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-previous list-posts-older\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/warren-bill-would-stop-companies-from-placing-shareholder-paydays-over-worker-rights.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> Warren Bill Would Stop Companies From Placing Shareholder Paydays Over Worker Rights<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-next list-posts-newer\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/nav>\n<p><!-- .nav-single --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #comments .comments-area --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #content --><br \/>\n<!-- #primary --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #secondary --><\/p>\n<footer id=\"colophon\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- .site-info --><br \/>\n\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- #colophon --><br \/>\n\t\t<!-- #main.wrapper --><br \/>\n<!-- #page --><br \/>\n<!-- .mobile-menu-wrap --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Blog Reader Pooling - removed 09\/16\/2015 by M. Lacourse --><br \/>\n<!-- <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"nc-hide\" src=\"http:\/\/t.blogreaderproject.com\/t.gif?c9a0f3c0f2425bc76f3b4c3baf750ea8\" alt=\"\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\"> --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp footer --><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-12-2024.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day Northern Mockingbird, South Shore of Pueblo Reservoir, Pueblo, Colorado, United States. Starts slowly, but becomes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-spotlight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Bird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Northern Mockingbird, South Shore of Pueblo Reservoir, Pueblo, Colorado, United States. Starts slowly, but becomes quite virtuosic.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#time\">Trump<\/a>: Time\u2019s \u201cPerson of the Year.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#hegseth\">Why Ernst changed her mind<\/a> on Hegseth; some speculation.<\/li>\n<li>Thumbs down on <a href=\"#ai\"> UCLA\u2019s AI-designed textbook cover<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"helper\"\/><strong>Look for the Helpers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow a middle schooler found a new compound in a piece of goose poop\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2024-12-middle-schooler-compound-piece-goose.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Phys.org<\/a>]. \u201cA group of young students became bonafide biomedical scientists before they even started high school. Through a partnership with a nearby university, the middle schoolers collected and analyzed environmental samples to find new antibiotic candidates. One unique sample, goose poop collected at a local park, had a bacterium that showed antibiotic activity and contained a novel compound that slowed the growth of human melanoma and ovarian cancer cells in lab tests. Inequities in educational resources, especially those in science, engineering, technology and math (STEM), where experiments are expensive, have kept some students underrepresented in these fields. By engaging a group of these students early in real, high-quality research, a team from the University of Illinois at Chicago led by Brian Murphy is providing young learners a chance to see themselves as scientists and explore careers in science with hands-on experience. The team partnered with a Boys and Girls Club in Chicago to bring interested middle schoolers into a 14-week applied science program.\u201d \u2022 So being on a flyway has its advantages\u2026 <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>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 <em>normal<\/em> 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).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\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><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Biden Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.79020979021\">\n<p>\u201cBiden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-pardons-clemency-4432002d67334e6716c2776fd73f3cc8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cPresident Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It\u2019s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history\u2026. Biden said he would be taking more steps in the weeks ahead and would continue to review clemency petitions\u2026. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and 34 other lawmakers are urging the president to pardon environmental and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger, who was imprisoned or under house arrest for three years because of a contempt of court charge related to his work representing Indigenous farmers in a lawsuit against Chevron. Others are advocating for Biden to commute the sentences of federal death row prisoners\u2026. More clemency grants are coming before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20, but it\u2019s not clear whether he\u2019ll take action to guard against possible prosecution by Trump, an untested use of the power.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"time\"\/>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"100.43515087348\">\n<p>Well, who else?<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.2007874015748\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.8425196850394\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Donald Trump is TIME’s Person of the Year <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IjP5W2otV5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/IjP5W2otV5<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CVHX9o0DB3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/CVHX9o0DB3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 TIME (@TIME) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TIME\/status\/1867187660814504285\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">December 12, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Trump to Time cover artist: \u2018Make sure my hands are <em>big<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDonald Trump 2024 TIME Person of the Year\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7200212\/person-of-the-year-2024-donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Time<\/a>]. \u201cTrump has a ready explanation for his improbable resurrection. He even has a name for its climactic final act. \u2018I called it 72 Days of Fury,\u2019 he says as the interview gets under way. \u2018We hit the nerve of the country. The country was angry.\u2019 It wasn\u2019t just the MAGA faithful. Trump harnessed deep national discontent about the <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7095898\/donald-trump-economy-plan-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">economy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7171654\/donald-trump-immigration-plan-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">immigration<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7174687\/what-donald-trump-win-means-for-lgbtq-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">cultural issues<\/a>. His grievances resonated with suburban moms and retirees, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7175758\/hispanic-men-us-election-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Latino<\/a> and Black men, young voters and tech edgelords. While Democrats estimated that most of the country wanted a President who would uphold the norms of liberal democracy, Trump saw a nation ready to smash them, tapping into a growing sense that the system was rigged.\u201d \u2022 Or, to put matters more concisely: \u201cThese parasites had it coming.\u201d That is, Trump may be surfing a more powerful wave than he, or anyone else, knows. It would be a dark historical jest if Trump turned out to be this century\u2019s Kerensky.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"hegseth\"\/>\u201cPete Hegseth Will Be Confirmed\u201d [Mark Judge, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splicetoday.com\/politics-and-media\/pete-hegseth-will-be-confirmed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Splice Today<\/a>]. \u201cSen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who was reluctant to support Hegseth, emerged from a meeting recently saying Hegseth should get a chance to make his case at a public confirmation hearing. \u2018We\u2019re having really good discussions, and we discussed several items that were really important to me,\u2019 Ernst said. This is remarkable coming from Ernst, someone considered a leader in the fight against sexual assault in the military. Hegseth was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017\u2026. So what changed? Joni Ernst is a survivor of sexual assault. Why did her opinion shift so abruptly? I don\u2019t know the answer to that question, but I\u2019m willing to make a guess. I think that in 2017 Hegseth was extorted by DNC goons who set him up. I think, now freed from any non-disclosure agreement, Hegseth has been able to talk about the extortion. I think that\u2019s what the FBI and senators know and what turned the tide.\u201d \u2022 Big if true. In the author\u2019s view, he was set up in similar fashion during the Kavavanaugh hearings. And see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/11\/200pm-water-cooler-11-22-2024.html#governors\">Water Cooler back in November<\/a>: \u201cDemocrats are enlisting high-powered lawyers, while opposition researchers at the Democratic National Committee are compiling dossiers of incoming federal officials.\u201d And oppo the Hegseth stories (true or not) certainly were.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBillion dollar squirrel: Trump effect fuels crypto\u2019s \u2018memecoin\u2019 boom\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/66fe7655-704a-407f-8f20-a3f081296a36\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Financial Times<\/a>]. \u201cCryptocurrencies representing a euthanised grey squirrel, a Thai pygmy hippopotamus and a cartoon dog have exploded in value since last month\u2019s US presidential election, as Donald Trump\u2019s victory triggers a surge in speculation in so-called memecoins. The market for tokens representing online viral moments has expanded rapidly since early November as traders bet that Trump\u2019s administration will usher in more crypto-friendly attitudes and regulation in Washington. There are millions of memecoins, which can easily be set up using online memecoin generators. They have no business model, cash flow or fundamental value, and do not give their owners a share of any physical asset. Instead, these highly volatile tokens rely on their popularity among traders to generate liquidity. \u2018They have no value, they never will have value,\u2019 Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of the Cardano blockchain, said about memecoins recently. \u2018There\u2019s no utility behind them, nobody wants them \u2014 when they lose their lustre they go to zero.’\u201d \u2022 Look, the Thai pygmy hippopotamus (\u201cMoodeng\u201d) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2024\/11\/07\/moo-deng-donald-trump-election-cake\/76117691007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">called election 2024<\/a>. If that\u2019s not \u201cvalue, I don\u2019t know what is.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSave a Reagan Initiative From Musk and Ramaswamy\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/cYCyS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. The deck: \u201cThe Department of Government Efficiency may seek to slash the National Endowment for Democracy\u2019s funding.\u201d \u2022 What\u2019s wrong with slashing funding for the spooks?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlow Up Washington\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tabletmag.com\/sections\/news\/articles\/moving-federal-agencies-washington\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tablet<\/a>]. \u201cThe entire history of the republic has taken place against the backdrop of steady expansion in the scope and concentration of power at the federal level\u2026. While too many new presidents have embraced this process, Reagan sought to reverse it, only to slow the sprawl for a few years. Is the lesson, then, that Washington will continue to expand at the expense of the rest of the country? Is this process unstoppable? It needn\u2019t be. While striking a balance between the attributions of the federal and state governments is complicated, controlling the physical location of government activity is much more straightforward. Let\u2019s disperse the government agencies away from the gridlocked highways and overpriced real estate of the Washington, D.C., area to the economically depressed regions of the country they serve, recycling the federal budget back to the economy from which it came. If the agencies are in fact dispersed throughout the country that supports them, recycling tax dollars into the local economies from which they came, it would not only be beneficial to the country at large, but also, unlike the well-intentioned but only temporarily effective reforms of the Reagan era, it would prove irreversible. Once the government agencies that now crowd Washington and its suburbs are relocated to Appalachia, the Rust Belt, and the poverty pockets of the West, the states that would welcome them will fight in the halls of Congress to keep their share of the $60 billion-plus payroll from returning to the banks of the Potomac.\u201d \u2022 Much depends on the locations chosen. One might argue, for example, that a (hypothetical) Dental Floss Protection Agency should be placed in the midst of the alabaster waves of dental floss fields in the heartland (to be \u201ccloser to the customers\u201d). But might that lead to more industry capture, rather than less?<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cChris Wray folds like cheap suit. Don\u2019t be Chris Wray\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnotice.co\/p\/chris-wray-resignation-obeying-in-advance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Public Notice<\/a>]. \u201cFBI Director Christopher Wray became the latest public official to remove his own spine and dissolve into a puddle of genuflecting goo for the greater glory of MAGA with his announcement Wednesday that he\u2019ll resign before Trump\u2019s inauguration. FBI directors are supposed to be independent, and Wray still has more than two years left on his term\u2026. Wray said that, in light of Trump\u2019s animosity, his resignation was \u2018the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray.\u2019 For Wray, apparently, the appearance of resistance is a bridge too far, so it\u2019s best just to let the fascist win so he can impose the swift, unilateral peace of autocracy.\u201d \u2022 I admire \u201cfascist\u201d; it shows a commitment to the bit few Democrats have. More centrally: \u201cYou\u2019re gonna have to learn your clich\u00e9s.\u201d One folds \u201clike a deckchair\u201d (a cheap suit may wrinkle, but it does not fold). The \u201ccheap suit\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=2094\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">snowclone<\/a> (phrasal template) <a href=\"https:\/\/idioms.thefreedictionary.com\/all+over+someone+like+a+cheap+suit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">works like this<\/a>: \u201cThe ____ were all over ___ like a cheap suit.\u201d The blanks could be filled in with, say, \u201cpress\u201d and \u201cme.\u201d Or \u201cspooks\u201d and \u201cthe Trump campaign.\u201d Or \u201cventure capitalists\u201d and \u201cAI.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA Scandalous Resignation\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/1RMWz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Atlantic<\/a>]. \u201cBut a scandal it most certainly is. By , FBI directors serve 10-year terms, a norm designed to insulate the FBI from pressure to serve the president\u2019s whims.\u201d \u2022 The Norms Fairy sheds a tear\u2026..<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>2024 Post Mortem<\/p>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n<p>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"31.849853372434\">\n<p>\u201cDemocrats can work with DOGE. I know exactly where to start.\u201d [Ro Khanna, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/opinion\/msnbc-opinion\/ro-khanna-doge-spending-musk-ramaswamy-rcna182644\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MSNBC<\/a>]. \u201d I look forward to working with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce waste and fraud at the Pentagon, while strongly opposing any cuts to programs like Social Security, Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. There are several areas of waste and abuse that I hope DOGE will address.\u201d \u2022 And the CIA Black Budget. Note, however: \u201cDOGE co-chair Elon Musk.\u201d Musk is not the co-chair of anything, because DOGE is not an officially constituted entity of any kind (\u201cHey kids! Let\u2019s put on a show!\u201d doesn\u2019t meet that criterion). And when (if?) it becomes one, I would bet it will have to conform to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), just like HICPAC. From <a href=\"https:\/\/sgp.fas.org\/crs\/secrecy\/IF12252.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">GAO<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13\">\n<p>Federal advisory committees are created by Congress, Presidents, and executive branch agencies to gain expertise<\/p>\n<p>and policy advice from individuals outside the federal government. Establishing an advisory committee may also allow the federal government to provide a forum where potentially controversial topics may be discussed by experts outside the political arena and reduce the workload of executive branch employees and Congress.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>That sure sounds like DOGE\u2019s use case to me. Elon can opine and collect suggestions on the Twitter all he wants, but at some point DOGE needs to, as it were, engage the clutch and begin transmission to the government; FACA is the obvious API for that. Otherwise, Elon is just jawboning, and I wouldn\u2019t give much for his chances of success, even if he does manage to induce the occassional DOGEpile on some hapless civil servant.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Syndemics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\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><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk&null=Risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>); Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>, <del><a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a><\/del>; includes many counties; <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wastewater Scan<\/a>, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/businesssolutions\/covid-19-index.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a>); \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iowacovid19tracker.org\/hospitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Iowa COVID-19 Tracker<\/a>\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/icemsg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts<\/a>\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n<p>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<p>Resources, United States (Local): AK (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/af2efc8bffbf4cdc83c2d1a134354074\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AR (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/633006d0782b4544bd5113a314f6268a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AZ (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azdhs.gov\/covid19\/data\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); CA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdph.ca.gov\/Programs\/CID\/DCDC\/Pages\/COVID-19\/CalSuWers-Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.marinhhs.org\/surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marin, dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/healthalerts.stanford.edu\/covid-19\/wastewater-dashboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stanford, wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/?v=SC2_N&l=Oakland%2C+CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Oakland, wastewater<\/a>); CO (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.colorado.gov\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/d79cf93c3938470ca4bcc4823328946b#utility=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); CT (<a href=\"https:\/\/data.ct.gov\/stories\/s\/COVID-19-data\/wa3g-tfvc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); DE (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.delaware.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); FL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/5b9d75ba683849928dc1a49c39ab0b1c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); GA (<a href=\"https:\/\/dph.georgia.gov\/ga-nwss-wastewater-surveillance-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); HI (<a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); IA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmmwra.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater reports<\/a>); ID (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Boise; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/?plantId=1056f05c-0e46-4e3d-b007-c0453ba7dc0d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Central Idaho; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/#:SARS-CoV-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Coeur d\u2019Alene; dashboard, <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.srhd.org\/topics\/spokane-county-case-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Spokane County<\/a>); IL (<a href=\"https:\/\/iwss.uillinois.edu\/wastewater-treatment-plants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); IN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.in.gov\/indiana-covid-19-dashboard-and-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); KS (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov\/160\/COVID-19-in-Kansas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/4456bae8a38f4b6180e008477382fff9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Lawrence); KY (<a href=\"https:\/\/louisville.edu\/envirome\/thecoimmunityproject\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Louisville); LA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ldh.la.gov\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/info-details\/covid-19-wastewater-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MD (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.maryland.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); ME (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/dhhs\/mecdc\/infectious-disease\/epi\/airborne\/coronavirus\/data.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/coronavirus\/stats\/wastewater-surveillance\/dashboard\/sentinel-wastewater-epidemiology-evaluation-project-sweep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/gisportal.state.mi.us\/portal\/apps\/insights\/index.html#\/view\/52bbb104ed574887918f990af9f3debe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/diseases\/coronavirus\/stats\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MO (<a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/f7f5492486114da6b5d6fdc07f81aacf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MS (<a href=\"https:\/\/msdh.ms.gov\/page\/14,0,420.html#Mississippi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>MT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/MapSeries\/index.html?appid=7c34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; NC (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.ncdhhs.gov\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard)<\/a>; ND (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NE (<a href=\"https:\/\/atlas-dhhs.ne.gov\/Atlas\/Respiratory_Illness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NH (<a href=\"https:\/\/wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov\/wisdom\/dashboard.html?topic=covid-19&subtopic=recurring-updates&indicator=covid-19-wastewater#tabnavbarid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NJ (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.nj.gov\/forms\/datadashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NM (<a href=\"https:\/\/cvprovider.nmhealth.org\/public-dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NV (<a href=\"https:\/\/nvhealthresponse.nv.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/empower.unlv.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Southern NV); NY (<a href=\"https:\/\/mbcolli.shinyapps.io\/SARS2EWSP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OH (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.ohio.gov\/dashboards\/other-resources\/wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OK (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/51657c21386d4f1a962b1853c76ec589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>OR (<a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/app\/profile\/oregon.health.authority.covid.19\/viz\/OregonsCOVID-19DataDashboards-TableofContents\/TableofContentsStatewide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; PA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.pa.gov\/topics\/disease\/coronavirus\/pages\/Cases.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); RI (<a href=\"https:\/\/ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SC (<a href=\"https:\/\/scdhec.gov\/index.php\/covid19\/covid-19-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SD (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.sd.gov\/COVID\/Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/health\/cedep\/ncov\/data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TX (<a href=\"https:\/\/txdshsea.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/4ae43eefd0f641d59d35c3df82ee59cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); UT (<a href=\"https:\/\/avrpublic.dhhs.utah.gov\/uwss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/sars-cov-2-in-wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthvermont.gov\/disease-control\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WA (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.wa.gov\/emergencies\/covid-19\/data-dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.bfhd.wa.gov\/cases-and-roadmap-to-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.wisconsin.gov\/covid-19\/wastewater.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); WV (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/oehs.wvdhhr.org\/news\/oehs-coivd-19-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>); WY (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/covidwastewatermonitor.wyo.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Government of Canada<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/en\/Data-and-Analysis\/Infectious-Disease\/COVID-19-Data-Surveillance\/Wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); QC (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspq.qc.ca\/covid-19\/donnees\/eaux-usees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>les eaux us\u00e9es<\/em><\/a>); BC (<a href=\"https:\/\/bccdc.shinyapps.io\/respiratory_wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); BC, Vancouver (<a href=\"https:\/\/metrovancouver.org\/services\/liquid-waste\/testing-for-the-covid-19-virus-in-wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>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, KidDoc, 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<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"mask\"\/>Maskstravaganza<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"16.847122302158\">\n<p>\u201cAn Interview with Zhou Liang, the Creator of Zimi Mask\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/covidaware.com\/2024\/12\/an-interview-with-zhou-liang-the-founder-of-zimi-mask\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CovidAware<\/a>]. LIANG: \u201cI started designing and producing masks in 2013. Zimi is my third entrepreneurial project\u2026 Zimi mask = frame + filter element. The frame is made of plastic, does not contain metal, and is available in a variety of sizes. The frame has elastic properties and can be reused until it breaks or cracks. This time is not fixed. For example, if you ask me, how long can your phone case last? The filter element is mainly composed of filter material and sealing material. The filter material is a polypropylene-based fiber material with static charge. It has multiple layers, and static electricity is constantly consumed during use. The sealing material is a new composite material with a 2+1 structure. There is a layer of airtight material in the middle, so it is comfortable and does not allow air to penetrate. The filter element can be replaced after use\u2026.. As of December 2024, Zimi masks have 4 frames, and the frames for XS and XL sizes are completed within a month\u2026.\u201d \u2022 Interesting to listen to a working engineer!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Sequelae: Covid<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"19.09842519685\">\n<p>\u201cHow Covid Can Change Your Gut\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/Vvr5J\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Times<\/a>]. \u201cWe don\u2019t have good estimates for what percentage of people with Covid go on to develop persistent gastrointestinal symptoms, but some limited and small studies suggest they can be <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/34468069\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">between 16<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1542356521011332\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">40 percent<\/a>\u2026. One theory about how the coronavirus might cause these symptoms is that it may ramp up inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Covid can also disrupt <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s12866-022-02686-9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the gut microbiome<\/a>, Dr. King said, resulting in fewer of the \u2018good\u2019 microbes that tamp down inflammation and more of the \u2018bad\u2019 ones that cause inflammation. Over time, inflammation can damage the lining of the intestine, making it more permeable or \u2018leaky,\u2019 Dr. Chey said. That leakiness may allow molecules from foods to escape from the gut, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-020-03118-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">causing immune cells to mount an allergy-like response to foods<\/a>. Covid-induced inflammation may also \u2018chew away\u2019 at the nerves that control contractions and pain signals in the gut, said Dr. Braden Kuo, a neurogastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. This might cause the nerves to send pain signals to the brain, even when digestion is working normally, he said. Anxiety and depression often worsen gut symptoms, too.\u201d \u2022\u00a0If the Times is covering this, it must be bad\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lambert: CDC\u2019s wastewater page loaded. No Thanksgiving surge that I can see.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.856573705179\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6190476190476\">\n<td valign=\"top\">This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 2<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Last week[2] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> (until next week):<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1-300x227.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"align: left; margin-left: 0px !important; padding: 9px 0 9px 0;\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x185.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6470588235294\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 7<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Emergency Room Visits<\/strong>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#trends_select_7dayeddiagnosed_00\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-300x255.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x173.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Hospitalization<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.8513513513514\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data December 10:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 5:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283723\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6-300x169.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-300x297.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.5915492957746\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> December 9:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> November 23:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283589\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-300x188.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.5932203389831\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 19:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 4:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1.png 642w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1-624x327.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-300x218.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Deaths<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.7647058823529\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 20:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronadisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 20:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"189.93902439024\">\n<p><strong>LEGEND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1) <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n<p>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<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] (CDC) Good news!<\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Leveled out.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Actually improved; it\u2019s now one of the few charts to show the entire course of the pandemic to the present day.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Employment Situation: \u201cUnited States Initial Jobless Claims\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/jobless-claims\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cUS initial jobless claims soared by 17,000 from the previous week to 242,000 on the first week of December, well above market expectations that they would fall to 220,000, to mark the sharpest count of new claims since October.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Inflation: \u201cUnited States Producer Prices\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/producer-prices\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cProducer Prices in the United States increased to 146.49 points in November from 145.94 points in October of 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cInside Boeing\u2019s struggle to make its best-selling plane again\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/inside-boeings-struggle-make-its-best-selling-plane-again-2024-12-12\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing\u2019s cautious approach, following criticism that the planemaker for years rushed production, has garnered praise from regulators and some airline CEOs. But it also has some smaller suppliers who cut jobs or operating hours during the strike hesitating to staff-up again, creating further uncertainty in an already fragile supply chain, according to three suppliers, one analyst and an industry source\u2026. At the factory, daily tasks are paired with exacting efforts to clean up and take steps to avoid error, with note-taking FAA officials carrying clipboards and donning reflective vests a regular sight, they said\u2026. [FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker] told Reuters that Boeing has a long journey to achieve its targeted safety culture. \u2018, as you would expect, but they\u2019re frank about the fact that they\u2019ve got a long way to go,\u2019 he said\u2026.. Seattle-area supplier Rosemary Brester hoped she and her husband would be able to get their metal aircraft components processed more quickly following the end of the strike, but delays persist\u2026 \u2018Until I see some real stability, I\u2019m not going to hire anybody,\u2019 Brester said.\u201d \u2022 The plant wasn\u2019t <em>clean<\/em>? The mind reels. When I bought printing, I always made sure to visit the candidates. Beer bottles under the tables were a strong no. And the press should <em>always<\/em> be running (\u201ctime is money\u201d). If \u201ccleaner\u201d means what I think it means, it sounds like if Boeing were a printer, I would have gone elsewhere. And not a monopoly player, of course. Can any readers confirm?<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cA Closer Look at Boeing\u2019s Options Market Dynamics\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.benzinga.com\/insights\/options\/24\/12\/42462767\/a-closer-look-at-boeings-options-market-dynamics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Benzinga<\/a>]. \u201cHigh-rolling investors have positioned themselves bullish on Boeing, and it\u2019s important for retail traders to take note. This activity came to our attention today through Benzinga\u2019s tracking of publicly available options data. The identities of these investors are uncertain, but such a significant move in BA often signals that someone has privileged information. Today, Benzinga\u2019s options scanner spotted 10 options trades for Boeing. This is not a typical pattern. The sentiment among these major traders is split, with 60% bullish and 40% bearish. Among all the options we identified, there was one put, amounting to $227,500, and 9 calls, totaling $410,750.\u201d \u2022 I don\u2019t play the ponies, but if you do\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing\u2019s India exports remain high, climbing over $1.25 billion\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindubusinessline.com\/economy\/logistics\/boeing-india-exports-remain-high-climbing-over-125-bn\/article68976756.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BusinessLine<\/a>]. \u201cGlobal growth of civil aviation, along with high domestic demand, has led aerospace major Boeing to remain the largest exporter of aircraft parts and software from India. Speaking exclusively to businessline, Boeing India and South Asia President Salil Gupte cited that the aerospace major\u2019s annual sourcing from India has grown significantly over the past decade, rising from $250 million to over $1.25 billion annually. \u2018This marks a substantial increase, driven by the expansion of the supplier network and advancements in manufacturing capabilities,\u2019 Gupte told businessline. \u201cIt is also fair to say that this growth is truly remarkable considering that the production of the aeroplanes themselves on the civil side has been much lower than before the pandemic.’\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cOpinion: Why Embraer Might Be Ready To Take On Airbus And Boeing\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/aviationweek.com\/aerospace\/manufacturing-supply-chain\/opinion-why-embraer-might-be-ready-take-airbus-boeing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Aviation Week<\/a>]. \u201cMuch focus has been on China\u2019s Comac. Conventional wisdom holds that China\u2019s rapid advances in military propulsion and space eventually will extend to commercial aviation\u2026. I\u2019m not so sure. In the near term, Comac does not need to be a global player for its new C919 narrowbody to succeed. China\u2019s domestic market is big enough to soak up most of Comac\u2019s limited production capacity. Developing a truly competitive international product will require certification in the West and the creation of a global maintenance and support network, no small tasks. The ongoing decoupling of the Chinese and Western supply chains poses yet another challenge. The company to keep an eye on in 2025 is Embraer, the feisty Brazilian manufacturer that was almost bought by Boeing and then jilted at the altar. With excellent engineers and visionary leaders, Embraer has built world-class airplanes for decades while protecting the intellectual property of its suppliers. It is certainly capable of upgauging to a bigger airplane that could challenge the duopoly. Aviation Week has learned that multiple large airlines in the U.S. and Europe have told Embraer they will collectively order hundreds of airplanes if a new program is launched.\u201d Hoo boy. But: \u201cA key question, of course, is whether Embraer can play in the big leagues. It has 1\/20th the revenue of Boeing and thus would need a financial partner with billions of dollars to develop a new product. Talk has focused on investors from the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia. Another challenge is that Embraer\u2019s business model relies heavily on outsourcing major components.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cGM to retreat from robotaxi operations once championed by CEO Mary Barra\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/industry\/auto\/gm-to-retreat-from-robotaxi-operations-once-championed-by-ceo-mary-barra-124121101403_1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Business Standard<\/a>]. \u201cWith the decision to fold Cruise into the parent company, GM is giving up on hopes of transforming itself into a multi-platform technology company that targeted bringing in $50 billion in revenue from robotaxi fares and subscriptions by 2030. The carmaker had hoped to double its revenue by 2030 on the twin pillars of autonomy and electric vehicles. That goal, which GM has called \u201caspirational,\u201d also now looks remote without Cruise as a new business and after GM scaled-back its EV production goals.\u201d \u2022 Ah, \u201caspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 51 Neutral (previous close: 48 Neutral) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 56 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Dec 11 at 1:27:47 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Christmas Pre-Game Festivities<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemonic Christmas Display at State House Destroyed\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/nhjournal.com\/demonic-christmas-display-at-state-house-destroyed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NH Journal<\/a>]. \u201cForget St. Nick; someone in Concord may end up on Satan\u2019s naughty list after The Satanic Temple\u2019s Baphomet statue was destroyed Monday night in an act of yuletide mayhem. Concord Deputy Police Chief John Thomas told NHJournal that while the investigation into the vandalism is active and ongoing, he can rule out at least one possible suspect. \u2018Santa wouldn\u2019t do this,\u2019 Thomas said. \u2018Santa loves everybody.\u2019 The statue of the hooded demon was found broken in half around 7 p.m. Monday night, a few hours after the marble slab showing The Satanic Temple\u2019s seven principles was cracked. State Rep. Ellen Read (D-Newmarket), who helped organize The Satanic Temple\u2019s display, was spotted gathering up the broken shards of the goat-headed figure Tuesday morning after getting a call about the destruction. She\u2019s not sure if members of The Satanic Temple plan to put their monster mannequin back together.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"zeitgeist\"\/><strong>Zeitgeist Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dry, very dry:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.2300613496933\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.312883435583\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As a veteran, which company should I start?<\/p>\n<p>A podcast called “WARFIGHTER MINDSET” where some former water purification specialist interviews other vetbros about “the warrior lifestyle” while hawking their own line of “tactical” beard oil<\/p>\n<p>Yet another veteran-owned coffee company\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Warlizard (@War_Lizard) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/War_Lizard\/status\/1866236982558392470\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">December 9, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTactical beard oil.\u201d The responses are great.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArgument escalates when man visits neighbor with sword and firebomb, Florida cops say\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsobserver.com\/news\/nation-world\/national\/article296977379.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">News & Observer<\/a>]. I\u2019ll say! \u201cWhen interviewed, the 36-year-old man confirmed using a bottle with some gasoline in it and brandishing a sword \u2018to make a point,\u2019 police said. The suspect said \u2018he went to the residence to send a message regarding disrespect to a family member,\u2019 police said. Details of that incident were not released.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Groves of Academe<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"ai\"\/>\u201cUCLA\u2019s new AI-designed literature course has the worst-looking textbook cover I\u2019ve ever seen\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/uclas-new-ai-designed-literature-course-has-the-worst-looking-textbook-cover-ive-ever-seen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Literary Hub<\/a>]. \u201cUCLA announced the other day that \u2018Comp Lit 2BW will be the first course in the UCLA College Division of Humanities to be built around the Kudu artificial intelligence platform. The textbook: AI-generated. Class assignments: AI-generated. Teaching assistants\u2019 resources: AI-generated.\u2019 The professor\u2019s explanation of why any of this is good doesn\u2019t make any sense to me \u2014 she seems to be describing standard teaching practices like discussing texts and putting together a syllabus, but now AI is involved. Which to me always feels like a looming labor issue \u2014 I wouldn\u2019t be shocked to see this software cited as justification to fire professors or TAs, or reduce their pay.\u201d <em>Plus \u00e7a change<\/em>\u2026. More \u201cBut what really got me fuming was the horrible, horrible textbook cover that was extruded for this course.\u201d \u2022 Here it is:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ucla-bad-ai-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"678\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ucla-bad-ai-cover.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ucla-bad-ai-cover-265x300.jpg 265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Concluding: \u201cThis cover sucks, it\u2019s so bad. Have some dignity people, we don\u2019t have to live like this.\u201d \u2022 UCLA administrators: \u201cYes, you do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Poetry Nook<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Villanelle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">villanelle<\/a> (?):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/buyers_remorse.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"780\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/buyers_remorse.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/buyers_remorse-192x300.png 192w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe villanelle has been noted as a form that frequently treats the subject of obsessions, and one which appeals to outsiders; its defining feature of repetition prevents it from having a conventional tone.\u201d Maybe the poet is an outsider <em>now<\/em>\u2026. <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeattle road sign\u2019s message raises questions after CEO\u2019s shooting\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/komonews.com\/news\/local\/seattle-road-signs-disturbing-message-sparks-investigation-amid-ceo-shooting-aftermath-highway-99-one-less-ceo-many-more-to-go-lake-union-wsdot-sdot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">KOMO<\/a> (PI)]. \u201cIt is not yet known who was responsible for programming the sign or which agency operates it \u2014 Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) \u2014 or a private company.\u201d \u2022 Wowsers:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/one_less.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283785\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/one_less.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/one_less-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Those swing voters are getting really antsy\u2026. <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNearly half of US teens are online \u2018constantly,\u2019 Pew report finds\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/teenagers-social-media-internet-pew-survey-02defc5b53dc4216da1efa63c82a30af\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cNearly half of American teenagers say they are online \u201cconstantly\u201d despite concerns about the effects of social media and smartphones on their mental health, according to a new report published Thursday by the Pew Research Center. As in past years, YouTube was the single most popular platform teenagers used \u2014 90% said they watched videos on the site, down slightly from 95% in 2022. Nearly three-quarters said they visit YouTube every day. There was a slight downward trend in several popular apps teens used. For instance, 63% of teens said they used TikTok, down from 67% and Snapchat slipped to 55% from 59%. \u2026 X saw the biggest decline among teenage users. Only 17% of teenagers said they use X, down from 23% in 2022, the year Elon Musk bought the platform. Reddit held steady at 14%. About 6% of teenagers said they use Threads, Meta\u2019s answer to X that launched in 2023.\u201d \u2022 Probably good news, actually, on Musk\u2019s hellsite (as its users have affectionately dubbed it).<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact information for plants<\/strong>: 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) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-10-2024.html\">here<\/a>. From AM:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/roger_williams.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/roger_williams.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/roger_williams-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>AM writes: \u201cMy favorite evergreen tree with a half moon shining between the branches on the left \u2013 Roger Williams Park.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"donate\"\/><strong>Readers<\/strong>: Water Cooler is a standalone entity <em>not<\/em> covered by the annual NC fundraiser. Material here is Lambert\u2019s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. If you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! <em>Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I\u2019m on the right track with coverage<\/em>. When I get no donations for three or four days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:<\/p>\n<p>Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-226891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"606\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png 606w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!<\/p>\n<div class=\"printfriendly pf-alignleft\"><a href=\"#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF & Email\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow:none; padding:0; margin:0\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.printfriendly.com\/buttons\/print-button-gray.png\" alt=\"Print Friendly, PDF & Email\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .entry-content --><\/p>\n<footer class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\tThis entry was posted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/guest-post\" rel=\"category tag\">Guest Post<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/water-cooler\" rel=\"category tag\">Water Cooler<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-12-2024.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2024-12-12T14:00:16-05:00\">December 12, 2024<\/time><\/a><span class=\"by-author\"> by <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/author\/lambert-strether\" title=\"View all posts by Lambert Strether\" rel=\"author\">Lambert Strether<\/a><\/span><\/span>.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info\" wp_automatic_readability=\"20.197005056398\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-avatar --><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-description\" wp_automatic_readability=\"35.467911318553\">\n<h2>About Lambert Strether<\/h2>\n<p>Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (\u201cBecause markets\u201d). I don\u2019t much care about the \u201cism\u201d that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don\u2019t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. <br \/>\n <br \/>\nTo me, the key issue \u2014 and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me \u2014 is the tens of thousands of excess \u201cdeaths from despair,\u201d as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics \u2014 even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton\u2019s wars created \u2014 bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow \u2014 currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press \u2014 a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let\u2019s call such voices \u201cthe left.\u201d Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn\u2019t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I\u2019ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-link\t-->\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-description -->\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-info --><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- .entry-meta --><br \/>\n\t<!-- #post --><\/p>\n<nav class=\"nav-single\">\n<h3 class=\"assistive-text\">Post navigation<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-previous list-posts-older\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/warren-bill-would-stop-companies-from-placing-shareholder-paydays-over-worker-rights.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> Warren Bill Would Stop Companies From Placing Shareholder Paydays Over Worker Rights<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-next list-posts-newer\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/nav>\n<p><!-- .nav-single --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #comments .comments-area --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #content --><br \/>\n<!-- #primary --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #secondary --><\/p>\n<footer id=\"colophon\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- .site-info --><br \/>\n\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- #colophon --><br \/>\n\t\t<!-- #main.wrapper --><br \/>\n<!-- #page --><br \/>\n<!-- .mobile-menu-wrap --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Blog Reader Pooling - removed 09\/16\/2015 by M. Lacourse --><br \/>\n<!-- <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"nc-hide\" src=\"http:\/\/t.blogreaderproject.com\/t.gif?c9a0f3c0f2425bc76f3b4c3baf750ea8\" alt=\"\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\"> --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp footer --><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-12-2024.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day Northern Mockingbird, South Shore of Pueblo Reservoir, Pueblo, Colorado, United States. Starts slowly, but becomes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-spotlight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Northern Mockingbird, South Shore of Pueblo Reservoir, Pueblo, Colorado, United States. Starts slowly, but becomes quite virtuosic.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#time\">Trump<\/a>: Time\u2019s \u201cPerson of the Year.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#hegseth\">Why Ernst changed her mind<\/a> on Hegseth; some speculation.<\/li>\n<li>Thumbs down on <a href=\"#ai\"> UCLA\u2019s AI-designed textbook cover<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"helper\"\/><strong>Look for the Helpers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow a middle schooler found a new compound in a piece of goose poop\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2024-12-middle-schooler-compound-piece-goose.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Phys.org<\/a>]. \u201cA group of young students became bonafide biomedical scientists before they even started high school. Through a partnership with a nearby university, the middle schoolers collected and analyzed environmental samples to find new antibiotic candidates. One unique sample, goose poop collected at a local park, had a bacterium that showed antibiotic activity and contained a novel compound that slowed the growth of human melanoma and ovarian cancer cells in lab tests. Inequities in educational resources, especially those in science, engineering, technology and math (STEM), where experiments are expensive, have kept some students underrepresented in these fields. By engaging a group of these students early in real, high-quality research, a team from the University of Illinois at Chicago led by Brian Murphy is providing young learners a chance to see themselves as scientists and explore careers in science with hands-on experience. The team partnered with a Boys and Girls Club in Chicago to bring interested middle schoolers into a 14-week applied science program.\u201d \u2022 So being on a flyway has its advantages\u2026 <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>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 <em>normal<\/em> 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).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\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><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Biden Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.79020979021\">\n<p>\u201cBiden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-pardons-clemency-4432002d67334e6716c2776fd73f3cc8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cPresident Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It\u2019s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history\u2026. Biden said he would be taking more steps in the weeks ahead and would continue to review clemency petitions\u2026. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and 34 other lawmakers are urging the president to pardon environmental and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger, who was imprisoned or under house arrest for three years because of a contempt of court charge related to his work representing Indigenous farmers in a lawsuit against Chevron. Others are advocating for Biden to commute the sentences of federal death row prisoners\u2026. More clemency grants are coming before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20, but it\u2019s not clear whether he\u2019ll take action to guard against possible prosecution by Trump, an untested use of the power.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"time\"\/>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"100.43515087348\">\n<p>Well, who else?<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.2007874015748\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.8425196850394\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Donald Trump is TIME’s Person of the Year <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IjP5W2otV5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/IjP5W2otV5<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CVHX9o0DB3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/CVHX9o0DB3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 TIME (@TIME) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TIME\/status\/1867187660814504285\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">December 12, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Trump to Time cover artist: \u2018Make sure my hands are <em>big<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDonald Trump 2024 TIME Person of the Year\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7200212\/person-of-the-year-2024-donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Time<\/a>]. \u201cTrump has a ready explanation for his improbable resurrection. He even has a name for its climactic final act. \u2018I called it 72 Days of Fury,\u2019 he says as the interview gets under way. \u2018We hit the nerve of the country. The country was angry.\u2019 It wasn\u2019t just the MAGA faithful. Trump harnessed deep national discontent about the <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7095898\/donald-trump-economy-plan-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">economy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7171654\/donald-trump-immigration-plan-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">immigration<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7174687\/what-donald-trump-win-means-for-lgbtq-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">cultural issues<\/a>. His grievances resonated with suburban moms and retirees, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7175758\/hispanic-men-us-election-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Latino<\/a> and Black men, young voters and tech edgelords. While Democrats estimated that most of the country wanted a President who would uphold the norms of liberal democracy, Trump saw a nation ready to smash them, tapping into a growing sense that the system was rigged.\u201d \u2022 Or, to put matters more concisely: \u201cThese parasites had it coming.\u201d That is, Trump may be surfing a more powerful wave than he, or anyone else, knows. It would be a dark historical jest if Trump turned out to be this century\u2019s Kerensky.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"hegseth\"\/>\u201cPete Hegseth Will Be Confirmed\u201d [Mark Judge, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splicetoday.com\/politics-and-media\/pete-hegseth-will-be-confirmed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Splice Today<\/a>]. \u201cSen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who was reluctant to support Hegseth, emerged from a meeting recently saying Hegseth should get a chance to make his case at a public confirmation hearing. \u2018We\u2019re having really good discussions, and we discussed several items that were really important to me,\u2019 Ernst said. This is remarkable coming from Ernst, someone considered a leader in the fight against sexual assault in the military. Hegseth was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017\u2026. So what changed? Joni Ernst is a survivor of sexual assault. Why did her opinion shift so abruptly? I don\u2019t know the answer to that question, but I\u2019m willing to make a guess. I think that in 2017 Hegseth was extorted by DNC goons who set him up. I think, now freed from any non-disclosure agreement, Hegseth has been able to talk about the extortion. I think that\u2019s what the FBI and senators know and what turned the tide.\u201d \u2022 Big if true. In the author\u2019s view, he was set up in similar fashion during the Kavavanaugh hearings. And see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/11\/200pm-water-cooler-11-22-2024.html#governors\">Water Cooler back in November<\/a>: \u201cDemocrats are enlisting high-powered lawyers, while opposition researchers at the Democratic National Committee are compiling dossiers of incoming federal officials.\u201d And oppo the Hegseth stories (true or not) certainly were.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBillion dollar squirrel: Trump effect fuels crypto\u2019s \u2018memecoin\u2019 boom\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/66fe7655-704a-407f-8f20-a3f081296a36\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Financial Times<\/a>]. \u201cCryptocurrencies representing a euthanised grey squirrel, a Thai pygmy hippopotamus and a cartoon dog have exploded in value since last month\u2019s US presidential election, as Donald Trump\u2019s victory triggers a surge in speculation in so-called memecoins. The market for tokens representing online viral moments has expanded rapidly since early November as traders bet that Trump\u2019s administration will usher in more crypto-friendly attitudes and regulation in Washington. There are millions of memecoins, which can easily be set up using online memecoin generators. They have no business model, cash flow or fundamental value, and do not give their owners a share of any physical asset. Instead, these highly volatile tokens rely on their popularity among traders to generate liquidity. \u2018They have no value, they never will have value,\u2019 Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of the Cardano blockchain, said about memecoins recently. \u2018There\u2019s no utility behind them, nobody wants them \u2014 when they lose their lustre they go to zero.’\u201d \u2022 Look, the Thai pygmy hippopotamus (\u201cMoodeng\u201d) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2024\/11\/07\/moo-deng-donald-trump-election-cake\/76117691007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">called election 2024<\/a>. If that\u2019s not \u201cvalue, I don\u2019t know what is.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSave a Reagan Initiative From Musk and Ramaswamy\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/cYCyS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. The deck: \u201cThe Department of Government Efficiency may seek to slash the National Endowment for Democracy\u2019s funding.\u201d \u2022 What\u2019s wrong with slashing funding for the spooks?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlow Up Washington\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tabletmag.com\/sections\/news\/articles\/moving-federal-agencies-washington\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tablet<\/a>]. \u201cThe entire history of the republic has taken place against the backdrop of steady expansion in the scope and concentration of power at the federal level\u2026. While too many new presidents have embraced this process, Reagan sought to reverse it, only to slow the sprawl for a few years. Is the lesson, then, that Washington will continue to expand at the expense of the rest of the country? Is this process unstoppable? It needn\u2019t be. While striking a balance between the attributions of the federal and state governments is complicated, controlling the physical location of government activity is much more straightforward. Let\u2019s disperse the government agencies away from the gridlocked highways and overpriced real estate of the Washington, D.C., area to the economically depressed regions of the country they serve, recycling the federal budget back to the economy from which it came. If the agencies are in fact dispersed throughout the country that supports them, recycling tax dollars into the local economies from which they came, it would not only be beneficial to the country at large, but also, unlike the well-intentioned but only temporarily effective reforms of the Reagan era, it would prove irreversible. Once the government agencies that now crowd Washington and its suburbs are relocated to Appalachia, the Rust Belt, and the poverty pockets of the West, the states that would welcome them will fight in the halls of Congress to keep their share of the $60 billion-plus payroll from returning to the banks of the Potomac.\u201d \u2022 Much depends on the locations chosen. One might argue, for example, that a (hypothetical) Dental Floss Protection Agency should be placed in the midst of the alabaster waves of dental floss fields in the heartland (to be \u201ccloser to the customers\u201d). But might that lead to more industry capture, rather than less?<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cChris Wray folds like cheap suit. Don\u2019t be Chris Wray\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnotice.co\/p\/chris-wray-resignation-obeying-in-advance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Public Notice<\/a>]. \u201cFBI Director Christopher Wray became the latest public official to remove his own spine and dissolve into a puddle of genuflecting goo for the greater glory of MAGA with his announcement Wednesday that he\u2019ll resign before Trump\u2019s inauguration. FBI directors are supposed to be independent, and Wray still has more than two years left on his term\u2026. Wray said that, in light of Trump\u2019s animosity, his resignation was \u2018the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray.\u2019 For Wray, apparently, the appearance of resistance is a bridge too far, so it\u2019s best just to let the fascist win so he can impose the swift, unilateral peace of autocracy.\u201d \u2022 I admire \u201cfascist\u201d; it shows a commitment to the bit few Democrats have. More centrally: \u201cYou\u2019re gonna have to learn your clich\u00e9s.\u201d One folds \u201clike a deckchair\u201d (a cheap suit may wrinkle, but it does not fold). The \u201ccheap suit\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=2094\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">snowclone<\/a> (phrasal template) <a href=\"https:\/\/idioms.thefreedictionary.com\/all+over+someone+like+a+cheap+suit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">works like this<\/a>: \u201cThe ____ were all over ___ like a cheap suit.\u201d The blanks could be filled in with, say, \u201cpress\u201d and \u201cme.\u201d Or \u201cspooks\u201d and \u201cthe Trump campaign.\u201d Or \u201cventure capitalists\u201d and \u201cAI.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA Scandalous Resignation\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/1RMWz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Atlantic<\/a>]. \u201cBut a scandal it most certainly is. By , FBI directors serve 10-year terms, a norm designed to insulate the FBI from pressure to serve the president\u2019s whims.\u201d \u2022 The Norms Fairy sheds a tear\u2026..<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>2024 Post Mortem<\/p>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n<p>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"31.849853372434\">\n<p>\u201cDemocrats can work with DOGE. I know exactly where to start.\u201d [Ro Khanna, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/opinion\/msnbc-opinion\/ro-khanna-doge-spending-musk-ramaswamy-rcna182644\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MSNBC<\/a>]. \u201d I look forward to working with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce waste and fraud at the Pentagon, while strongly opposing any cuts to programs like Social Security, Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. There are several areas of waste and abuse that I hope DOGE will address.\u201d \u2022 And the CIA Black Budget. Note, however: \u201cDOGE co-chair Elon Musk.\u201d Musk is not the co-chair of anything, because DOGE is not an officially constituted entity of any kind (\u201cHey kids! Let\u2019s put on a show!\u201d doesn\u2019t meet that criterion). And when (if?) it becomes one, I would bet it will have to conform to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), just like HICPAC. From <a href=\"https:\/\/sgp.fas.org\/crs\/secrecy\/IF12252.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">GAO<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13\">\n<p>Federal advisory committees are created by Congress, Presidents, and executive branch agencies to gain expertise<\/p>\n<p>and policy advice from individuals outside the federal government. Establishing an advisory committee may also allow the federal government to provide a forum where potentially controversial topics may be discussed by experts outside the political arena and reduce the workload of executive branch employees and Congress.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>That sure sounds like DOGE\u2019s use case to me. Elon can opine and collect suggestions on the Twitter all he wants, but at some point DOGE needs to, as it were, engage the clutch and begin transmission to the government; FACA is the obvious API for that. Otherwise, Elon is just jawboning, and I wouldn\u2019t give much for his chances of success, even if he does manage to induce the occassional DOGEpile on some hapless civil servant.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Syndemics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\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><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk&null=Risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>); Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>, <del><a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a><\/del>; includes many counties; <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wastewater Scan<\/a>, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/businesssolutions\/covid-19-index.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a>); \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iowacovid19tracker.org\/hospitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Iowa COVID-19 Tracker<\/a>\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/icemsg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts<\/a>\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n<p>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<p>Resources, United States (Local): AK (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/af2efc8bffbf4cdc83c2d1a134354074\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AR (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/633006d0782b4544bd5113a314f6268a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AZ (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azdhs.gov\/covid19\/data\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); CA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdph.ca.gov\/Programs\/CID\/DCDC\/Pages\/COVID-19\/CalSuWers-Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.marinhhs.org\/surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marin, dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/healthalerts.stanford.edu\/covid-19\/wastewater-dashboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stanford, wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/?v=SC2_N&l=Oakland%2C+CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Oakland, wastewater<\/a>); CO (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.colorado.gov\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/d79cf93c3938470ca4bcc4823328946b#utility=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); CT (<a href=\"https:\/\/data.ct.gov\/stories\/s\/COVID-19-data\/wa3g-tfvc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); DE (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.delaware.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); FL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/5b9d75ba683849928dc1a49c39ab0b1c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); GA (<a href=\"https:\/\/dph.georgia.gov\/ga-nwss-wastewater-surveillance-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); HI (<a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); IA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmmwra.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater reports<\/a>); ID (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Boise; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/?plantId=1056f05c-0e46-4e3d-b007-c0453ba7dc0d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Central Idaho; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/#:SARS-CoV-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Coeur d\u2019Alene; dashboard, <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.srhd.org\/topics\/spokane-county-case-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Spokane County<\/a>); IL (<a href=\"https:\/\/iwss.uillinois.edu\/wastewater-treatment-plants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); IN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.in.gov\/indiana-covid-19-dashboard-and-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); KS (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov\/160\/COVID-19-in-Kansas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/4456bae8a38f4b6180e008477382fff9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Lawrence); KY (<a href=\"https:\/\/louisville.edu\/envirome\/thecoimmunityproject\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Louisville); LA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ldh.la.gov\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/info-details\/covid-19-wastewater-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MD (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.maryland.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); ME (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/dhhs\/mecdc\/infectious-disease\/epi\/airborne\/coronavirus\/data.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/coronavirus\/stats\/wastewater-surveillance\/dashboard\/sentinel-wastewater-epidemiology-evaluation-project-sweep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/gisportal.state.mi.us\/portal\/apps\/insights\/index.html#\/view\/52bbb104ed574887918f990af9f3debe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/diseases\/coronavirus\/stats\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MO (<a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/f7f5492486114da6b5d6fdc07f81aacf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MS (<a href=\"https:\/\/msdh.ms.gov\/page\/14,0,420.html#Mississippi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>MT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/MapSeries\/index.html?appid=7c34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; NC (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.ncdhhs.gov\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard)<\/a>; ND (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NE (<a href=\"https:\/\/atlas-dhhs.ne.gov\/Atlas\/Respiratory_Illness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NH (<a href=\"https:\/\/wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov\/wisdom\/dashboard.html?topic=covid-19&subtopic=recurring-updates&indicator=covid-19-wastewater#tabnavbarid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NJ (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.nj.gov\/forms\/datadashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NM (<a href=\"https:\/\/cvprovider.nmhealth.org\/public-dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NV (<a href=\"https:\/\/nvhealthresponse.nv.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/empower.unlv.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Southern NV); NY (<a href=\"https:\/\/mbcolli.shinyapps.io\/SARS2EWSP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OH (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.ohio.gov\/dashboards\/other-resources\/wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OK (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/51657c21386d4f1a962b1853c76ec589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>OR (<a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/app\/profile\/oregon.health.authority.covid.19\/viz\/OregonsCOVID-19DataDashboards-TableofContents\/TableofContentsStatewide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; PA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.pa.gov\/topics\/disease\/coronavirus\/pages\/Cases.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); RI (<a href=\"https:\/\/ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SC (<a href=\"https:\/\/scdhec.gov\/index.php\/covid19\/covid-19-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SD (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.sd.gov\/COVID\/Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/health\/cedep\/ncov\/data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TX (<a href=\"https:\/\/txdshsea.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/4ae43eefd0f641d59d35c3df82ee59cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); UT (<a href=\"https:\/\/avrpublic.dhhs.utah.gov\/uwss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/sars-cov-2-in-wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthvermont.gov\/disease-control\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WA (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.wa.gov\/emergencies\/covid-19\/data-dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.bfhd.wa.gov\/cases-and-roadmap-to-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.wisconsin.gov\/covid-19\/wastewater.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); WV (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/oehs.wvdhhr.org\/news\/oehs-coivd-19-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>); WY (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/covidwastewatermonitor.wyo.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Government of Canada<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/en\/Data-and-Analysis\/Infectious-Disease\/COVID-19-Data-Surveillance\/Wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); QC (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspq.qc.ca\/covid-19\/donnees\/eaux-usees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>les eaux us\u00e9es<\/em><\/a>); BC (<a href=\"https:\/\/bccdc.shinyapps.io\/respiratory_wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); BC, Vancouver (<a href=\"https:\/\/metrovancouver.org\/services\/liquid-waste\/testing-for-the-covid-19-virus-in-wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>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, KidDoc, 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<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"mask\"\/>Maskstravaganza<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"16.847122302158\">\n<p>\u201cAn Interview with Zhou Liang, the Creator of Zimi Mask\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/covidaware.com\/2024\/12\/an-interview-with-zhou-liang-the-founder-of-zimi-mask\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CovidAware<\/a>]. LIANG: \u201cI started designing and producing masks in 2013. Zimi is my third entrepreneurial project\u2026 Zimi mask = frame + filter element. The frame is made of plastic, does not contain metal, and is available in a variety of sizes. The frame has elastic properties and can be reused until it breaks or cracks. This time is not fixed. For example, if you ask me, how long can your phone case last? The filter element is mainly composed of filter material and sealing material. The filter material is a polypropylene-based fiber material with static charge. It has multiple layers, and static electricity is constantly consumed during use. The sealing material is a new composite material with a 2+1 structure. There is a layer of airtight material in the middle, so it is comfortable and does not allow air to penetrate. The filter element can be replaced after use\u2026.. As of December 2024, Zimi masks have 4 frames, and the frames for XS and XL sizes are completed within a month\u2026.\u201d \u2022 Interesting to listen to a working engineer!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Sequelae: Covid<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"19.09842519685\">\n<p>\u201cHow Covid Can Change Your Gut\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/Vvr5J\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Times<\/a>]. \u201cWe don\u2019t have good estimates for what percentage of people with Covid go on to develop persistent gastrointestinal symptoms, but some limited and small studies suggest they can be <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/34468069\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">between 16<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1542356521011332\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">40 percent<\/a>\u2026. One theory about how the coronavirus might cause these symptoms is that it may ramp up inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Covid can also disrupt <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s12866-022-02686-9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the gut microbiome<\/a>, Dr. King said, resulting in fewer of the \u2018good\u2019 microbes that tamp down inflammation and more of the \u2018bad\u2019 ones that cause inflammation. Over time, inflammation can damage the lining of the intestine, making it more permeable or \u2018leaky,\u2019 Dr. Chey said. That leakiness may allow molecules from foods to escape from the gut, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/Vvr5J\/https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-020-03118-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">causing immune cells to mount an allergy-like response to foods<\/a>. Covid-induced inflammation may also \u2018chew away\u2019 at the nerves that control contractions and pain signals in the gut, said Dr. Braden Kuo, a neurogastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. This might cause the nerves to send pain signals to the brain, even when digestion is working normally, he said. Anxiety and depression often worsen gut symptoms, too.\u201d \u2022\u00a0If the Times is covering this, it must be bad\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lambert: CDC\u2019s wastewater page loaded. No Thanksgiving surge that I can see.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.856573705179\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6190476190476\">\n<td valign=\"top\">This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 2<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Last week[2] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> (until next week):<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1-300x227.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"align: left; margin-left: 0px !important; padding: 9px 0 9px 0;\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x185.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6470588235294\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 7<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Emergency Room Visits<\/strong>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#trends_select_7dayeddiagnosed_00\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-300x255.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x173.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Hospitalization<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.8513513513514\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data December 10:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 5:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283723\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6-300x169.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-300x297.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.5915492957746\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> December 9:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> November 23:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283589\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-300x188.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.5932203389831\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 19:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 4:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1.png 642w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1-624x327.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-300x218.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Deaths<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.7647058823529\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 20:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronadisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 20:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"189.93902439024\">\n<p><strong>LEGEND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1) <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n<p>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<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] (CDC) Good news!<\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Leveled out.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Actually improved; it\u2019s now one of the few charts to show the entire course of the pandemic to the present day.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Employment Situation: \u201cUnited States Initial Jobless Claims\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/jobless-claims\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cUS initial jobless claims soared by 17,000 from the previous week to 242,000 on the first week of December, well above market expectations that they would fall to 220,000, to mark the sharpest count of new claims since October.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Inflation: \u201cUnited States Producer Prices\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/producer-prices\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cProducer Prices in the United States increased to 146.49 points in November from 145.94 points in October of 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cInside Boeing\u2019s struggle to make its best-selling plane again\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/inside-boeings-struggle-make-its-best-selling-plane-again-2024-12-12\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing\u2019s cautious approach, following criticism that the planemaker for years rushed production, has garnered praise from regulators and some airline CEOs. But it also has some smaller suppliers who cut jobs or operating hours during the strike hesitating to staff-up again, creating further uncertainty in an already fragile supply chain, according to three suppliers, one analyst and an industry source\u2026. At the factory, daily tasks are paired with exacting efforts to clean up and take steps to avoid error, with note-taking FAA officials carrying clipboards and donning reflective vests a regular sight, they said\u2026. [FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker] told Reuters that Boeing has a long journey to achieve its targeted safety culture. \u2018, as you would expect, but they\u2019re frank about the fact that they\u2019ve got a long way to go,\u2019 he said\u2026.. Seattle-area supplier Rosemary Brester hoped she and her husband would be able to get their metal aircraft components processed more quickly following the end of the strike, but delays persist\u2026 \u2018Until I see some real stability, I\u2019m not going to hire anybody,\u2019 Brester said.\u201d \u2022 The plant wasn\u2019t <em>clean<\/em>? The mind reels. When I bought printing, I always made sure to visit the candidates. Beer bottles under the tables were a strong no. And the press should <em>always<\/em> be running (\u201ctime is money\u201d). If \u201ccleaner\u201d means what I think it means, it sounds like if Boeing were a printer, I would have gone elsewhere. And not a monopoly player, of course. Can any readers confirm?<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cA Closer Look at Boeing\u2019s Options Market Dynamics\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.benzinga.com\/insights\/options\/24\/12\/42462767\/a-closer-look-at-boeings-options-market-dynamics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Benzinga<\/a>]. \u201cHigh-rolling investors have positioned themselves bullish on Boeing, and it\u2019s important for retail traders to take note. This activity came to our attention today through Benzinga\u2019s tracking of publicly available options data. The identities of these investors are uncertain, but such a significant move in BA often signals that someone has privileged information. Today, Benzinga\u2019s options scanner spotted 10 options trades for Boeing. This is not a typical pattern. The sentiment among these major traders is split, with 60% bullish and 40% bearish. Among all the options we identified, there was one put, amounting to $227,500, and 9 calls, totaling $410,750.\u201d \u2022 I don\u2019t play the ponies, but if you do\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing\u2019s India exports remain high, climbing over $1.25 billion\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindubusinessline.com\/economy\/logistics\/boeing-india-exports-remain-high-climbing-over-125-bn\/article68976756.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BusinessLine<\/a>]. \u201cGlobal growth of civil aviation, along with high domestic demand, has led aerospace major Boeing to remain the largest exporter of aircraft parts and software from India. Speaking exclusively to businessline, Boeing India and South Asia President Salil Gupte cited that the aerospace major\u2019s annual sourcing from India has grown significantly over the past decade, rising from $250 million to over $1.25 billion annually. \u2018This marks a substantial increase, driven by the expansion of the supplier network and advancements in manufacturing capabilities,\u2019 Gupte told businessline. \u201cIt is also fair to say that this growth is truly remarkable considering that the production of the aeroplanes themselves on the civil side has been much lower than before the pandemic.’\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cOpinion: Why Embraer Might Be Ready To Take On Airbus And Boeing\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/aviationweek.com\/aerospace\/manufacturing-supply-chain\/opinion-why-embraer-might-be-ready-take-airbus-boeing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Aviation Week<\/a>]. \u201cMuch focus has been on China\u2019s Comac. Conventional wisdom holds that China\u2019s rapid advances in military propulsion and space eventually will extend to commercial aviation\u2026. I\u2019m not so sure. In the near term, Comac does not need to be a global player for its new C919 narrowbody to succeed. China\u2019s domestic market is big enough to soak up most of Comac\u2019s limited production capacity. Developing a truly competitive international product will require certification in the West and the creation of a global maintenance and support network, no small tasks. The ongoing decoupling of the Chinese and Western supply chains poses yet another challenge. The company to keep an eye on in 2025 is Embraer, the feisty Brazilian manufacturer that was almost bought by Boeing and then jilted at the altar. With excellent engineers and visionary leaders, Embraer has built world-class airplanes for decades while protecting the intellectual property of its suppliers. It is certainly capable of upgauging to a bigger airplane that could challenge the duopoly. Aviation Week has learned that multiple large airlines in the U.S. and Europe have told Embraer they will collectively order hundreds of airplanes if a new program is launched.\u201d Hoo boy. But: \u201cA key question, of course, is whether Embraer can play in the big leagues. It has 1\/20th the revenue of Boeing and thus would need a financial partner with billions of dollars to develop a new product. Talk has focused on investors from the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia. Another challenge is that Embraer\u2019s business model relies heavily on outsourcing major components.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cGM to retreat from robotaxi operations once championed by CEO Mary Barra\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/industry\/auto\/gm-to-retreat-from-robotaxi-operations-once-championed-by-ceo-mary-barra-124121101403_1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Business Standard<\/a>]. \u201cWith the decision to fold Cruise into the parent company, GM is giving up on hopes of transforming itself into a multi-platform technology company that targeted bringing in $50 billion in revenue from robotaxi fares and subscriptions by 2030. The carmaker had hoped to double its revenue by 2030 on the twin pillars of autonomy and electric vehicles. That goal, which GM has called \u201caspirational,\u201d also now looks remote without Cruise as a new business and after GM scaled-back its EV production goals.\u201d \u2022 Ah, \u201caspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 51 Neutral (previous close: 48 Neutral) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 56 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Dec 11 at 1:27:47 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Christmas Pre-Game Festivities<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemonic Christmas Display at State House Destroyed\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/nhjournal.com\/demonic-christmas-display-at-state-house-destroyed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NH Journal<\/a>]. \u201cForget St. Nick; someone in Concord may end up on Satan\u2019s naughty list after The Satanic Temple\u2019s Baphomet statue was destroyed Monday night in an act of yuletide mayhem. Concord Deputy Police Chief John Thomas told NHJournal that while the investigation into the vandalism is active and ongoing, he can rule out at least one possible suspect. \u2018Santa wouldn\u2019t do this,\u2019 Thomas said. \u2018Santa loves everybody.\u2019 The statue of the hooded demon was found broken in half around 7 p.m. Monday night, a few hours after the marble slab showing The Satanic Temple\u2019s seven principles was cracked. State Rep. Ellen Read (D-Newmarket), who helped organize The Satanic Temple\u2019s display, was spotted gathering up the broken shards of the goat-headed figure Tuesday morning after getting a call about the destruction. She\u2019s not sure if members of The Satanic Temple plan to put their monster mannequin back together.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"zeitgeist\"\/><strong>Zeitgeist Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dry, very dry:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.2300613496933\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.312883435583\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As a veteran, which company should I start?<\/p>\n<p>A podcast called “WARFIGHTER MINDSET” where some former water purification specialist interviews other vetbros about “the warrior lifestyle” while hawking their own line of “tactical” beard oil<\/p>\n<p>Yet another veteran-owned coffee company\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Warlizard (@War_Lizard) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/War_Lizard\/status\/1866236982558392470\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">December 9, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTactical beard oil.\u201d The responses are great.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArgument escalates when man visits neighbor with sword and firebomb, Florida cops say\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsobserver.com\/news\/nation-world\/national\/article296977379.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">News & Observer<\/a>]. I\u2019ll say! \u201cWhen interviewed, the 36-year-old man confirmed using a bottle with some gasoline in it and brandishing a sword \u2018to make a point,\u2019 police said. The suspect said \u2018he went to the residence to send a message regarding disrespect to a family member,\u2019 police said. Details of that incident were not released.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Groves of Academe<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"ai\"\/>\u201cUCLA\u2019s new AI-designed literature course has the worst-looking textbook cover I\u2019ve ever seen\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/uclas-new-ai-designed-literature-course-has-the-worst-looking-textbook-cover-ive-ever-seen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Literary Hub<\/a>]. \u201cUCLA announced the other day that \u2018Comp Lit 2BW will be the first course in the UCLA College Division of Humanities to be built around the Kudu artificial intelligence platform. The textbook: AI-generated. Class assignments: AI-generated. Teaching assistants\u2019 resources: AI-generated.\u2019 The professor\u2019s explanation of why any of this is good doesn\u2019t make any sense to me \u2014 she seems to be describing standard teaching practices like discussing texts and putting together a syllabus, but now AI is involved. Which to me always feels like a looming labor issue \u2014 I wouldn\u2019t be shocked to see this software cited as justification to fire professors or TAs, or reduce their pay.\u201d <em>Plus \u00e7a change<\/em>\u2026. More \u201cBut what really got me fuming was the horrible, horrible textbook cover that was extruded for this course.\u201d \u2022 Here it is:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ucla-bad-ai-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"678\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ucla-bad-ai-cover.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ucla-bad-ai-cover-265x300.jpg 265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Concluding: \u201cThis cover sucks, it\u2019s so bad. Have some dignity people, we don\u2019t have to live like this.\u201d \u2022 UCLA administrators: \u201cYes, you do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Poetry Nook<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Villanelle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">villanelle<\/a> (?):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/buyers_remorse.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"780\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/buyers_remorse.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/buyers_remorse-192x300.png 192w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe villanelle has been noted as a form that frequently treats the subject of obsessions, and one which appeals to outsiders; its defining feature of repetition prevents it from having a conventional tone.\u201d Maybe the poet is an outsider <em>now<\/em>\u2026. <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeattle road sign\u2019s message raises questions after CEO\u2019s shooting\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/komonews.com\/news\/local\/seattle-road-signs-disturbing-message-sparks-investigation-amid-ceo-shooting-aftermath-highway-99-one-less-ceo-many-more-to-go-lake-union-wsdot-sdot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">KOMO<\/a> (PI)]. \u201cIt is not yet known who was responsible for programming the sign or which agency operates it \u2014 Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) \u2014 or a private company.\u201d \u2022 Wowsers:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/one_less.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283785\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/one_less.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/one_less-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Those swing voters are getting really antsy\u2026. <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNearly half of US teens are online \u2018constantly,\u2019 Pew report finds\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/teenagers-social-media-internet-pew-survey-02defc5b53dc4216da1efa63c82a30af\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cNearly half of American teenagers say they are online \u201cconstantly\u201d despite concerns about the effects of social media and smartphones on their mental health, according to a new report published Thursday by the Pew Research Center. As in past years, YouTube was the single most popular platform teenagers used \u2014 90% said they watched videos on the site, down slightly from 95% in 2022. Nearly three-quarters said they visit YouTube every day. There was a slight downward trend in several popular apps teens used. For instance, 63% of teens said they used TikTok, down from 67% and Snapchat slipped to 55% from 59%. \u2026 X saw the biggest decline among teenage users. Only 17% of teenagers said they use X, down from 23% in 2022, the year Elon Musk bought the platform. Reddit held steady at 14%. About 6% of teenagers said they use Threads, Meta\u2019s answer to X that launched in 2023.\u201d \u2022 Probably good news, actually, on Musk\u2019s hellsite (as its users have affectionately dubbed it).<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact information for plants<\/strong>: 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) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-10-2024.html\">here<\/a>. From AM:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/roger_williams.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/roger_williams.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/roger_williams-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>AM writes: \u201cMy favorite evergreen tree with a half moon shining between the branches on the left \u2013 Roger Williams Park.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"donate\"\/><strong>Readers<\/strong>: Water Cooler is a standalone entity <em>not<\/em> covered by the annual NC fundraiser. Material here is Lambert\u2019s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. If you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! <em>Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I\u2019m on the right track with coverage<\/em>. When I get no donations for three or four days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:<\/p>\n<p>Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-226891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"606\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png 606w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!<\/p>\n<div class=\"printfriendly pf-alignleft\"><a href=\"#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF & Email\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow:none; padding:0; margin:0\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.printfriendly.com\/buttons\/print-button-gray.png\" alt=\"Print Friendly, PDF & Email\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .entry-content --><\/p>\n<footer class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\tThis entry was posted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/guest-post\" rel=\"category tag\">Guest Post<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/water-cooler\" rel=\"category tag\">Water Cooler<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-12-2024.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2024-12-12T14:00:16-05:00\">December 12, 2024<\/time><\/a><span class=\"by-author\"> by <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/author\/lambert-strether\" title=\"View all posts by Lambert Strether\" rel=\"author\">Lambert Strether<\/a><\/span><\/span>.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info\" wp_automatic_readability=\"20.197005056398\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-avatar --><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-description\" wp_automatic_readability=\"35.467911318553\">\n<h2>About Lambert Strether<\/h2>\n<p>Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (\u201cBecause markets\u201d). I don\u2019t much care about the \u201cism\u201d that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don\u2019t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. <br \/>\n <br \/>\nTo me, the key issue \u2014 and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me \u2014 is the tens of thousands of excess \u201cdeaths from despair,\u201d as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics \u2014 even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton\u2019s wars created \u2014 bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow \u2014 currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press \u2014 a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let\u2019s call such voices \u201cthe left.\u201d Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn\u2019t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I\u2019ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-link\t-->\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-description -->\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-info --><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- .entry-meta --><br \/>\n\t<!-- #post --><\/p>\n<nav class=\"nav-single\">\n<h3 class=\"assistive-text\">Post navigation<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-previous list-posts-older\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/warren-bill-would-stop-companies-from-placing-shareholder-paydays-over-worker-rights.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> Warren Bill Would Stop Companies From Placing Shareholder Paydays Over Worker Rights<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-next list-posts-newer\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/nav>\n<p><!-- .nav-single --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #comments .comments-area --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #content --><br \/>\n<!-- #primary --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #secondary --><\/p>\n<footer id=\"colophon\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- .site-info --><br \/>\n\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- #colophon --><br \/>\n\t\t<!-- #main.wrapper --><br \/>\n<!-- #page --><br \/>\n<!-- .mobile-menu-wrap --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Blog Reader Pooling - removed 09\/16\/2015 by M. 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Starts slowly, but becomes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-spotlight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}