\n<\/p>\n
By Lambert Strether.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nBird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, Mewnans Lake SF\u2013East Trail (Pithlachocco Trail), Alachua, Florida, United States. I wish that Macaulay Library listed sounds imitated with the mimidae. I thought this bird was a little dull at first, then it got rolling\u2026. <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#trump\">A typical day in the Trump White House, per the NY Post.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#doge\">Elon on political economy (with handy diagram)<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#cfpb\">Stoller on Trump gutting the CFPB<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#flu\">The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the Rise of Italian Fascism<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/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>Trump Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"19.925742574257\">\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>\u201cInside Trump\u2019s hectic day-to-day schedule \u2013 with prez revealing the phrase that keeps going through his mind when he first wakes up\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/02\/08\/us-news\/inside-trumps-hectic-day-to-day-schedule-as-prez-begins-to-transform-federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Post<\/a>]. \u201cWhen he wakes up, the first thing that goes through his mind, he says, is \u2018business. Everything\u2019s business.’\u201d \u2022 Oh, and DOGE now has 45 employees. I have to read that in some piece of hagiography. This is really worth reading in full; and I am sure that the contrast to the Biden White House is very great.<\/p>\n<p>Assuming I can believe Chris Murphy, not a good look for Little Marco:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.3389830508475\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.347457627119\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is pure gaslighting. There is no working waiver process. Marco can pretend the the real Secretary of State, Elon Musk, didn’t shut down USAID, but he did.<\/p>\n<p>1\/ My national security team looked into the functionally nonexistent “wavier process” and here’s what they found: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wCCF5nacDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/wCCF5nacDF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chris Murphy \ud83d\udfe7 (@ChrisMurphyCT) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChrisMurphyCT\/status\/1887889498081571109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The sad thing is that when I first heard this clip, I thought Rubio sounded articulate and impressive. Such a disappointment. Perhaps matters will improve later. NOTE I do like Murphy\u2019s spectacular typo: \u201cthe wavier process\u201d (rather like <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/5NjxhOgfWeQ?si=8oc31BlBfdAy25vF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wavy Gravy<\/a>). A lot of processes these days seem \u201cwavier.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"105.44936325045\">\n<p>Museum-grade snark:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.9975609756098\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.7073170731707\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Venezia Maestro e il doge<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1VCd7uxL7a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/1VCd7uxL7a<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Presentation of the Ring to the Doge <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0WGm4I4fC3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/0WGm4I4fC3<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kj41PxGqUI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/kj41PxGqUI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michele \u269c\ufe0f Rousseau \ud83e\udd8b (@MicheleRoussea7) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MicheleRoussea7\/status\/1886834219349147802\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"doge\"\/>Elon\u2019s views on political economy:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.1267605633803\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6056338028169\">\n<p lang=\"art\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83c\udfaf <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YsCX5Tz5nl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/YsCX5Tz5nl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1887149147574128666\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"roth\"\/>\u201cBillionaire Dipshit And His Strike Team Of Greasy Beavises Are Stripping The Wires From The Federal Government\u201d [David Roth, <a href=\"https:\/\/defector.com\/billionaire-dipshit-and-his-strike-team-of-greasy-beavises-are-stripping-the-wires-from-the-federal-government\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Defector<\/a>]. This is Bageant- or Thompson-level snark, here, and how well deserved: <\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"34\">\n<p>Moment by moment, Musk and his strike force of greasy Beavisoid wreckers are rats in the walls, gnawing hideously through the wiring in search of richer fare. There is public money in there somewhere, and they believe it is theirs by right. Musk and his super-class of tech freaks want to get fat on it, to rescue that money from public uses that they view as inherently inefficient and unjust\u2014spending that is \u201cwaste, fraud, and abuse\u201d because of the ends to which it is deployed, which are public, and because of who is deploying it, which is not them. It is important to them, as a matter of efficiency and justice, that more of that money end up with them. In more deserving hands, that public wealth will be protected from the grasping public, and can be put to the uses this cohort prefers: building bigger homes behind bigger walls, booking The Chainsmokers to play 45-minute sets at the absolute worst parties in human history, hiring Famously Combative Attorneys and buying political suction, discreetly settling their endless skein of sexual harassment lawsuits. Rich person things. Real stuff.<\/p>\n<p>The reflexive belief that all public stuff is fundamentally less valid and less real for being public\u2014that the people doing public work are lazy, weak, and mediocre, and that the work they do is inherently inefficient and wasteful\u2014is the downstream efflorescence of the toxic reactionary sludge that has been getting dumped into the water table for generations now; it is old, dumb, and very boring.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Fun stuff at the Defector (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Defector_Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">history of the venue<\/a>). I went there for Superbowl coverage, but, like the old Deadspin, it\u2019s not \u201cjust\u201d sports.<\/p>\n<p>The responses to this tweet \u2014 those that aren\u2019t bots \u2014 are <em>not<\/em> above average:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.1339869281046\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"8.9542483660131\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If Elon was actually looking for fraud, he\u2019d be hiring forensic accountants\u2014not a bunch of programmers.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/acnewsitics\/status\/1888605553900782004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>UPDATE And meanwhile:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.4736842105263\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.5526315789474\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Update: DOGE members Luke Farritor and Gavin Kilger are no longer \u201cread only\u201d users at the CFPB. They are now listed as domain administrators in the bureau\u2019s system, meaning they can provide or revoke access as they see fit <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5dIJyyE87Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/5dIJyyE87Y<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Caleb Ecarma (@calebhecarma) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/calebhecarma\/status\/1889003216693498002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Whatever these \u201cgreasy Beavisoid wreckers\u201d are doing it\u2019s not an audit, because they don\u2019t have the qualifications for that.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump\u2019s new CFPB chief is being sued over DOGE\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/donald-trump-cfpb-russel-vought-elon-musk-doge-lawsuit-1851759157?utm_source=google-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Quartz<\/a>]. \u201cThe acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was hit with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/69624423\/1\/national-treasury-employees-union-v-vought\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">two<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/69624412\/1\/national-treasury-employees-union-v-vought\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">lawsuits<\/a> on Sunday after Russel Vought issued orders to freeze some of the consumer protection agency\u2019s work\u2026. The lawsuits, both filed by the National Treasury Employees Union, come after Vought on Saturday said the CFPB <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R48295\/2#:~:text=The%20Consumer%20Financial%20Protection%20Bureau%20(CFPB)%20was%20created%20in%20the,as%20requested%20by%20the%20CFPB.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">would not receive<\/a> its scheduled quarterly transfer of <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R48295\/2#:~:text=The%20Consumer%20Financial%20Protection%20Bureau%20(CFPB)%20was%20created%20in%20the,as%20requested%20by%20the%20CFPB.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">funding<\/a> from the Federal Reserve, instead relying on its remaining balance. He also closed the CFPB\u2019s headquarters to staff and ordered employees to stop virtually all their work and close any pending investigations, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/02\/08\/nx-s1-5290914\/russell-vought-cfpb-doge-access-musk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NPR reported<\/a>\u2026. The direction to stop work is \u2018unlawful,\u2019 the union argues. The other lawsuit asked a judge to block Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing employee information. At least three DOGE staffers have been added to the CFPB\u2019s staff as \u2018senior advisors,\u2019 the lawsuit states. The union said Vought instructed CFPB employees to give the DOGE team \u2018access to all non-classified CFPB systems,\u2019 which it argues could bring workers \u2018irreparable harm to their privacy interests\u2019 should their data be improperly accessed. Some union members are also concerned that the DOGE team may use their medical information to retaliate against them, according to the lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump administration orders 1,700 CFPB workers to stay home\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/gephardtdaily.com\/top-stories\/trump-administration-orders-1700-cfpb-workers-to-stay-home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">UPI<\/a>]. \u201d Workers at the federal government\u2019s consumer finance watchdog in Washington were told to stay home Monday after the acting director, newly installed by President Donald Trump, ordered the agency to halt its operations. Around 1,700 staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received an email Sunday from Chief Operating Officer Adam Martinez informing them that the head office would be closed Monday through Friday, according to reports by The Washington Post, USA Today and CNBC\u2026. CNBC, quoting a source with knowledge of the agency, said only a few hundreds of the roles at CFPB were mandated by law and that management had informed employees that a buyout offer made to other federal employees was available to them, on equivalent terms.\u201d Such as they are. This after clawing back $20 billion from <a href=\"https:\/\/fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com\/p\/synapse-investor-marc-andreessen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">thieving weasels like Andreesen<\/a>. Why, the idea.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"cfpb\"\/>\u201cMonopoly Round-Up: On Ending the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau\u201d (excerpt) [Matt Stoller, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebignewsletter.com\/p\/monopoly-round-up-on-ending-the-consumer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BIG<\/a>]. Extremely important on FinTech vs. the banks, and worth reading in full. \u201cLast week, Elon Musk and the new Trump Office of Management and Budget chief Russ Vought stopped all work at the commission, including enforcement of rules, litigation, as well as supervision and examination activity. They are planning to shutter the headquarters and presumably will be laying off most of the staff. By shuttering the CFPB, Trump is not just going back to a pre-financial crisis status quo, but to something actually weaker than that. .\u201d And: \u201cWe can now expect rampant fraud and cheating in banking and fintech, not just a scam here or there, but regular losses of life savings by people who followed the rules, illegal foreclosures, random seizures of the working capital of small businesses, abuse by debt collectors, and routine deception by even respected financial firms.\u201d And: \u201cElon Musk\u2019s stated goal with X is to create an \u2018everything app,\u2019 which you would use to communicate, engage with social media, pay for things, hail cabs, shop, and so forth. All the big tech monopolists want to be the \u2018everything app.\u2019 The CFPB was proposing to treat these companies with payment systems as, well, payment systems, and subject them to the same supervisory treatment that banks have. Now that\u2019s out the window, so big tech firms have a competitive advantage over banks.\u201d But: \u201c[D]estroying the bureau strikes me as a long term strategic error for the banking sector and big tech. The banks were already losing to Silicon Valley, and now they are at a regulatory disadvantage to boot. More fundamentally, this shutdown breaks a basic deal. I worked in the House during the great financial crisis, and the arrangement was that the banks would accept some mild oversight via the CFPB, and in return they would get a multi-trillion dollar bailout and make excessive profits. I didn\u2019t like that deal and encouraged the member I worked for to vote against it, but it was forced on liberals by Barack Obama. (This deal was an intra-Democratic Party arrangement; conservative Republicans were in thrall to the banks and wanted nothing but foreclosures and bailouts. And they still do.) It was an egregiously terrible choice, one that liberals couldn\u2019t acknowledge because then they\u2019d have to admit a whole lot of uncomfortable truths, notably that Wall Street is a malevolent force, that Obama was a malevolent leader, and that the Dodd-Frank reform bill passed in the wake of the crisis, rather than ending bailouts, was a joke. But now they will be faced with the bracing truth, that .\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>Trump Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"21.688574317492\">\n<p>\u201cOpenAI Goes MAGA\u201d [Karen Hao, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/WCd88\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Atlantic<\/a>]. \u201cAltman has shown an uncanny ability throughout his career to get himself out of the toughest binds by leaning on his influential network, ingratiating himself with the powerful, and fundraising extraordinary amounts of capital. It was for these reasons that Altman successfully orchestrated his return to OpenAI as CEO in late 2023, after the board briefly ousted him. And it is why so many people have expressed alarm about his leadership in recent years. This week, he was at it again, standing next to Trump during the Stargate announcement in a symbol of solidarity and praising him later on X: \u201cwatching @potus more carefully recently has really changed my perspective on him \u2026 i\u2019m not going to agree with him on everything, but i think he will be incredible for the country in many ways!\u201d Although OpenAI has led the pack, many AI companies have worked over the past two years to influence policy and grow without government interference. Silicon Valley has always operated like this, and many other major tech CEOs took their place next to Trump this week. But the demands of generative AI are meaningfully different from, say, those of a traditional search engine or a social-media platform: Its development requires far more crucial physical infrastructure. Generative-AI models are of a size that necessitate the build-out of data centers at unprecedented scale. This, in turn, will give Silicon Valley outsize influence over the placement of power plants and even water lines across the country.\u201d \u2022 As contrasted with DeepSeek, as discussed in this interesting thread from Hao:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.2777777777778\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.407407407407\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wait a minute. You mean to say that we don\u2019t need to blanket the earth with data centers and coal & gas plants to maybe arrive at a future where we can wave a magical AGI wand to make all of the consequences of that go away?<\/p>\n<p>Yes. This is a false trade off. Let that sink in. 16\/<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Karen Hao (@_KarenHao) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_KarenHao\/status\/1883878020509044939\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>2024 Post Mortem<\/p>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"democrats\"\/>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12.944325481799\">\n<p>\u201cTo watch Musk, Senate Democrats start whistleblower platform for workers\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/Fp3Ye\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WaPo<\/a>]. \u201cSenate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York), have set up a whistleblower complaint portal for federal workers to submit any reports of what they see as unlawful activities in their respective agencies in response to Elon Musk and his group\u2019s efforts to downsize the federal government\u2026. In the latest efforts, Democrats are urging federal workers to resist their advances. The new whistleblower portal is their latest effort to oppose Trump\u2019s actions as they look to form a cohesive message against the administration\u2026. Democrats emphasized the role of the Whistleblower Protection Act in prohibiting retaliation against federal employees who disclose evidence of possible wrongdoing. They also vowed to investigate the Trump administration\u2019s actions through oversight requests, hearings and inquiries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"20.950298210736\">\n<p><a name=\"flu\"\/>\u201cThe 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the Rise of Italian Fascism: A Cross-City Quantitative and Historical Text Qualitative Analysis\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC8802602\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">American Journal of Public Health<\/a>]. From the Abstract: \u201cWe tested the hypothesis that deaths from the 1918 influenza pandemic contributed to the rise of Fascism in Italy. To provide a \u201cthicker\u201d interpretation of these patterns, we applied historical text mining to the newspaper Il Popolo d\u2019Italia (Mussolini\u2019s newspaper). Our observations were consistent with evidence from other contexts that worsening mortality rates can fuel radical politics. Unequal impacts of pandemics may contribute to political polarization. \u201d \u2022 Interesting\u2026. <\/p>\n<p>Hmm:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.4772117962466\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.640750670241\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I think more accurately, what\u2019s going on is (clearly) not a populist insurgency against professional elites, but a civil war between the left (academia\/media\/NGO) and right (tech) flanks of the professional class: what Gouldner labeled the \u201cintellectuals\u201d vs the \u201cintelligentsia.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LRZ2NDE8OB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/LRZ2NDE8OB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tyler Austin Harper (@Tyler_A_Harper) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tyler_A_Harper\/status\/1888282789956493532\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not sure I agree. The 2024 result seems to me to be \u2014 for the majority, certainly for the most dynamic factions representing the majority \u2014 a thorough-going rejection of governance in today\u2019s America <em>as such<\/em>, and hence, a rejection of America\u2019s governing class, the PMC, <em>as such<\/em>. I think the \u201ctech wing\u201d are tolerated as instruments of revenge, and no more. Higher up, in the squillionaire class, divisions may be different.<\/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:\/\/skylab.cdph.ca.gov\/calwws\/\" 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, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p>Science Is Popping<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"38.53459972863\">\n<p>\u201cFour lessons COVID taught us about the immune system\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/dOAtQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nature<\/a>]. \u201c[S]cientists are still sifting through the data to garner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-022-00214-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">a better understanding of how the immune system works<\/a>. Here are four lessons they\u2019ve learnt so far. [(1)] <strong>Antibodies aren\u2019t everything<\/strong>\u2026. As the pandemic went on, however, it became clear that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-021-00367-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">T cells were a crucial arm of the immune response<\/a> to SARS-CoV-2 and to COVID-19 vaccines, says Alessandro Sette, also an immunologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 waned in the months after vaccination, but vaccinated people continued to make T cells that recognized the virus\u2026. [(2)] <strong>Early-warning immune alarm reaches the whole body<\/strong>\u2026 Innate immune responses are not as specific as antibodies and T cells. Cells can unleash these responses when they detect foreign molecules, such as the RNA genome of SARS-CoV-2\u2026 Before the pandemic, researchers thought that this warning cry did not travel far beyond the site of infection. But when tenOever and his colleagues analysed samples from hamsters and from autopsies of people who had previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2, they found signs of interferon responses throughout the body, even in organs far away from infected cells3. Later, the team learnt that this is not limited to SARS-CoV-2: the influenza virus also elicits a widespread interferon response in hamsters. tenOever hypothesizes that these global antiviral defences bolster protection in case the infection travels rapidly through the body\u2026. [(3)] <strong>The nose knows<\/strong>. The pandemic underscored the importance of understanding immune responses in specific tissues, and especially in the place where infection often starts: the nose.<\/p>\n<p>The moist lining of the nose is a unique immune environment that contains a different blend of antibodies and immune cells to that found in the blood. As a result, injected vaccines, which generate antibodies in the bloodstream, might not be ideal for blocking infection in the nose. \u2018One of the lessons from the pandemic is location, location, location,\u2019 says Crotty. That specificity helps to account for the uneven protection conferred by COVID-19 vaccines: they are a powerful shield against serious illness, which is caused by viral infiltration of the lungs, but offer only moderate protection against initial infection\u2026. [(4)] <strong>Hints at the cause of post-viral illness<\/strong>. Not long after the pandemic began, some people began reporting symptoms that lasted for months after infection. This phenomenon, called long COVID, has proved difficult to study\u2026. How best to treat long COVID is just one of many unanswered mysteries in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. \u2018Immunologists around the world still have so many questions,\u2019 says Crotty. \u2018\u2018\u201d \u2022 That\u2019s nice. Still, interesting article, well worth a read.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Social Norming<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Survivorship bias:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"1044\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286983\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias-144x300.png 144w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias-490x1024.png 490w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: Four tries to load CDC\u2019s wasterwater page, and nada. Maybe I\u2019ll have better luck tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.901162790698\">\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> January 27<\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1-300x180.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x241.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.68\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> 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> February 1<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> 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> February 1 <\/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\/2025\/01\/no_covid-cdc-variants-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/no_covid-cdc-variants-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/no_covid-cdc-variants-natl-300x230.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286688\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-300x180.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=\"3.8961038961039\">\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 February 6:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 7:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286973\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1-300x290.png 300w\" 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=\"2.7341772151899\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> February 10:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> February 8:<\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286693\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-300x169.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286976\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh.png 1434w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1024x657.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-768x493.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-624x400.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1434px) 100vw, 1434px\"\/><\/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=\"3.5789473684211\">\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> January 20:<\/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> January 20 <\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-states.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286974\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-states.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-states-300x169.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286975\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-300x247.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=\"3.76\">\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> January 25:<\/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> January 25:<\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x202.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<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x186.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\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) Down, nothing new at major hubs.<\/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) A little uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped, but no exponential growth either, Odd.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.<\/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>There are no official statistics of interest today.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cTrump vows to add tariffs to aluminum and steel; Airbus, Boeing, suppliers will be impacted\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/leehamnews.com\/2025\/02\/10\/trump-vows-to-add-tariffs-to-aluminum-and-steel-airbus-boeing-suppliers-will-be-impacted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Leeham News and Analysis<\/a>]. \u201cPresident Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on imported aluminum and steel this week, including from the USA\u2019s largest supplying countries: Canada and Mexico\u2026. Boeing produced about 300 aluminum aircraft last year, each consuming about 30 tons in production, or 9,000 tons for 2024. For 2025, LNA estimates Boeing will produce 500 aluminum aircraft. At 30 tons per aircraft, this is 15,000 tons of high-grade aluminum alloys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing signals more orders needed before setting up assembly line in India\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/boeing-signals-more-orders-needed-before-setting-up-assembly-line-india-2025-02-10\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing signalled on Monday it would need more orders from India before it considers setting up a final civil aircraft assembly line there, potentially throwing cold water on the government\u2019s hopes of the U.S. planemaker assembling commercial jets in the country. \u2018The business case in order to have final assembly in any region has to be far larger than what the Indian market is. It requires many more airplanes than are being bought in India today,\u2019 Boeing India and South Asia president Salil Gupte told Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ll have to see how it evolves as the markets in India and around India go. In the meantime, it is all about building stepwise capability to get up to that point,\u2019 Gupte said in an interview on the sidelines of the Aero India show in the city of Bengaluru.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cHere\u2019s Something You Might Have Missed About Boeing\u2019s Big Q4 Loss\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fool.com\/investing\/2025\/02\/10\/heres-something-you-might-have-missed-about-boeing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Motley Fool<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing blamed the bulk of the quarter\u2019s (and the year\u2019s) losses on \u201cpreviously announced impacts of the IAM work stoppage and agreement,\u201d as well as on \u201ccosts associated with workforce reductions\u201d that were in part brought on by the IAM strike. Now, the good news is that, with the signing of a new labor contract, this strike is now behind Boeing. But the bad news is that not all of Boeing\u2019s losses were due to labor unrest, which is largely outside of Boeing\u2019s control. Some were directly caused by poor business decisions on Boeing\u2019s part. Take the company\u2019s vaunted Boeing Defense, Space & Security business, or BDS. Boeing admitted that \u201ccharges for certain defense programs\u201d contributed to the losses it incurred in both the quarter and the year. And indeed, while the strike cost Boeing\u2019s Commercial Airplanes division $2.1 billion in losses last quarter, BDS suffered even more losses \u2014 $2.3 billion. BDS took charges for the company\u2019s KC-46A refueling tanker program and for its T-7A training jet program, two programs where Boeing may have underbid to win work from the Pentagon \u2014 and is now paying the price in the form of \u2018fixed price development cost pressures\u2019 causing losses. Boeing also took charges on its VC-25B \u2018Air Force One\u2019 program, and on its MQ-25 Stingray drones program as well. And Boeing took charges on its Commercial Crew program, which refers to Boeing\u2019s troubled Starliner space capsule that just can\u2019t seem to reach the International Space Station without glitching one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cTurns Out AI Is More Empathetic Than Allstate\u2019s Insurance Reps\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/e3Owh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. \u2022 Showing that AIs don\u2019t, at bottom, know how vicious and brutal the health insurance industry is. If AGI ever pans out, the obvious first use cases for a sentient slave without empathy are torture and war crimes, which is where Silicon Valley has been headed for some time in any case. <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 42 Fear (previous close: 41 Fear) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 40 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 7 at 1:51:37 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes down one on Food Supply. \u201cThe lack of activity has downgraded this category\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 180. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 This is a tough crowd. Surely Trump\u2019s first month brought the Rapture closer?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bird flu symptoms?!<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.0491071428571\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3571428571429\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Head of a Man <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/j9qHCjHmXM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/j9qHCjHmXM<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pDIQIEMkJ7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/pDIQIEMkJ7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 L. S. Lowry (@lowryartist) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lowryartist\/status\/1888198611449549295\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Surely not. <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarth\u2019s inner core may have changed shape, say scientists\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c4gx37ky3gyo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BBC<\/a>]. \u201cThe inner core of Earth may have changed shape in the past 20 years, according to a group of scientists. The inner core is usually thought to be shaped like a ball, but its edges may actually have deformed by 100m or more in height in places, according to Prof John Vidale who led the research\u2026. It is possible that the changes are connected to changes in Earth\u2019s magnetic field. \u2018The magnetic field has had jerks at various times in the past few decades, and we\u2019d like to know if that is related to what we\u2019re seeing at the inner core boundary,\u2019 he said. Prof Vidale urged caution about hyping the findings into ideas that the core is going to stop rotating any time soon.\u201d \u2022 Oh. <\/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\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-5-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From EM:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greenhouse.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greenhouse.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greenhouse-225x300.jpeg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>EM writes: \u201cHow we doing? I\u2019m after getting my hands on a greenhouse with the caveat that I don\u2019t grow weed. This is going to be a major operation and I will keep you posted. I think I could be the most gifted gardener of my generation potentially\/hopefully.\u201d Ambition! What a great project!<\/p>\n<p>Tools:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tools.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286968\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tools.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tools-300x225.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/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<\/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\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-10-2025.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether. Bird Song of the Day Brown Thrasher, Mewnans Lake SF\u2013East Trail (Pithlachocco Trail), Alachua, Florida, United States. I wish that Macaulay Library<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90842,"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-90841","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\/90841","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=90841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Bird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, Mewnans Lake SF\u2013East Trail (Pithlachocco Trail), Alachua, Florida, United States. I wish that Macaulay Library listed sounds imitated with the mimidae. I thought this bird was a little dull at first, then it got rolling\u2026. <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#trump\">A typical day in the Trump White House, per the NY Post.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#doge\">Elon on political economy (with handy diagram)<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#cfpb\">Stoller on Trump gutting the CFPB<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#flu\">The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the Rise of Italian Fascism<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/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>Trump Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"19.925742574257\">\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>\u201cInside Trump\u2019s hectic day-to-day schedule \u2013 with prez revealing the phrase that keeps going through his mind when he first wakes up\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/02\/08\/us-news\/inside-trumps-hectic-day-to-day-schedule-as-prez-begins-to-transform-federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Post<\/a>]. \u201cWhen he wakes up, the first thing that goes through his mind, he says, is \u2018business. Everything\u2019s business.’\u201d \u2022 Oh, and DOGE now has 45 employees. I have to read that in some piece of hagiography. This is really worth reading in full; and I am sure that the contrast to the Biden White House is very great.<\/p>\n<p>Assuming I can believe Chris Murphy, not a good look for Little Marco:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.3389830508475\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.347457627119\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is pure gaslighting. There is no working waiver process. Marco can pretend the the real Secretary of State, Elon Musk, didn’t shut down USAID, but he did.<\/p>\n<p>1\/ My national security team looked into the functionally nonexistent “wavier process” and here’s what they found: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wCCF5nacDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/wCCF5nacDF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chris Murphy \ud83d\udfe7 (@ChrisMurphyCT) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChrisMurphyCT\/status\/1887889498081571109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The sad thing is that when I first heard this clip, I thought Rubio sounded articulate and impressive. Such a disappointment. Perhaps matters will improve later. NOTE I do like Murphy\u2019s spectacular typo: \u201cthe wavier process\u201d (rather like <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/5NjxhOgfWeQ?si=8oc31BlBfdAy25vF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wavy Gravy<\/a>). A lot of processes these days seem \u201cwavier.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"105.44936325045\">\n<p>Museum-grade snark:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.9975609756098\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.7073170731707\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Venezia Maestro e il doge<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1VCd7uxL7a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/1VCd7uxL7a<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Presentation of the Ring to the Doge <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0WGm4I4fC3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/0WGm4I4fC3<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kj41PxGqUI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/kj41PxGqUI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michele \u269c\ufe0f Rousseau \ud83e\udd8b (@MicheleRoussea7) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MicheleRoussea7\/status\/1886834219349147802\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"doge\"\/>Elon\u2019s views on political economy:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.1267605633803\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6056338028169\">\n<p lang=\"art\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83c\udfaf <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YsCX5Tz5nl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/YsCX5Tz5nl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1887149147574128666\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"roth\"\/>\u201cBillionaire Dipshit And His Strike Team Of Greasy Beavises Are Stripping The Wires From The Federal Government\u201d [David Roth, <a href=\"https:\/\/defector.com\/billionaire-dipshit-and-his-strike-team-of-greasy-beavises-are-stripping-the-wires-from-the-federal-government\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Defector<\/a>]. This is Bageant- or Thompson-level snark, here, and how well deserved: <\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"34\">\n<p>Moment by moment, Musk and his strike force of greasy Beavisoid wreckers are rats in the walls, gnawing hideously through the wiring in search of richer fare. There is public money in there somewhere, and they believe it is theirs by right. Musk and his super-class of tech freaks want to get fat on it, to rescue that money from public uses that they view as inherently inefficient and unjust\u2014spending that is \u201cwaste, fraud, and abuse\u201d because of the ends to which it is deployed, which are public, and because of who is deploying it, which is not them. It is important to them, as a matter of efficiency and justice, that more of that money end up with them. In more deserving hands, that public wealth will be protected from the grasping public, and can be put to the uses this cohort prefers: building bigger homes behind bigger walls, booking The Chainsmokers to play 45-minute sets at the absolute worst parties in human history, hiring Famously Combative Attorneys and buying political suction, discreetly settling their endless skein of sexual harassment lawsuits. Rich person things. Real stuff.<\/p>\n<p>The reflexive belief that all public stuff is fundamentally less valid and less real for being public\u2014that the people doing public work are lazy, weak, and mediocre, and that the work they do is inherently inefficient and wasteful\u2014is the downstream efflorescence of the toxic reactionary sludge that has been getting dumped into the water table for generations now; it is old, dumb, and very boring.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Fun stuff at the Defector (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Defector_Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">history of the venue<\/a>). I went there for Superbowl coverage, but, like the old Deadspin, it\u2019s not \u201cjust\u201d sports.<\/p>\n<p>The responses to this tweet \u2014 those that aren\u2019t bots \u2014 are <em>not<\/em> above average:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.1339869281046\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"8.9542483660131\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If Elon was actually looking for fraud, he\u2019d be hiring forensic accountants\u2014not a bunch of programmers.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/acnewsitics\/status\/1888605553900782004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>UPDATE And meanwhile:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.4736842105263\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.5526315789474\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Update: DOGE members Luke Farritor and Gavin Kilger are no longer \u201cread only\u201d users at the CFPB. They are now listed as domain administrators in the bureau\u2019s system, meaning they can provide or revoke access as they see fit <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5dIJyyE87Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/5dIJyyE87Y<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Caleb Ecarma (@calebhecarma) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/calebhecarma\/status\/1889003216693498002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Whatever these \u201cgreasy Beavisoid wreckers\u201d are doing it\u2019s not an audit, because they don\u2019t have the qualifications for that.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump\u2019s new CFPB chief is being sued over DOGE\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/donald-trump-cfpb-russel-vought-elon-musk-doge-lawsuit-1851759157?utm_source=google-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Quartz<\/a>]. \u201cThe acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was hit with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/69624423\/1\/national-treasury-employees-union-v-vought\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">two<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/69624412\/1\/national-treasury-employees-union-v-vought\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">lawsuits<\/a> on Sunday after Russel Vought issued orders to freeze some of the consumer protection agency\u2019s work\u2026. The lawsuits, both filed by the National Treasury Employees Union, come after Vought on Saturday said the CFPB <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R48295\/2#:~:text=The%20Consumer%20Financial%20Protection%20Bureau%20(CFPB)%20was%20created%20in%20the,as%20requested%20by%20the%20CFPB.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">would not receive<\/a> its scheduled quarterly transfer of <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R48295\/2#:~:text=The%20Consumer%20Financial%20Protection%20Bureau%20(CFPB)%20was%20created%20in%20the,as%20requested%20by%20the%20CFPB.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">funding<\/a> from the Federal Reserve, instead relying on its remaining balance. He also closed the CFPB\u2019s headquarters to staff and ordered employees to stop virtually all their work and close any pending investigations, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/02\/08\/nx-s1-5290914\/russell-vought-cfpb-doge-access-musk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NPR reported<\/a>\u2026. The direction to stop work is \u2018unlawful,\u2019 the union argues. The other lawsuit asked a judge to block Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing employee information. At least three DOGE staffers have been added to the CFPB\u2019s staff as \u2018senior advisors,\u2019 the lawsuit states. The union said Vought instructed CFPB employees to give the DOGE team \u2018access to all non-classified CFPB systems,\u2019 which it argues could bring workers \u2018irreparable harm to their privacy interests\u2019 should their data be improperly accessed. Some union members are also concerned that the DOGE team may use their medical information to retaliate against them, according to the lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump administration orders 1,700 CFPB workers to stay home\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/gephardtdaily.com\/top-stories\/trump-administration-orders-1700-cfpb-workers-to-stay-home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">UPI<\/a>]. \u201d Workers at the federal government\u2019s consumer finance watchdog in Washington were told to stay home Monday after the acting director, newly installed by President Donald Trump, ordered the agency to halt its operations. Around 1,700 staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received an email Sunday from Chief Operating Officer Adam Martinez informing them that the head office would be closed Monday through Friday, according to reports by The Washington Post, USA Today and CNBC\u2026. CNBC, quoting a source with knowledge of the agency, said only a few hundreds of the roles at CFPB were mandated by law and that management had informed employees that a buyout offer made to other federal employees was available to them, on equivalent terms.\u201d Such as they are. This after clawing back $20 billion from <a href=\"https:\/\/fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com\/p\/synapse-investor-marc-andreessen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">thieving weasels like Andreesen<\/a>. Why, the idea.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"cfpb\"\/>\u201cMonopoly Round-Up: On Ending the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau\u201d (excerpt) [Matt Stoller, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebignewsletter.com\/p\/monopoly-round-up-on-ending-the-consumer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BIG<\/a>]. Extremely important on FinTech vs. the banks, and worth reading in full. \u201cLast week, Elon Musk and the new Trump Office of Management and Budget chief Russ Vought stopped all work at the commission, including enforcement of rules, litigation, as well as supervision and examination activity. They are planning to shutter the headquarters and presumably will be laying off most of the staff. By shuttering the CFPB, Trump is not just going back to a pre-financial crisis status quo, but to something actually weaker than that. .\u201d And: \u201cWe can now expect rampant fraud and cheating in banking and fintech, not just a scam here or there, but regular losses of life savings by people who followed the rules, illegal foreclosures, random seizures of the working capital of small businesses, abuse by debt collectors, and routine deception by even respected financial firms.\u201d And: \u201cElon Musk\u2019s stated goal with X is to create an \u2018everything app,\u2019 which you would use to communicate, engage with social media, pay for things, hail cabs, shop, and so forth. All the big tech monopolists want to be the \u2018everything app.\u2019 The CFPB was proposing to treat these companies with payment systems as, well, payment systems, and subject them to the same supervisory treatment that banks have. Now that\u2019s out the window, so big tech firms have a competitive advantage over banks.\u201d But: \u201c[D]estroying the bureau strikes me as a long term strategic error for the banking sector and big tech. The banks were already losing to Silicon Valley, and now they are at a regulatory disadvantage to boot. More fundamentally, this shutdown breaks a basic deal. I worked in the House during the great financial crisis, and the arrangement was that the banks would accept some mild oversight via the CFPB, and in return they would get a multi-trillion dollar bailout and make excessive profits. I didn\u2019t like that deal and encouraged the member I worked for to vote against it, but it was forced on liberals by Barack Obama. (This deal was an intra-Democratic Party arrangement; conservative Republicans were in thrall to the banks and wanted nothing but foreclosures and bailouts. And they still do.) It was an egregiously terrible choice, one that liberals couldn\u2019t acknowledge because then they\u2019d have to admit a whole lot of uncomfortable truths, notably that Wall Street is a malevolent force, that Obama was a malevolent leader, and that the Dodd-Frank reform bill passed in the wake of the crisis, rather than ending bailouts, was a joke. But now they will be faced with the bracing truth, that .\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>Trump Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"21.688574317492\">\n<p>\u201cOpenAI Goes MAGA\u201d [Karen Hao, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/WCd88\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Atlantic<\/a>]. \u201cAltman has shown an uncanny ability throughout his career to get himself out of the toughest binds by leaning on his influential network, ingratiating himself with the powerful, and fundraising extraordinary amounts of capital. It was for these reasons that Altman successfully orchestrated his return to OpenAI as CEO in late 2023, after the board briefly ousted him. And it is why so many people have expressed alarm about his leadership in recent years. This week, he was at it again, standing next to Trump during the Stargate announcement in a symbol of solidarity and praising him later on X: \u201cwatching @potus more carefully recently has really changed my perspective on him \u2026 i\u2019m not going to agree with him on everything, but i think he will be incredible for the country in many ways!\u201d Although OpenAI has led the pack, many AI companies have worked over the past two years to influence policy and grow without government interference. Silicon Valley has always operated like this, and many other major tech CEOs took their place next to Trump this week. But the demands of generative AI are meaningfully different from, say, those of a traditional search engine or a social-media platform: Its development requires far more crucial physical infrastructure. Generative-AI models are of a size that necessitate the build-out of data centers at unprecedented scale. This, in turn, will give Silicon Valley outsize influence over the placement of power plants and even water lines across the country.\u201d \u2022 As contrasted with DeepSeek, as discussed in this interesting thread from Hao:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.2777777777778\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.407407407407\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wait a minute. You mean to say that we don\u2019t need to blanket the earth with data centers and coal & gas plants to maybe arrive at a future where we can wave a magical AGI wand to make all of the consequences of that go away?<\/p>\n<p>Yes. This is a false trade off. Let that sink in. 16\/<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Karen Hao (@_KarenHao) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_KarenHao\/status\/1883878020509044939\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>2024 Post Mortem<\/p>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"democrats\"\/>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12.944325481799\">\n<p>\u201cTo watch Musk, Senate Democrats start whistleblower platform for workers\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/Fp3Ye\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WaPo<\/a>]. \u201cSenate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York), have set up a whistleblower complaint portal for federal workers to submit any reports of what they see as unlawful activities in their respective agencies in response to Elon Musk and his group\u2019s efforts to downsize the federal government\u2026. In the latest efforts, Democrats are urging federal workers to resist their advances. The new whistleblower portal is their latest effort to oppose Trump\u2019s actions as they look to form a cohesive message against the administration\u2026. Democrats emphasized the role of the Whistleblower Protection Act in prohibiting retaliation against federal employees who disclose evidence of possible wrongdoing. They also vowed to investigate the Trump administration\u2019s actions through oversight requests, hearings and inquiries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"20.950298210736\">\n<p><a name=\"flu\"\/>\u201cThe 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the Rise of Italian Fascism: A Cross-City Quantitative and Historical Text Qualitative Analysis\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC8802602\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">American Journal of Public Health<\/a>]. From the Abstract: \u201cWe tested the hypothesis that deaths from the 1918 influenza pandemic contributed to the rise of Fascism in Italy. To provide a \u201cthicker\u201d interpretation of these patterns, we applied historical text mining to the newspaper Il Popolo d\u2019Italia (Mussolini\u2019s newspaper). Our observations were consistent with evidence from other contexts that worsening mortality rates can fuel radical politics. Unequal impacts of pandemics may contribute to political polarization. \u201d \u2022 Interesting\u2026. <\/p>\n<p>Hmm:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.4772117962466\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.640750670241\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I think more accurately, what\u2019s going on is (clearly) not a populist insurgency against professional elites, but a civil war between the left (academia\/media\/NGO) and right (tech) flanks of the professional class: what Gouldner labeled the \u201cintellectuals\u201d vs the \u201cintelligentsia.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LRZ2NDE8OB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/LRZ2NDE8OB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tyler Austin Harper (@Tyler_A_Harper) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tyler_A_Harper\/status\/1888282789956493532\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not sure I agree. The 2024 result seems to me to be \u2014 for the majority, certainly for the most dynamic factions representing the majority \u2014 a thorough-going rejection of governance in today\u2019s America <em>as such<\/em>, and hence, a rejection of America\u2019s governing class, the PMC, <em>as such<\/em>. I think the \u201ctech wing\u201d are tolerated as instruments of revenge, and no more. Higher up, in the squillionaire class, divisions may be different.<\/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:\/\/skylab.cdph.ca.gov\/calwws\/\" 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, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p>Science Is Popping<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"38.53459972863\">\n<p>\u201cFour lessons COVID taught us about the immune system\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/dOAtQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nature<\/a>]. \u201c[S]cientists are still sifting through the data to garner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-022-00214-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">a better understanding of how the immune system works<\/a>. Here are four lessons they\u2019ve learnt so far. [(1)] <strong>Antibodies aren\u2019t everything<\/strong>\u2026. As the pandemic went on, however, it became clear that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-021-00367-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">T cells were a crucial arm of the immune response<\/a> to SARS-CoV-2 and to COVID-19 vaccines, says Alessandro Sette, also an immunologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 waned in the months after vaccination, but vaccinated people continued to make T cells that recognized the virus\u2026. [(2)] <strong>Early-warning immune alarm reaches the whole body<\/strong>\u2026 Innate immune responses are not as specific as antibodies and T cells. Cells can unleash these responses when they detect foreign molecules, such as the RNA genome of SARS-CoV-2\u2026 Before the pandemic, researchers thought that this warning cry did not travel far beyond the site of infection. But when tenOever and his colleagues analysed samples from hamsters and from autopsies of people who had previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2, they found signs of interferon responses throughout the body, even in organs far away from infected cells3. Later, the team learnt that this is not limited to SARS-CoV-2: the influenza virus also elicits a widespread interferon response in hamsters. tenOever hypothesizes that these global antiviral defences bolster protection in case the infection travels rapidly through the body\u2026. [(3)] <strong>The nose knows<\/strong>. The pandemic underscored the importance of understanding immune responses in specific tissues, and especially in the place where infection often starts: the nose.<\/p>\n<p>The moist lining of the nose is a unique immune environment that contains a different blend of antibodies and immune cells to that found in the blood. As a result, injected vaccines, which generate antibodies in the bloodstream, might not be ideal for blocking infection in the nose. \u2018One of the lessons from the pandemic is location, location, location,\u2019 says Crotty. That specificity helps to account for the uneven protection conferred by COVID-19 vaccines: they are a powerful shield against serious illness, which is caused by viral infiltration of the lungs, but offer only moderate protection against initial infection\u2026. [(4)] <strong>Hints at the cause of post-viral illness<\/strong>. Not long after the pandemic began, some people began reporting symptoms that lasted for months after infection. This phenomenon, called long COVID, has proved difficult to study\u2026. How best to treat long COVID is just one of many unanswered mysteries in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. \u2018Immunologists around the world still have so many questions,\u2019 says Crotty. \u2018\u2018\u201d \u2022 That\u2019s nice. Still, interesting article, well worth a read.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Social Norming<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Survivorship bias:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"1044\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286983\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias-144x300.png 144w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias-490x1024.png 490w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: Four tries to load CDC\u2019s wasterwater page, and nada. Maybe I\u2019ll have better luck tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.901162790698\">\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> January 27<\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1-300x180.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x241.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.68\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> 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> February 1<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> 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> February 1 <\/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\/2025\/01\/no_covid-cdc-variants-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/no_covid-cdc-variants-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/no_covid-cdc-variants-natl-300x230.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286688\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-300x180.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=\"3.8961038961039\">\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 February 6:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 7:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286973\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1-300x290.png 300w\" 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=\"2.7341772151899\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> February 10:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> February 8:<\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286693\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-300x169.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286976\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh.png 1434w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1024x657.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-768x493.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-624x400.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1434px) 100vw, 1434px\"\/><\/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=\"3.5789473684211\">\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> January 20:<\/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> January 20 <\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-states.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286974\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-states.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-states-300x169.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286975\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-300x247.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=\"3.76\">\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> January 25:<\/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> January 25:<\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x202.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<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x186.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\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) Down, nothing new at major hubs.<\/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) A little uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped, but no exponential growth either, Odd.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.<\/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>There are no official statistics of interest today.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cTrump vows to add tariffs to aluminum and steel; Airbus, Boeing, suppliers will be impacted\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/leehamnews.com\/2025\/02\/10\/trump-vows-to-add-tariffs-to-aluminum-and-steel-airbus-boeing-suppliers-will-be-impacted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Leeham News and Analysis<\/a>]. \u201cPresident Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on imported aluminum and steel this week, including from the USA\u2019s largest supplying countries: Canada and Mexico\u2026. Boeing produced about 300 aluminum aircraft last year, each consuming about 30 tons in production, or 9,000 tons for 2024. For 2025, LNA estimates Boeing will produce 500 aluminum aircraft. At 30 tons per aircraft, this is 15,000 tons of high-grade aluminum alloys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing signals more orders needed before setting up assembly line in India\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/boeing-signals-more-orders-needed-before-setting-up-assembly-line-india-2025-02-10\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing signalled on Monday it would need more orders from India before it considers setting up a final civil aircraft assembly line there, potentially throwing cold water on the government\u2019s hopes of the U.S. planemaker assembling commercial jets in the country. \u2018The business case in order to have final assembly in any region has to be far larger than what the Indian market is. It requires many more airplanes than are being bought in India today,\u2019 Boeing India and South Asia president Salil Gupte told Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ll have to see how it evolves as the markets in India and around India go. In the meantime, it is all about building stepwise capability to get up to that point,\u2019 Gupte said in an interview on the sidelines of the Aero India show in the city of Bengaluru.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cHere\u2019s Something You Might Have Missed About Boeing\u2019s Big Q4 Loss\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fool.com\/investing\/2025\/02\/10\/heres-something-you-might-have-missed-about-boeing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Motley Fool<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing blamed the bulk of the quarter\u2019s (and the year\u2019s) losses on \u201cpreviously announced impacts of the IAM work stoppage and agreement,\u201d as well as on \u201ccosts associated with workforce reductions\u201d that were in part brought on by the IAM strike. Now, the good news is that, with the signing of a new labor contract, this strike is now behind Boeing. But the bad news is that not all of Boeing\u2019s losses were due to labor unrest, which is largely outside of Boeing\u2019s control. Some were directly caused by poor business decisions on Boeing\u2019s part. Take the company\u2019s vaunted Boeing Defense, Space & Security business, or BDS. Boeing admitted that \u201ccharges for certain defense programs\u201d contributed to the losses it incurred in both the quarter and the year. And indeed, while the strike cost Boeing\u2019s Commercial Airplanes division $2.1 billion in losses last quarter, BDS suffered even more losses \u2014 $2.3 billion. BDS took charges for the company\u2019s KC-46A refueling tanker program and for its T-7A training jet program, two programs where Boeing may have underbid to win work from the Pentagon \u2014 and is now paying the price in the form of \u2018fixed price development cost pressures\u2019 causing losses. Boeing also took charges on its VC-25B \u2018Air Force One\u2019 program, and on its MQ-25 Stingray drones program as well. And Boeing took charges on its Commercial Crew program, which refers to Boeing\u2019s troubled Starliner space capsule that just can\u2019t seem to reach the International Space Station without glitching one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cTurns Out AI Is More Empathetic Than Allstate\u2019s Insurance Reps\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/e3Owh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. \u2022 Showing that AIs don\u2019t, at bottom, know how vicious and brutal the health insurance industry is. If AGI ever pans out, the obvious first use cases for a sentient slave without empathy are torture and war crimes, which is where Silicon Valley has been headed for some time in any case. <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 42 Fear (previous close: 41 Fear) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 40 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 7 at 1:51:37 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes down one on Food Supply. \u201cThe lack of activity has downgraded this category\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 180. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 This is a tough crowd. Surely Trump\u2019s first month brought the Rapture closer?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bird flu symptoms?!<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.0491071428571\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3571428571429\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Head of a Man <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/j9qHCjHmXM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/j9qHCjHmXM<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pDIQIEMkJ7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/pDIQIEMkJ7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 L. S. Lowry (@lowryartist) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lowryartist\/status\/1888198611449549295\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Surely not. <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarth\u2019s inner core may have changed shape, say scientists\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c4gx37ky3gyo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BBC<\/a>]. \u201cThe inner core of Earth may have changed shape in the past 20 years, according to a group of scientists. The inner core is usually thought to be shaped like a ball, but its edges may actually have deformed by 100m or more in height in places, according to Prof John Vidale who led the research\u2026. It is possible that the changes are connected to changes in Earth\u2019s magnetic field. \u2018The magnetic field has had jerks at various times in the past few decades, and we\u2019d like to know if that is related to what we\u2019re seeing at the inner core boundary,\u2019 he said. Prof Vidale urged caution about hyping the findings into ideas that the core is going to stop rotating any time soon.\u201d \u2022 Oh. <\/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\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-5-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From EM:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greenhouse.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greenhouse.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greenhouse-225x300.jpeg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>EM writes: \u201cHow we doing? I\u2019m after getting my hands on a greenhouse with the caveat that I don\u2019t grow weed. This is going to be a major operation and I will keep you posted. I think I could be the most gifted gardener of my generation potentially\/hopefully.\u201d Ambition! What a great project!<\/p>\n<p>Tools:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tools.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286968\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tools.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tools-300x225.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/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<\/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\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-10-2025.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether. Bird Song of the Day Brown Thrasher, Mewnans Lake SF\u2013East Trail (Pithlachocco Trail), Alachua, Florida, United States. I wish that Macaulay Library<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90842,"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-90841","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\/90841","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=90841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, Mewnans Lake SF\u2013East Trail (Pithlachocco Trail), Alachua, Florida, United States. I wish that Macaulay Library listed sounds imitated with the mimidae. I thought this bird was a little dull at first, then it got rolling\u2026. <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#trump\">A typical day in the Trump White House, per the NY Post.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#doge\">Elon on political economy (with handy diagram)<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#cfpb\">Stoller on Trump gutting the CFPB<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#flu\">The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the Rise of Italian Fascism<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/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>Trump Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"19.925742574257\">\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>\u201cInside Trump\u2019s hectic day-to-day schedule \u2013 with prez revealing the phrase that keeps going through his mind when he first wakes up\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/02\/08\/us-news\/inside-trumps-hectic-day-to-day-schedule-as-prez-begins-to-transform-federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Post<\/a>]. \u201cWhen he wakes up, the first thing that goes through his mind, he says, is \u2018business. Everything\u2019s business.’\u201d \u2022 Oh, and DOGE now has 45 employees. I have to read that in some piece of hagiography. This is really worth reading in full; and I am sure that the contrast to the Biden White House is very great.<\/p>\n<p>Assuming I can believe Chris Murphy, not a good look for Little Marco:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.3389830508475\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.347457627119\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is pure gaslighting. There is no working waiver process. Marco can pretend the the real Secretary of State, Elon Musk, didn’t shut down USAID, but he did.<\/p>\n<p>1\/ My national security team looked into the functionally nonexistent “wavier process” and here’s what they found: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wCCF5nacDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/wCCF5nacDF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chris Murphy \ud83d\udfe7 (@ChrisMurphyCT) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChrisMurphyCT\/status\/1887889498081571109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The sad thing is that when I first heard this clip, I thought Rubio sounded articulate and impressive. Such a disappointment. Perhaps matters will improve later. NOTE I do like Murphy\u2019s spectacular typo: \u201cthe wavier process\u201d (rather like <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/5NjxhOgfWeQ?si=8oc31BlBfdAy25vF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wavy Gravy<\/a>). A lot of processes these days seem \u201cwavier.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"105.44936325045\">\n<p>Museum-grade snark:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.9975609756098\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.7073170731707\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Venezia Maestro e il doge<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1VCd7uxL7a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/1VCd7uxL7a<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Presentation of the Ring to the Doge <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0WGm4I4fC3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/0WGm4I4fC3<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kj41PxGqUI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/kj41PxGqUI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michele \u269c\ufe0f Rousseau \ud83e\udd8b (@MicheleRoussea7) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MicheleRoussea7\/status\/1886834219349147802\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"doge\"\/>Elon\u2019s views on political economy:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.1267605633803\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6056338028169\">\n<p lang=\"art\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83c\udfaf <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YsCX5Tz5nl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/YsCX5Tz5nl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1887149147574128666\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"roth\"\/>\u201cBillionaire Dipshit And His Strike Team Of Greasy Beavises Are Stripping The Wires From The Federal Government\u201d [David Roth, <a href=\"https:\/\/defector.com\/billionaire-dipshit-and-his-strike-team-of-greasy-beavises-are-stripping-the-wires-from-the-federal-government\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Defector<\/a>]. This is Bageant- or Thompson-level snark, here, and how well deserved: <\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"34\">\n<p>Moment by moment, Musk and his strike force of greasy Beavisoid wreckers are rats in the walls, gnawing hideously through the wiring in search of richer fare. There is public money in there somewhere, and they believe it is theirs by right. Musk and his super-class of tech freaks want to get fat on it, to rescue that money from public uses that they view as inherently inefficient and unjust\u2014spending that is \u201cwaste, fraud, and abuse\u201d because of the ends to which it is deployed, which are public, and because of who is deploying it, which is not them. It is important to them, as a matter of efficiency and justice, that more of that money end up with them. In more deserving hands, that public wealth will be protected from the grasping public, and can be put to the uses this cohort prefers: building bigger homes behind bigger walls, booking The Chainsmokers to play 45-minute sets at the absolute worst parties in human history, hiring Famously Combative Attorneys and buying political suction, discreetly settling their endless skein of sexual harassment lawsuits. Rich person things. Real stuff.<\/p>\n<p>The reflexive belief that all public stuff is fundamentally less valid and less real for being public\u2014that the people doing public work are lazy, weak, and mediocre, and that the work they do is inherently inefficient and wasteful\u2014is the downstream efflorescence of the toxic reactionary sludge that has been getting dumped into the water table for generations now; it is old, dumb, and very boring.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Fun stuff at the Defector (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Defector_Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">history of the venue<\/a>). I went there for Superbowl coverage, but, like the old Deadspin, it\u2019s not \u201cjust\u201d sports.<\/p>\n<p>The responses to this tweet \u2014 those that aren\u2019t bots \u2014 are <em>not<\/em> above average:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.1339869281046\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"8.9542483660131\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If Elon was actually looking for fraud, he\u2019d be hiring forensic accountants\u2014not a bunch of programmers.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/acnewsitics\/status\/1888605553900782004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>UPDATE And meanwhile:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.4736842105263\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.5526315789474\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Update: DOGE members Luke Farritor and Gavin Kilger are no longer \u201cread only\u201d users at the CFPB. They are now listed as domain administrators in the bureau\u2019s system, meaning they can provide or revoke access as they see fit <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5dIJyyE87Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/5dIJyyE87Y<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Caleb Ecarma (@calebhecarma) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/calebhecarma\/status\/1889003216693498002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Whatever these \u201cgreasy Beavisoid wreckers\u201d are doing it\u2019s not an audit, because they don\u2019t have the qualifications for that.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump\u2019s new CFPB chief is being sued over DOGE\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/donald-trump-cfpb-russel-vought-elon-musk-doge-lawsuit-1851759157?utm_source=google-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Quartz<\/a>]. \u201cThe acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was hit with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/69624423\/1\/national-treasury-employees-union-v-vought\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">two<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/69624412\/1\/national-treasury-employees-union-v-vought\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">lawsuits<\/a> on Sunday after Russel Vought issued orders to freeze some of the consumer protection agency\u2019s work\u2026. The lawsuits, both filed by the National Treasury Employees Union, come after Vought on Saturday said the CFPB <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R48295\/2#:~:text=The%20Consumer%20Financial%20Protection%20Bureau%20(CFPB)%20was%20created%20in%20the,as%20requested%20by%20the%20CFPB.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">would not receive<\/a> its scheduled quarterly transfer of <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R48295\/2#:~:text=The%20Consumer%20Financial%20Protection%20Bureau%20(CFPB)%20was%20created%20in%20the,as%20requested%20by%20the%20CFPB.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">funding<\/a> from the Federal Reserve, instead relying on its remaining balance. He also closed the CFPB\u2019s headquarters to staff and ordered employees to stop virtually all their work and close any pending investigations, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/02\/08\/nx-s1-5290914\/russell-vought-cfpb-doge-access-musk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NPR reported<\/a>\u2026. The direction to stop work is \u2018unlawful,\u2019 the union argues. The other lawsuit asked a judge to block Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing employee information. At least three DOGE staffers have been added to the CFPB\u2019s staff as \u2018senior advisors,\u2019 the lawsuit states. The union said Vought instructed CFPB employees to give the DOGE team \u2018access to all non-classified CFPB systems,\u2019 which it argues could bring workers \u2018irreparable harm to their privacy interests\u2019 should their data be improperly accessed. Some union members are also concerned that the DOGE team may use their medical information to retaliate against them, according to the lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump administration orders 1,700 CFPB workers to stay home\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/gephardtdaily.com\/top-stories\/trump-administration-orders-1700-cfpb-workers-to-stay-home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">UPI<\/a>]. \u201d Workers at the federal government\u2019s consumer finance watchdog in Washington were told to stay home Monday after the acting director, newly installed by President Donald Trump, ordered the agency to halt its operations. Around 1,700 staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received an email Sunday from Chief Operating Officer Adam Martinez informing them that the head office would be closed Monday through Friday, according to reports by The Washington Post, USA Today and CNBC\u2026. CNBC, quoting a source with knowledge of the agency, said only a few hundreds of the roles at CFPB were mandated by law and that management had informed employees that a buyout offer made to other federal employees was available to them, on equivalent terms.\u201d Such as they are. This after clawing back $20 billion from <a href=\"https:\/\/fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com\/p\/synapse-investor-marc-andreessen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">thieving weasels like Andreesen<\/a>. Why, the idea.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"cfpb\"\/>\u201cMonopoly Round-Up: On Ending the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau\u201d (excerpt) [Matt Stoller, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebignewsletter.com\/p\/monopoly-round-up-on-ending-the-consumer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BIG<\/a>]. Extremely important on FinTech vs. the banks, and worth reading in full. \u201cLast week, Elon Musk and the new Trump Office of Management and Budget chief Russ Vought stopped all work at the commission, including enforcement of rules, litigation, as well as supervision and examination activity. They are planning to shutter the headquarters and presumably will be laying off most of the staff. By shuttering the CFPB, Trump is not just going back to a pre-financial crisis status quo, but to something actually weaker than that. .\u201d And: \u201cWe can now expect rampant fraud and cheating in banking and fintech, not just a scam here or there, but regular losses of life savings by people who followed the rules, illegal foreclosures, random seizures of the working capital of small businesses, abuse by debt collectors, and routine deception by even respected financial firms.\u201d And: \u201cElon Musk\u2019s stated goal with X is to create an \u2018everything app,\u2019 which you would use to communicate, engage with social media, pay for things, hail cabs, shop, and so forth. All the big tech monopolists want to be the \u2018everything app.\u2019 The CFPB was proposing to treat these companies with payment systems as, well, payment systems, and subject them to the same supervisory treatment that banks have. Now that\u2019s out the window, so big tech firms have a competitive advantage over banks.\u201d But: \u201c[D]estroying the bureau strikes me as a long term strategic error for the banking sector and big tech. The banks were already losing to Silicon Valley, and now they are at a regulatory disadvantage to boot. More fundamentally, this shutdown breaks a basic deal. I worked in the House during the great financial crisis, and the arrangement was that the banks would accept some mild oversight via the CFPB, and in return they would get a multi-trillion dollar bailout and make excessive profits. I didn\u2019t like that deal and encouraged the member I worked for to vote against it, but it was forced on liberals by Barack Obama. (This deal was an intra-Democratic Party arrangement; conservative Republicans were in thrall to the banks and wanted nothing but foreclosures and bailouts. And they still do.) It was an egregiously terrible choice, one that liberals couldn\u2019t acknowledge because then they\u2019d have to admit a whole lot of uncomfortable truths, notably that Wall Street is a malevolent force, that Obama was a malevolent leader, and that the Dodd-Frank reform bill passed in the wake of the crisis, rather than ending bailouts, was a joke. But now they will be faced with the bracing truth, that .\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>Trump Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"21.688574317492\">\n<p>\u201cOpenAI Goes MAGA\u201d [Karen Hao, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/WCd88\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Atlantic<\/a>]. \u201cAltman has shown an uncanny ability throughout his career to get himself out of the toughest binds by leaning on his influential network, ingratiating himself with the powerful, and fundraising extraordinary amounts of capital. It was for these reasons that Altman successfully orchestrated his return to OpenAI as CEO in late 2023, after the board briefly ousted him. And it is why so many people have expressed alarm about his leadership in recent years. This week, he was at it again, standing next to Trump during the Stargate announcement in a symbol of solidarity and praising him later on X: \u201cwatching @potus more carefully recently has really changed my perspective on him \u2026 i\u2019m not going to agree with him on everything, but i think he will be incredible for the country in many ways!\u201d Although OpenAI has led the pack, many AI companies have worked over the past two years to influence policy and grow without government interference. Silicon Valley has always operated like this, and many other major tech CEOs took their place next to Trump this week. But the demands of generative AI are meaningfully different from, say, those of a traditional search engine or a social-media platform: Its development requires far more crucial physical infrastructure. Generative-AI models are of a size that necessitate the build-out of data centers at unprecedented scale. This, in turn, will give Silicon Valley outsize influence over the placement of power plants and even water lines across the country.\u201d \u2022 As contrasted with DeepSeek, as discussed in this interesting thread from Hao:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.2777777777778\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.407407407407\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wait a minute. You mean to say that we don\u2019t need to blanket the earth with data centers and coal & gas plants to maybe arrive at a future where we can wave a magical AGI wand to make all of the consequences of that go away?<\/p>\n<p>Yes. This is a false trade off. Let that sink in. 16\/<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Karen Hao (@_KarenHao) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_KarenHao\/status\/1883878020509044939\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>2024 Post Mortem<\/p>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"democrats\"\/>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12.944325481799\">\n<p>\u201cTo watch Musk, Senate Democrats start whistleblower platform for workers\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/Fp3Ye\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WaPo<\/a>]. \u201cSenate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York), have set up a whistleblower complaint portal for federal workers to submit any reports of what they see as unlawful activities in their respective agencies in response to Elon Musk and his group\u2019s efforts to downsize the federal government\u2026. In the latest efforts, Democrats are urging federal workers to resist their advances. The new whistleblower portal is their latest effort to oppose Trump\u2019s actions as they look to form a cohesive message against the administration\u2026. Democrats emphasized the role of the Whistleblower Protection Act in prohibiting retaliation against federal employees who disclose evidence of possible wrongdoing. They also vowed to investigate the Trump administration\u2019s actions through oversight requests, hearings and inquiries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"20.950298210736\">\n<p><a name=\"flu\"\/>\u201cThe 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the Rise of Italian Fascism: A Cross-City Quantitative and Historical Text Qualitative Analysis\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC8802602\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">American Journal of Public Health<\/a>]. From the Abstract: \u201cWe tested the hypothesis that deaths from the 1918 influenza pandemic contributed to the rise of Fascism in Italy. To provide a \u201cthicker\u201d interpretation of these patterns, we applied historical text mining to the newspaper Il Popolo d\u2019Italia (Mussolini\u2019s newspaper). Our observations were consistent with evidence from other contexts that worsening mortality rates can fuel radical politics. Unequal impacts of pandemics may contribute to political polarization. \u201d \u2022 Interesting\u2026. <\/p>\n<p>Hmm:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.4772117962466\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.640750670241\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I think more accurately, what\u2019s going on is (clearly) not a populist insurgency against professional elites, but a civil war between the left (academia\/media\/NGO) and right (tech) flanks of the professional class: what Gouldner labeled the \u201cintellectuals\u201d vs the \u201cintelligentsia.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LRZ2NDE8OB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/LRZ2NDE8OB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tyler Austin Harper (@Tyler_A_Harper) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tyler_A_Harper\/status\/1888282789956493532\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not sure I agree. The 2024 result seems to me to be \u2014 for the majority, certainly for the most dynamic factions representing the majority \u2014 a thorough-going rejection of governance in today\u2019s America <em>as such<\/em>, and hence, a rejection of America\u2019s governing class, the PMC, <em>as such<\/em>. I think the \u201ctech wing\u201d are tolerated as instruments of revenge, and no more. Higher up, in the squillionaire class, divisions may be different.<\/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:\/\/skylab.cdph.ca.gov\/calwws\/\" 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, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p>Science Is Popping<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"38.53459972863\">\n<p>\u201cFour lessons COVID taught us about the immune system\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/dOAtQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nature<\/a>]. \u201c[S]cientists are still sifting through the data to garner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-022-00214-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">a better understanding of how the immune system works<\/a>. Here are four lessons they\u2019ve learnt so far. [(1)] <strong>Antibodies aren\u2019t everything<\/strong>\u2026. As the pandemic went on, however, it became clear that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-021-00367-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">T cells were a crucial arm of the immune response<\/a> to SARS-CoV-2 and to COVID-19 vaccines, says Alessandro Sette, also an immunologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 waned in the months after vaccination, but vaccinated people continued to make T cells that recognized the virus\u2026. [(2)] <strong>Early-warning immune alarm reaches the whole body<\/strong>\u2026 Innate immune responses are not as specific as antibodies and T cells. Cells can unleash these responses when they detect foreign molecules, such as the RNA genome of SARS-CoV-2\u2026 Before the pandemic, researchers thought that this warning cry did not travel far beyond the site of infection. But when tenOever and his colleagues analysed samples from hamsters and from autopsies of people who had previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2, they found signs of interferon responses throughout the body, even in organs far away from infected cells3. Later, the team learnt that this is not limited to SARS-CoV-2: the influenza virus also elicits a widespread interferon response in hamsters. tenOever hypothesizes that these global antiviral defences bolster protection in case the infection travels rapidly through the body\u2026. [(3)] <strong>The nose knows<\/strong>. The pandemic underscored the importance of understanding immune responses in specific tissues, and especially in the place where infection often starts: the nose.<\/p>\n<p>The moist lining of the nose is a unique immune environment that contains a different blend of antibodies and immune cells to that found in the blood. As a result, injected vaccines, which generate antibodies in the bloodstream, might not be ideal for blocking infection in the nose. \u2018One of the lessons from the pandemic is location, location, location,\u2019 says Crotty. That specificity helps to account for the uneven protection conferred by COVID-19 vaccines: they are a powerful shield against serious illness, which is caused by viral infiltration of the lungs, but offer only moderate protection against initial infection\u2026. [(4)] <strong>Hints at the cause of post-viral illness<\/strong>. Not long after the pandemic began, some people began reporting symptoms that lasted for months after infection. This phenomenon, called long COVID, has proved difficult to study\u2026. How best to treat long COVID is just one of many unanswered mysteries in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. \u2018Immunologists around the world still have so many questions,\u2019 says Crotty. \u2018\u2018\u201d \u2022 That\u2019s nice. Still, interesting article, well worth a read.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Social Norming<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Survivorship bias:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"1044\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286983\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias-144x300.png 144w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/survivorship_bias-490x1024.png 490w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: Four tries to load CDC\u2019s wasterwater page, and nada. Maybe I\u2019ll have better luck tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.901162790698\">\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> January 27<\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1-300x180.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x241.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.68\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> 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> February 1<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> 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> February 1 <\/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\/2025\/01\/no_covid-cdc-variants-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/no_covid-cdc-variants-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/no_covid-cdc-variants-natl-300x230.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286688\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-300x180.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=\"3.8961038961039\">\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 February 6:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 7:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286973\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1-300x290.png 300w\" 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=\"2.7341772151899\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> February 10:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> February 8:<\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286693\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-300x169.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286976\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh.png 1434w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1024x657.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-768x493.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-624x400.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1434px) 100vw, 1434px\"\/><\/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=\"3.5789473684211\">\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> January 20:<\/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> January 20 <\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-states.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286974\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-states.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-states-300x169.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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286975\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-300x247.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=\"3.76\">\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> January 25:<\/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> January 25:<\/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\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x202.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<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x186.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\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) Down, nothing new at major hubs.<\/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) A little uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped, but no exponential growth either, Odd.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.<\/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>There are no official statistics of interest today.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cTrump vows to add tariffs to aluminum and steel; Airbus, Boeing, suppliers will be impacted\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/leehamnews.com\/2025\/02\/10\/trump-vows-to-add-tariffs-to-aluminum-and-steel-airbus-boeing-suppliers-will-be-impacted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Leeham News and Analysis<\/a>]. \u201cPresident Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on imported aluminum and steel this week, including from the USA\u2019s largest supplying countries: Canada and Mexico\u2026. Boeing produced about 300 aluminum aircraft last year, each consuming about 30 tons in production, or 9,000 tons for 2024. For 2025, LNA estimates Boeing will produce 500 aluminum aircraft. At 30 tons per aircraft, this is 15,000 tons of high-grade aluminum alloys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing signals more orders needed before setting up assembly line in India\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/boeing-signals-more-orders-needed-before-setting-up-assembly-line-india-2025-02-10\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing signalled on Monday it would need more orders from India before it considers setting up a final civil aircraft assembly line there, potentially throwing cold water on the government\u2019s hopes of the U.S. planemaker assembling commercial jets in the country. \u2018The business case in order to have final assembly in any region has to be far larger than what the Indian market is. It requires many more airplanes than are being bought in India today,\u2019 Boeing India and South Asia president Salil Gupte told Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ll have to see how it evolves as the markets in India and around India go. In the meantime, it is all about building stepwise capability to get up to that point,\u2019 Gupte said in an interview on the sidelines of the Aero India show in the city of Bengaluru.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cHere\u2019s Something You Might Have Missed About Boeing\u2019s Big Q4 Loss\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fool.com\/investing\/2025\/02\/10\/heres-something-you-might-have-missed-about-boeing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Motley Fool<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing blamed the bulk of the quarter\u2019s (and the year\u2019s) losses on \u201cpreviously announced impacts of the IAM work stoppage and agreement,\u201d as well as on \u201ccosts associated with workforce reductions\u201d that were in part brought on by the IAM strike. Now, the good news is that, with the signing of a new labor contract, this strike is now behind Boeing. But the bad news is that not all of Boeing\u2019s losses were due to labor unrest, which is largely outside of Boeing\u2019s control. Some were directly caused by poor business decisions on Boeing\u2019s part. Take the company\u2019s vaunted Boeing Defense, Space & Security business, or BDS. Boeing admitted that \u201ccharges for certain defense programs\u201d contributed to the losses it incurred in both the quarter and the year. And indeed, while the strike cost Boeing\u2019s Commercial Airplanes division $2.1 billion in losses last quarter, BDS suffered even more losses \u2014 $2.3 billion. BDS took charges for the company\u2019s KC-46A refueling tanker program and for its T-7A training jet program, two programs where Boeing may have underbid to win work from the Pentagon \u2014 and is now paying the price in the form of \u2018fixed price development cost pressures\u2019 causing losses. Boeing also took charges on its VC-25B \u2018Air Force One\u2019 program, and on its MQ-25 Stingray drones program as well. And Boeing took charges on its Commercial Crew program, which refers to Boeing\u2019s troubled Starliner space capsule that just can\u2019t seem to reach the International Space Station without glitching one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cTurns Out AI Is More Empathetic Than Allstate\u2019s Insurance Reps\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/e3Owh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. \u2022 Showing that AIs don\u2019t, at bottom, know how vicious and brutal the health insurance industry is. If AGI ever pans out, the obvious first use cases for a sentient slave without empathy are torture and war crimes, which is where Silicon Valley has been headed for some time in any case. <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 42 Fear (previous close: 41 Fear) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 40 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 7 at 1:51:37 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes down one on Food Supply. \u201cThe lack of activity has downgraded this category\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 180. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 This is a tough crowd. Surely Trump\u2019s first month brought the Rapture closer?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bird flu symptoms?!<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.0491071428571\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3571428571429\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Head of a Man <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/j9qHCjHmXM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/j9qHCjHmXM<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pDIQIEMkJ7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/pDIQIEMkJ7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 L. S. Lowry (@lowryartist) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lowryartist\/status\/1888198611449549295\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Surely not. <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarth\u2019s inner core may have changed shape, say scientists\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c4gx37ky3gyo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BBC<\/a>]. \u201cThe inner core of Earth may have changed shape in the past 20 years, according to a group of scientists. The inner core is usually thought to be shaped like a ball, but its edges may actually have deformed by 100m or more in height in places, according to Prof John Vidale who led the research\u2026. It is possible that the changes are connected to changes in Earth\u2019s magnetic field. \u2018The magnetic field has had jerks at various times in the past few decades, and we\u2019d like to know if that is related to what we\u2019re seeing at the inner core boundary,\u2019 he said. Prof Vidale urged caution about hyping the findings into ideas that the core is going to stop rotating any time soon.\u201d \u2022 Oh. <\/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\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-5-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From EM:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greenhouse.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greenhouse.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greenhouse-225x300.jpeg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>EM writes: \u201cHow we doing? I\u2019m after getting my hands on a greenhouse with the caveat that I don\u2019t grow weed. This is going to be a major operation and I will keep you posted. I think I could be the most gifted gardener of my generation potentially\/hopefully.\u201d Ambition! What a great project!<\/p>\n<p>Tools:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tools.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286968\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tools.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tools-300x225.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/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<\/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\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-10-2025.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether. Bird Song of the Day Brown Thrasher, Mewnans Lake SF\u2013East Trail (Pithlachocco Trail), Alachua, Florida, United States. I wish that Macaulay Library<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90842,"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-90841","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\/90841","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=90841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}