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Let us continue with our catbirds (which somehow vanished mysteriously during yesterday’s sturm and drang).
Bird Song of the Day
Gray Catbird, Indian Springs Wildlife Management Area; along Blair’s Valley Road, Washington, Maryland, United States. “Adult Gray Catbird singing from roadside vegetation.” Sounds like a duet.
Not to be confused with a catbus:
(By Studio Ghibli.)
Politics
“So many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles
Biden Administration
“How Joe Biden Engineered Apple’s New AirPods” [Matt Stoller, BIG]. “Apple engineers turning AirPods into hearing aids is wonderful, but it’s not a uniquely difficult endeavor. In fact, what’s happening here is that a set of elected leaders opened up a market closed off by a cartel that had secured a comfortable position, shielded by the Food and Drug Administration. And engineers, many of whom care deeply about hearing, acted in this new legal space to create tools to help people live better lives… How we deploy technology is not a function of engineering and science as much as it is how those interplay with law, in this case a law that fostered a hearing aid cartel and then a different law that broke it apart. So it’s not outlandish to say that Joe Biden designed Apple’s new hearing aid AirPods, with an assist from Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Grassley, and Donald Trump. It’s just what happened.” • I’d be a lot happier if Kamala had given Lina Khan a big hug.
2024
Less than one hundred days to go!
Friday’s RCP Poll Averages:
I would say the bloom is off the rose for Harris, except for an upward blip in Georgia. Looks like the enormous liberalgasm afte the Convention was confined to party loyalists. The Kamala campaign must be sore as boils Trump is within striking distance, let alone tied with them. What could account for it? Perhaps that’s why the pivot to RussiaGate. Remember, however, that all the fluctuations — in fact, all the leads, top to bottom — are within the margin of error.
* * * “Harris braces for the most critical moment of her political career at debate with Trump” [CNN]. “Kamala Harris’ joyful campaign will Tuesday be hit by the blunt force of reality — a debate with Donald Trump — the most menacing political foe of modern times.” • That’s “putatively joyful” ffs.
* * * [Much more to come; I got wrapped around the axle on some administrativia]
Syndemics
“I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison
Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, but national data). “Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts” (especially on hospitalization by city).
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 “COVID” in the subject line. Thank you!
Resources, United States (Local): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (dashboard); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).
Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).
Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).
Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).
Stay safe out there!
Airborne Transmission
“Microbial richness and air chemistry in aerosols above the PBL confirm 2,000-km long-distance transport of potential human pathogens” [PNAS]. PBL = Planetary Boundary Layer. From the Abstract: “The existence of viable human pathogens in bioaerosols which can cause infection or affect human health has been the subject of little research. In this study, data provided by 10 tropospheric aircraft surveys over Japan in 2014 confirm the existence of a vast diversity of microbial species up to 3,000 m height, which can be dispersed above the planetary boundary layer over distances of up to 2,000 km, thanks to strong winds from an area covered with massive cereal croplands in Northeast (NE) Asia. Microbes attached to aerosols reveal the presence of diverse bacterial and fungal taxa, including potential human pathogens, originating from sewage, pesticides, or fertilizers. Over 266 different fungal and 305 bacterial genera appeared in the 10 aircraft transects.” And: ” Natural antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) cultured from air samples were found indicating long-distance spread of ARB and microbial viability. This would represent a novel way to disperse both viable human pathogens and resistance genes among distant geographical regions.” • Novel indeed MR SUBLIMINAL Yeah, but where’s the RCT? Here is the Guardian treatment of the same article–
“Pathogenic microbes blown vast distances by winds, scientists discover” [Guardian]. “The winds studied carried a surprising diversity of bacteria and fungi, including known pathogens and, some with genes for resistance to multiple antibiotics. Some of the microbes were shown to be alive – in other words, they had survived the long journey and were able to replicate. The researchers said this intercontinental transport route was unlikely to cause disease in people directly, because the concentration of microbes was low. However, they said it was a cause of concern that microbes could be seeded into new environments and that antibiotic-resistance genes could travel in this way.” But: “[Prof Xavier Rodó at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health] said: ‘We are talking about ultra-low concentrations, and in most cases they wouldn’t elicit infection. But we cannot rule that out in immunocompromised individuals.’ Nevertheless: “Prof Chris Thomas, at the University of Birmingham, UK, said: ‘The chances of getting an infectious dose [via high-level winds] must be considerably less than when encountering an infected person on an aeroplane, or even just going on holiday to a foreign country.’” • Yes, but I don’t think that’s the killer argument Thomas seems to think it is. Not to minimize myself, but if the upper atmosphere is a viral soup, that’s a good thing to know. Science is popping!
Transmission: H5N1
“5 burning questions about Missouri’s mysterious H5 bird flu case” [STAT]. Worth reading in full. “An unexplained H5 infection raises the possibility of person-to-person spread of a flu virus that has never before circulated in humans, and to which people would not have immunity. And this with a dangerous flu virus that scientists have long feared could someday trigger a pandemic. After all, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic was first noticed when two children in California who had no contact with pigs or with each other were diagnosed with flu infections caused by a virus that had previously been circulating in swine.” And the questions: “What is being done to investigate the situation?… Is this the same H5 virus that is spreading in cows?… How sick was this individual? Was he or she hospitalized for influenza symptoms, or for other reasons?… Did this person truly have no contact with infected animals or birds? Does this individual have a cat that is allowed outdoors? … Did this person consume raw milk?” • All these questions seem obvious enough. And yesterday–
“CDC confirms human case of bird flu in Missouri” [The Poultry Site]. “The case was confirmed on Thursday, the CDC said, adding that an investigation into the potential exposure is ongoing by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.” • Not CDC….
Transmission: Mpox
“Mpox cases on the rise in Canada” [WSWS]. “The lack of any sound epidemiologic response by Canada’s health officials to the current strain of mpox is emblematic of the international anti-public-health response globally. At every turn, public health statements and announcements downplay the dangers posed by the virus and attempt to offer false assurances that these pathogens are no serious threat, and all the necessary tools are in place should they be needed. Statements like the one made by Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam, who admitted that the lack of any positive samples of clade 1 in wastewater ‘could change,’ should raise eyebrows. The mpox virus has primarily affected the province of Ontario, where 142 confirmed cases have been reported since the beginning of the year. Two cases have needed hospitalizations, and no one has died so far. Few, if any, of the positive cases were associated with international travel. Once introduced, the virus fueled a large outbreak entirely driven by local community transmission. Only 15 percent of cases reported travel outside the province in the 21 days before the onset of symptoms and the positivity rate for testing has been higher than 27.3 percent since late June, according to the provincial health ministry. This implies health authorities have adopted the ‘live with the virus’ strategy which has been taken in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic rather than fighting to eradicate the disfiguring and potentially deadly mpox virus.”
Elite Maleficence
They know. They just don’t want you to know:
Elon Musk jumps in the air 🔥😂 pic.twitter.com/R9p9WZMnKN
— Alex (@CEOre_) May 9, 2024
Notice who’s masked and who isn’t.)
Lambert here: The figures look mildly encouraging for now, but I would expect an immediate worsening after Labor Day travel kicks in, along with grade schools, high schools, and colleges starting up. Stay safe out there!
| Wastewater | |
| This week[1] CDC August 27 | Last Week[2] CDC (until next week): |
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| Variants [3] CDC August 31 | Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC August 31 |
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| Hospitalization | |
| ★ New York[5] New York State, data September 9: | National [6] CDC August 17: |
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| Positivity | |
| ★ National[7] Walgreens September 9: | Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic August 24: |
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| Travelers Data | |
| Positivity[9] CDC August 19: | Variants[10] CDC August 19: |
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| Deaths | |
| Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11]CDC August 31: | Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12]CDC August 31: |
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LEGEND
1) ★ for charts new today; all others are not updated.
2) For a full-size/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and “open image in new tab.”
NOTES
[1] (CDC) This week’s wastewater map, with hot spots annotated. Keeps spreading. NOTE The date seems to be wrong, but the number of sites has changed so this is new.
[2] (CDC) Last week’s wastewater map.
[3] (CDC Variants) KP.* very popular. XDV.1 flat.
[4] (ED) Down, but worth noting that Emergency Department use is now on a par with the first wave, in 2020.
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely down.
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). The visualization suppresses what is, in percentage terms, a significant increase.
[7] (Walgreens) Big drop continues!
[8] (Cleveland) Dropping.
[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Down. Those sh*theads at CDC have changed the chart so that it doesn’t even run back to 1/21/23, as it used to, but now starts 1/1/24. There’s also no way to adjust the time range. CDC really doesn’t want you to be able to take a historical view of the pandemic, or compare one surge to another. In an any case, that’s why the shape of the curve has changed.
[10] (Travelers: Variants) What the heck is LB.1?
[11] Deaths low, but positivity up. If the United States is like Canada, deaths are several undercounted:
Tara Motarity has confirmed our fears.Most provinces are only reporting about 20% of covid deaths.Maybe even less.Which suggests the deaths are close to 5 times to 6+ times the reported figures.Nova Scotia has reported 270 so far this year. It’s actually 1,325-1,700 so far. pic.twitter.com/6xF6SREyKB
— Dr.Robert Strang (@DSlayer520) September 2, 2024
[12] Deaths low, ED up.
Stats Watch
Inflation: “United States Consumer Price Index (CPI)” [Trading Economics]. “Consumer Price Index CPI in the United States increased to 314.54 points in July from 314.18 points in June of 2024. Consumer Price Index CPI in the United States averaged 124.38 points from 1950 until 2024, reaching an all time high of 314.54 points in July of 2024.”
Sentiment: “United States NFIB Business Optimism Index” [Trading Economics]. “The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index in the US decreased to 91.2 in August 2024, the lowest in three months, compared to 93.7 in July and forecasts of 93.6. ‘Historically high inflation remains the top issue for owners as sales expectations plummet and cost pressures increase. Uncertainty among small business owners continues to rise as expectations for future business conditions worsen’, said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg.”
Manufacturing: “Boeing Machinists union chief expects members will reject deal, strike” [Seattle Times]. “‘The response from people is it’s not good enough,’ Machinist union district 751 president Holden said in an exclusive interview with The Seattle Times at the union’s South Park headquarters. ‘Right now, I think it will be voted down, and our members will vote to strike.’… With Boeing’s credit rating now just one rung above junk bond status, a lengthy strike that hits cash flow and increases debt could have a dramatic effect on its financial standing.” Boeing’s Bourbon-like management already looking for scabs: “A Boeing employee forwarded a message to The Seattle Times that was sent Monday by an engineering manager at the Auburn parts plant, stating that he was “asked to provide leadership with a list” of engineers willing to volunteer to perform work normally done by Machinists. Targeting members of the white-collar union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, the memo cites an incentive of pay at overtime rates, either 1½ times or double the normal pay. SPEEA Executive Director Ray Goforth expressed surprise when told of the memo and said his union would likely lodge an objection. Boeing did not comment on the issue.”
Tech: Innovation (1):
Four million advance orders for a $2800 phone in three days. The Chinese market has collapsed. Western companies can safely stay away. https://t.co/rWwBqQlSBh
— John Pang (@jynpang) September 10, 2024
Tech: Innovation (2):
Coolest new iPhone 16 feature? The camera control button! pic.twitter.com/6NpcIb8NTW
— iJustine (@ijustine) September 9, 2024
That’s it? A camera control button?
Tech: Innovation (3):
BREAKING: The new iPhone has been leaked and will take AA batteries
Finally won’t have to worry about carrying a charger around everywhere pic.twitter.com/QeeGYHt0IQ
— greg (@greg16676935420) September 9, 2024
Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 38 Fear (previous close: 42 Fear) [CNN]. One week ago: 54 (Neutral). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Sep 10 at 1:32:46 PM ET.
Social Media Watch
Challenge accepted:
For many years I have preached the virtues of keeping the “yo momma” joke alive as a Twitter response. Menswear Guy has given a masterclass: https://t.co/vtnJBfYSfb
— Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) September 10, 2024
Little cubes, but by Cezanne:
The Aqueduct and Lock, 1890 pic.twitter.com/ZrQfY1grvY
— Paul Cezanne (@cezanneart) September 9, 2024
Permaculture
“Carbon-Water Tradeoffs in Old-Growth and Young Forests of the Pacific Northwest” [American Geophysical Union]. From the Abstract: “Multiple lines of evidence show that mature and old-growth forest watersheds store and accumulate more carbon, are more drought resistant, and better sustain water availability compared to young forests. These results provide a basis for reconstructions and predictions that are potentially broadly applicable, because first-order watersheds occupy 80%–90% of large river basins and study watersheds are representative of forest history in the Pacific Northwest region.” • A “first-order watershed“: “The start or headwaters of a stream, with no other streams flowing into it, is called the first-order stream. Two first-order streams flow together to form a second-order stream. Second-order streams flow into a third-order stream. This labeling continues until the streams deposit their water into a larger body of water, such as an ocean or a bay.” • “Complexity is the enemy of quality” in the world of engineering or business. That doesn’t seem to be the case in ecological systems.
“On Algorithmic Wage Discrimination” (PDF) [Veena Dubal, SSRN]. “Drawing on a multi-year, first-of-its-kind ethnographic study of organizing on-demand workers, this Article examines the historical rupture in wage calculation, coordination, and distribution arising from the logic of informational capitalism: the use of granular data to produce unpredictable, variable, and personalized hourly pay…. Across firms, the opaque practices that constitute algorithmic wage discrimination raise central questions about the changing nature of work and its regulation under informational capitalism. Most centrally, what makes payment for labor in platform work fair? How does algorithmic wage discrimination change and affect the experience of work? And, considering these questions, how should the law intervene in this moment of rupture?” • We linked to this paper back in December 2023, but now there’s a video out based on it:
NEW: We put 7 Uber & Lyft drivers in one room and had them open their apps.
We found Uber paying different drivers different amounts for the same ride. Lyft too.
It’s proof corporations are using secret algorithms to pay workers less. And all of our jobs could be next. pic.twitter.com/wXV5A1hB1g
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) September 9, 2024
“Shortwave Radiogram, 5-11 September 2024 (program 369): Sail-powered digital modes” [Shortwave Radiogram], “Shortwave Radiogram transmits digital text and images on an analog shortwave broadcast transmitter. The program is produced and presented by Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott.” • “[S]hortwave remains the most accessible international communications medium that still provides listeners with the protection of complete anonymity.”
Contact information for plants: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. From JB:
JB writes: “The rains have returned and the cement pond is full again (our pool, home to about three dozen goldfish and a turtle, plus lily pads). Speaking of which, the lily pads made it through a Florida winter (such as it is). This was not a sure thing, in my estimation, because we planted bulbs in 5-gallon buckets and they sit in the shallow end of the pool ranging in depth between 3-1/2 to 4′ deep. Anyway, they not only survived but thrived and the other day Niki, our daughter, took some really nice photos of a pink blossom (we have white and violet on occasion, also). I immediately thought of you because she caught the clouds reflecting off the water and the effect was very nice.”
