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2:00PM Water Cooler 12/9/2024

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By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Bird Song of the Day

Northern Mockingbird, 138 Captains Dr, West Babylon US-NY, Suffolk, New York, United States. “Two cuts of the same bird. Loaded with mimicry: Carolina Wren (song and call), American Crow, Blue Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, House Finch (call), Killdeer, Northern Flicker, Monk Parakeet, Tree Swallow, American Robin (call), Northern Cardinal, Eastern Phoebe, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Towhee, and possibly a few others of borderline quality.” Over seven minutes! (There are two other Mockingbird recordings from the same location. Apparently 138 Captains Dr, West Babylon is a Mimus polyglottos hotbed!

* * *

In Case You Might Miss…

  1. Trump transition.
  2. How Kamala’s campaign butchered ground operations in Philly.
  3. Boeing Whistleblower: 42 defective rudders go missing; calls for breakup grow.
  4. Congo mystery disease

* * *

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

“Biden shrinks from view ahead of Trump’s return to Washington” [Politico]. “Joe Biden is president of the United States for 42 more days. But within the Democratic Party, on Capitol Hill — and even within his own administration — it feels like he left the Oval Office weeks ago. Biden has effectively disappeared from the radar in the wake of Democrats’ bruising electoral loss. Since Nov. 5, he’s largely stuck to prepared remarks, avoided unscripted public appearances or press questions and opted to sit out the raging debate over Donald Trump’s victory, policy conversations in Congress and the Democratic Party’s future. ‘He’s been so cavalier and selfish about how he approaches the final weeks of the job,’ said a former White House official.” • But–

“Biden officials race to help stabilize Syria after regime collapse” [WaPo]. • “Race” in a headline is always a tell that no matter what the organic causes of the race are, the article will not cover them.

* * *

“Clyburn says he’d support Biden pardoning Trump” [The Hill]. Shot (December 4). “‘Remember that Trump has not been convicted of anything in the federal realm,’ Clyburn told CNN’s ‘Laura Coates Live’ on Tuesday, specifically highlighting the president-elect’s New York hush money case. ‘Those convictions are state convictions.’ ‘So, I’m not talking about state here, I’m talking about things that could impede our federal government,’ he continued, referencing outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin’s (I-W.Va.) similar sentiment earlier this week, when he too called for the president to pardon Trump.”

“White House blames Rep. Jim Clyburn for convincing Biden to pardon Hunter” [New York Post]. Chaser (December 6). “Jean-Pierre claimed Biden, 82, “wrestled” with the decision to pardon his son for any and all crimes he committed between 2014 and 2024 — but it was a visit by Clyburn, 84, that tipped the scales and led the president to go back on his repeated promises not to do so.

Trump Transition

“Hegseth Brings His Nomination Back from the Brink” [The Bulwark]. As of December 6. “Aides believe that the longer Hegseth remains in contention for the post, the higher his chances of confirmation will be, simply because it subjects GOP senators to a sustained pressure campaign from the MAGA base, and because many will have a hard time scuttling him in a public vote. Those aides also believe that if Hegseth is drawing fire from critics, there will be less attention and heat on Trump’s other controversial nominees like Kash Patel (FBI), Tulsi Gabbard (director of national intelligence), or Robert Kennedy Jr. (HHS). ‘Hegseth is a heatshield,’ said a senior Trump adviser. ‘Pete can take the heat, and that’s better for everyone else.'”

* * *

“Trump Taps Fiserv’s Bisignano for Social Security Administration” [Bloomberg]. “If confirmed by the Senate, Bisignano would head an agency responsible for running the Social Security program, a retirement trust fund that faces a budget shortfall and that is politically risky to change because older Americans who benefit from those payments make up a crucial bloc of voters…. A nonpartisan budget watchdog [The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget] in October estimated that Trump’s second-term agenda would drive the program to insolvency three years earlier and slash benefits by nearly a third. The group cited proposals including plans to deport unauthorized immigrants who now pay into Social Security, end taxes on overtime and tips, and end taxation of Social Security benefits. All those measures would shrink revenue for the trust fund, the group said. During the campaign, Trump pledged to eliminate taxes on Social Security payments for seniors, which would benefit some elderly Americans but strain future benefits for those yet to retire.” • But Federal taxes don’t fund Federal spending…

“DOGE Heads Musk and Ramaswamy Signal Social Security Cuts Are Coming” [Truthout]. “Asked by host Kristen Welker on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ program whether the DOGE initiative would include cuts to Social Security, Trump said ‘no,’ other than perhaps cuts related to allegations of ‘abuse’ or ‘fraud’ associated with the program. Notably, such fraud happens at extremely low rates… Musk and Ramaswamy have made it evident that cuts to Social Security will be considered. After the two met with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week about the DOGE initiative, House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) said they had expressed sentiments that contradicted Trump’s comments on Sunday. ‘Nothing is sacrosanct. Nothing. They’re going to put everything on the table,’ Scalise told reporters after the meeting, with Fox Business elaborating that cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid would be discussed.” • I think President Trump and President Musk need to have a talk.

* * *

“Kudlow: DOGE Is Going To Take Out The Unelected Regulatory State That Has Been Mismanaging America” [RealClearPolitics]. “In my frequent conversations with Vivek Ramaswamy, it seems like chopping down the Regulatory State and reducing the overextended government power of the executive branch is a principal DOGE goal. I’ve served several presidents over the years, but I had no idea there are over 220 of these agencies. Of course, taxpayers don’t need them all, and running down multiple pages of these agencies, it sure looks like many are duplicative or totally unnecessary. Vivek has told me he intends to use Supreme Court decisions, such as West Virginia vs. EPA, and the so-called Chevron Deference decision, both of which criticized regulators for doing anything without any Congressional mandate. That of course is what central planners always do, they invent authorities to run the country, but there is no constitutional authority, there is no Congressional authority, there is no taxpayer authority. They just do it to enhance their own power. And they’ve been getting away with it for a long time, until now, until DOGE.” • What the heck does this guy think the Executive Branch is? Is it central? Does it plan? (Yes, I can see a functioning legislature that would write rules and regulations, if there was a branch of the civil service to support that. Otherwise, we might as well just hand the leglslative branch over the corporate legal and public relations departments.

“Musk and Ramaswamy’s DOGE Project to Eviscerate the Federal Government is a Legal Train Wreck” [Washington Monthly]. ” DOGE, whatever it is, is not a “department” in the constitutional sense. The Constitution uses the word “department” to mean either a branch of government, such as the “judicial department,” or a “freestanding component of the executive branch, not subordinate to or contained within any other such component,” to which the law assigns duties, such as the Department of the Treasury or the Environmental Protection Agency. DOGE’s fabulists presumably chose the name to fit the Musk-preferred acronym but also to confuse the public as to their position and authority. As far as the government is concerned, DOGE has neither. Journalists should stop calling it ‘the department.’ Call it a ‘project’ or an ‘initiative.’ Don’t treat it as weightier than it is.” Importantly: “Contrary to the DOGE Manifesto, it is doubtful that Musk and Ramaswamy can operate indefinitely in secrecy as freelance advisors. The duo called themselves ‘outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees’ and asserted that Trump personally named them to head the DOGE. They anticipate advising the initiative ‘at every step’ and working with a team of government officials embedded within government agencies. These arrangements will make DOGE, once Trump is inaugurated, a ‘federal advisory committee’ under the 1972 Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). FACA covers ‘any . . . task force, or other similar group, or any subcommittee or other subgroup thereof (hereafter in this paragraph referred to as ‘committee’), which is . . .established or utilized by the President. . . . in the interest of obtaining advice or recommendations for the President or one or more agencies or officers of the Federal Government.’ Each such committee must develop a public charter, conduct meetings in public, and keep minutes of its meetings.” • Readers will recall FACA from our work on HICPAC.

2024 Post Mortem

“How Alarmed Harris Staffers Went Rogue to Reach Black and Latino Voters” [New York Times]. “Campaign organizers in Philadelphia said they were told not to engage in the bread-and-butter tasks of getting out the vote in Black and Latino neighborhoods, such as attending community events, registering new voters, building relationships with local leaders and calling voters. Instead, they said, they were instructed to spend most of their days phoning the same small pool of volunteers and asking them to knock on voters’ doors and help run field offices. The strategy essentially turned experienced organizers into glorified telemarketers making hundreds of calls daily, with some harried volunteers begging to be taken off call lists.” And holy moley:

On election night, Ms. Harris drastically underperformed in Philadelphia. Although she picked up support in white precincts near downtown, she lost votes in some Latino and Black neighborhoods elsewhere in the city. In interviews, many Democrats expressed little surprise, saying that the Harris campaign had devoted much of its energy to winning over moderate white voters in wealthier neighborhoods and suburbs, both in Philadelphia and around the nation. In an October memo, her campaign wrote that the ‘path to win Pennsylvania capitalizes on Trump’s unprecedented weakness in the suburbs.’ As a result, many staff members felt that Philadelphia’s racially diverse neighborhoods were ignored. Even though the campaign raised $1.5 billion, many of its field offices in the city were filthy and lacked basic supplies like tables, chairs, cleaning products and printers, staff members said. Several recounted being forced to raid the campaign’s better-stocked suburban offices or to raise money independently.

All this in the biggest city in the most important swing state. Extraordinary. Sounds worse than Clinton 2016! The whole article is worth a read. I extracted portions about Harris campaign butchery, but the sad part is that local Democrat volunteers self-organized and self-funded to rescue the national party from itself. Why?

Our Famously Free Press

“Taibbi: Trust In The Media Can’t Be Fixed, Not One Journalist Has Come Forward To Say “Yeah, We Screwed Up” [RealClearPolitics]. TAIBBI: “Trust is a human thing. You can’t mechanize it. And in the journalism business when you make mistakes you have to stand in front of the camera and own up to it or else audiences will never again trust you. And there are years and years of errors about major consequential news cycle-dominating stories like Russiagate and COVID where the networks and major dailies have simply not come forward and said ‘Yeah, we screwed up” and they have to do that if they’re going to get audience back. But they refuse to and I just don’t think that’s — they’re ever going to learn.'”

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 (wastewater); 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, KidDoc, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).

Stay safe out there!

Transmission: H5N1

“‘Geese falling out of the sky’: Avian flu begins to infect birds in the KC metro” [KCTV5]. “As calls continue to roll in about geese that have fallen out of the sky, wildlife officials have warned residents in the Kansas City metro that these birds show signs of avian flu. Operation Wildlife, a Linwood-based wildlife rehab, announced on Friday, Dec. 6, that avian influenza has been confirmed to be in the Kansas City metro area. With an increase in the number of geese due to migration, rescuers have seen an uptick in calls about ‘geese falling out of the sky.’ Organization leaders noted that the majority of these calls have been related to snow geese – about 40 in the past 3 days.” • Is this normal during migrations, and we’re only hearing about it now?

Transmission: Congo Mystery Disease

“Why we still don’t know what’s causing the mystery disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” [EuroNews]. “There are a few potential culprits behind a mystery outbreak that has sickened hundreds of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – but a lack of medical supplies and logistical problems are slowing down disease detection in the remote region. Between October 24 and December 5, there were 406 cases of an unidentified flu-like illness, mostly among children under five years old, in the country’s Kwango province, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The UN health agency has verified 31 deaths, but the DRC’s health officials say that when including patients who died outside of medical facilities, at least 71 people have been confirmed dead. The illness has symptoms that include fever, headache, cough, runny nose, fatigue, and body aches.” And: “WHO said that based on people’s symptoms and the number of deaths so far, authorities believe the illness may be acute pneumonia, influenza, COVID-19, measles, or malaria.” Oh. And: “Malnutrition likely also plays a role, the agency said, given all of the patients with severe illness were malnourished.”

“‘Disease X’ Outbreak Widens as UN Sends Health Team to Congo” [Bloomberg]. “Malaria is common in the area, and it may be causing or contributing to the cases, the United Nations health agency said. ‘Laboratory tests are underway to determine the exact cause. At this stage, it is also possible that more than one disease is contributing to the cases and deaths.'” • “Disease X” is a really unfortunate label, previously reserved by the NIH (plus WEF, CEPI, and the EcoHealth Alliance) for whatever disease sparks the next pandemic (quite possibly bird flu). Whatever this disease is, it’s not that, or hasn’t been shown to be.

Maskstravaganza

Yes, Virginia, respirators do trap viruses:

Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions

Stocking stuffer:

Elite Maleficence

“CDC infection control body rejects the science on airborne transmission” [Julia Doubleday, The Guantlet]. Good HICPAC round-up. ” it’s critical to note that for decades, there was a large financial incentive against looking too closely at the claim that flus, colds, and other common viral and bacterial infections were being spread only via large ‘droplets.’ ‘Droplet’ precautions are relatively cheap and easy compared to the more complex and expensive requirements of controlling fully airborne infections. If a virus spreads through coughs and sneezes, how do you prevent transmission? Well, we all remember early pandemic guidance. Loose fitting surgical masks, social distancing and keeping diners (or patients) six feet apart, putting up physical barriers to protect from spit, and simply washing hands and covering coughs and sneezes are all examples of droplet-based infection control measures…. Proper airborne infection control procedures are expensive, but they are not mysterious. Some changes would be relatively simple; masking with proper respirator-style masks, rather than surgical, is an obvious, necessary upgrade. New ventilation and filtration standards are a simple fix technologically, but require investment. Tools like Far UVC are exciting and could mean drastic leaps forward in both patient outcomes and occupational safety for HCW. Most likely, in order to save money long term and make airborne infection control sustainable, hospitals themselves would be constructed with airborne infection control, patient isolation, airflow, ventilation, etc. as major priorities in the process of designing the infrastructure. Airborne infection control would require, rather than tinkering at the edges of existing practices, a top-down rethinking of hospital protocols.” • Those protocols being exactly what HICPAC refuses to change.

Not one CDC whistleblower. Not one:

Handwashing for the holidaze:

* * *

TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts

Lambert: CDC’s wastewater page loaded. No Thanksgiving surge that I can see.

Wastewater
★This week[1] CDC December 2 Last week[2] CDC (until next week):

Variants [3] CDC December 7 Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC November 30

Hospitalization
★ New York[5] New York State, data December 6: National [6] CDC December 5:

Positivity
★ National[7] Walgreens December 9: Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic November 23:

Travelers Data
Positivity[9] CDC November 19: Variants[10] CDC November 4:

Deaths
Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] CDC November 20: Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] CDC November 20:

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) Good news!

[2] (CDC) Last week’s wastewater map.

[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, “Ommicron,” has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.

[4] (ED) Down.

[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Leveled out.

[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Actually improved; it’s now one of the few charts to show the entire course of the pandemic to the present day.

[7] (Walgreens) Down.

[8] (Cleveland) Down.

[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.

[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.

[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.

[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.

Stats Watch

There are no statistics of interest today.

* * *

Manufacturing: “Boeing failing to keep track of non-conforming parts, whistleblower says: “It’s like Russian roulette'” [CBS]. “[Whistleblower Sam] Mohawk said he started noticing problems at the Renton facility during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Boeing was ramping up production and dealing with supply chain issues. ‘The idea is to keep those airplanes moving, keep that line moving at all costs,’ he said. As a quality investigator, part of Mohawk’s job is to keep track of defective airplane parts in what some employees call ‘the parts jail.’ It’s called that, Mohawk said, because the parts are meant to be under lock and key and tracked like a chain of evidence. But Mohawk says that amid pressure to keep production moving, some employees sidestepped Boeing protocol and took bad parts out of the ‘parts jail’ when his team wasn’t looking.” Huh? How did that happen? More: “Mohawk’s concern is that those bad or ‘non-conforming’ parts he says are getting lost or taken, could be ending up on planes. ‘There’s so much chaos in that factory,’ Mohawk said. ‘There’s a desperation for parts. Because we have problems with our parts suppliers. So there’s, in order to get that plane built and out the door in time, I think unfortunately some of those parts were recycled back onto the airplanes in order to build, keep building the airplane and not stop it in production.’ Mohawk believes it’s happening repeatedly. ‘We have thousands of missing parts,’ he said. It’s not just parts like bolts that are going missing, according to Mowhawk, but also rudders, one of the primary tools for steering planes. Mohawk said 42 flawed or ‘non-conforming’ rudders, which he says would likely not last the 30-year lifespan of a jet, have disappeared. ‘They’re huge parts,’ he said. ‘And they just completely went missing.'” • Holy moley!

Manufacturing: “Boeing Was on 60 Minutes Last Night. Here’s What We Learned.” [Barron’s]. “Sunday, the CBS news program 60 Minutes ran a feature interviewing Boeing whistle-blowers…. Investors can’t be blamed if their knee-jerk reaction was to cower…. But a few new tidbits for investors from the reports qualify as relatively good news. There is a useful lesson in Monday trading too. None of the people interviewed or issues raised were new. That is one reason why the stock didn’t react negatively.”

Manufacturing: “Saving Boeing is the hardest job and biggest opportunity in business” [Dominic Gates, Seattle Times]. Covers Ortberg’s November 20 all-hands speech, which I mentioned contemporaneously that Gates did not, oddly, cover. Now Gates has a copy of the presentation. “[Ortberg] evoked the ‘Working Together’ motto that former Commercial Airplanes CEO Alan Mulally championed in the 1990s during development of Boeing’s successful 777 jet. That was leadership that explicitly integrated input from all stakeholders: engineers, factory workers, parts suppliers and airline customers. Employees who spoke with The Seattle Times about Ortberg’s speech welcomed this principle and were generally optimistic that he can lead Boeing out of its current crisis. However, one engineer and a veteran staffer in the Commercial Airplanes Quality organization, both of whom asked not to be named to protect their positions, expressed disappointment that while Ortberg spoke of culture change he asked that employees move past the strategic errors that have brought Boeing down. ‘Don’t sit at the water cooler and bitch,’ Ortberg told his audience. ‘I can’t imagine how much time we’re spending complaining about what McDonnell Douglas did, what Jim McNerney did, what Dennis (Muilenburg) did.’ But overturning what those and other former CEOs wrought since the McDonnell Douglas acquisition 27 years ago — the extreme focus on the share price, the crushing of unions, the squeezing of suppliers, the cost-cutting, the outsourcing of work and treating longtime employees as dispensable — is what many see as the essential culture change.” • “Look forward and not back.”

Manufacturing: “Internal Voices Call For Boeing Breakup To Boost Stock By 100%” [Barron’s]. “In a significant and unexpected development, senior managers at Boeing have expressed their support for dismantling the conglomerate and a full breakup of the company. After Boeing’s workforce sent a letter directly to The Edge, expressing their agreement with the firm’s recommendation for a corporate breakup, this shift gained momentum. This internal push highlights a profound acknowledgment from those closest to the company’s operations: Boeing’s current structure not only impedes operational efficiency but also hinders its ability to achieve optimal market performance. The alignment of internal voices with external analysis underscores the urgency for transformative change…. The Edge Consulting Group, who have advised on breakups for the last 20 years, sees a 100% increase in the stock price from the sum of the parts if Boeing were to break up in the manner suggested…. Rare and potent is this moment of employee-driven lobbying.” • Hmm.

Manufacturing: “Boeing cancels its workplace surveillance program, will remove sensors” [Seattle Times]. “Boeing announced late Friday that it is canceling a workplace occupancy program that would install camera sensors in its offices, less than a day after The Seattle Times made the program public. The company said in an email that the program ‘has been cancelled, and we are removing the sensors that have been installed.’ The decision followed negative reaction streaming in to managers from employees concerned about their privacy. Seattle Times reader comments showed a similar outcry.” • Sensible.

* * *

Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 51 Neutral (previous close: 53 Neutral) [CNN]. One week ago: 62 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Dec 9 at 1:30:39 PM ET.

Rapture Index: Closes down one on Oil Supply/Price. “Oil Demand drops with a global slow down” [Rapture Ready]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 182. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) • Hard to believe the Rapture Index is going down. Doesn’t the collapse of Syria bring the Third Temple closer? Do these people know something we don’t?

Photo Book

You can practically feel the chilly steaminess:

News of the Wired

“How Much Do I Need to Change My Face to Avoid Facial Recognition?” [Gizmodo]. An aggregation of quotes from experts in the field. Here’s the most optimistic one: Even the best neural networks struggle with low-quality photos that lack information-rich pixels of the human face, especially when matching against a large list of potential identities. Thus the first step is to deny the algorithm those pixels by occluding the face. Cover the face in cases where that isn’t suspicious, e.g., wear a scarf in the wintertime, sun glasses on a bright day. Hats with wide brims are also a confound, as they can hide the forehead and hair, and cast a shadow on the face. Holding a hand over the face is also good for this. The second step is to look down while in motion so any camera in the vicinity will not capture a good frontal image of the face. Third, if one can move quickly, that might cause motion blur in the captured photo—consider jogging or riding a bike. My best practical advice for evasion: know where facial recognition is being deployed and simply avoid those areas. How long this advice remains useful though depends on how widespread the technology becomes in the coming years.” • News you can use!

* * *

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 RH:

RH writes: “Apple camp 2024, Maine.”

* * *

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About Lambert Strether

Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (“Because markets”). I don’t much care about the “ism” that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don’t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. To me, the key issue — and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me — is the tens of thousands of excess “deaths from despair,” as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics — even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton’s wars created — bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow — currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press — a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let’s call such voices “the left.” Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn’t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I’ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.

Subscribe to Post Comments
99 comments

  1. antidlc

    https://x.com/_CatintheHat/status/1860818038150373448

    Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧
    @_CatintheHat
    However, concerns raised by the RCN & other members of the alliance were once again ignored & the IPC guidance remained unchanged.

    “I think by that time for whatever reason the IPC guidance was so wedded to being predicated on droplets that it just didn’t change.”

    Reply ↓
  2. Bsn

    Ha! Love the Apple Camp. In our region we used to see these. All the apples had small slices for tasting and it was fun to circulate and chat with others about what were good, sweet, etc. We settled on Melrose apples. A good keeper – often fresh into about April. And, great tasting. About a 3/4 size apple, not huge, but will fill more than your palm.

    Reply ↓
    1. ambrit

      We here in the North American Deep South have, alas, no ‘local’ apples worth noting roughly south of the Lookout Mountain of North Alabama region. (It’s a big, long, high ridge. A mini-climate in the South.)
      That table of apples, and I notice, some pears, looks absolutely scrumptious.

      Reply ↓
      1. Wukchumni

        There used to be a little apple orchard of around 30 trees not too far from Mineral King road around mile 12.5 @ place called Traugers, when the road was about 100 vertical feet higher (rerouted in the early 20th century) than now, and you would have no inkling that it existed looking up from the road, but a little exploration later, there it was.

        Planted in the 1890’s, on 25 of them, the main trunk was dead and all had a few 3 inch wide 20 foot tall non-fruit bearing suckers on the periphery, as the living heirs.

        The other 5 were still fruit bearing, we harvested some last in 2018, 2019 had a snowy Memorial Day that took out the crop, in 2020 MK road was closed from September on account of the Castle Fire, and in 2021 the KNP Fire completely wiped out any evidence that the orchard ever existed, gone.

        Bet you could grow Anna apples in the NADS…

        Reply ↓
      1. Hepativore

        There is a horticultural research station next to the University of Minnesota. I go up there in the fall, as they have Northern Spy, which is my favorite apple for both fresh eating and cooking. I do not know why they have fallen out of favor like they have as they are quite cold-hardy and they are rather large apples. Plus, the name “Northern Spy” is so cool sounding, as if the apples were involved in espionage.

        I wish you could enlarge the picture so that you could read all of the names of the apples.

        Reply ↓
      3. LawnDart

        Ratted out by a McDonalds employee…

        $10k richer and probably get a merit badge too, maybe even a free Big Mac.

        I hope they choke.

        Reply ↓
      4. lyman alpha blob

        Sorry for the repetition, but I noted in links earlier that he is of course ratted out by someone who likely has really crappy healthcare. Clearly more Mickey D’s workers need to watch Spartacus.

        Still hoping that maybe it isn’t the right guy – the name sounds more like a MarioKart driver.

        Reply ↓
      5. Kurtismayfield

        He was carrying all the evidence with him, do he probably wanted to be caught (or it’s a plant, which I am not going down that road).

        I will be surprised if this goes to trial, as his defense will be the industry.

        Reply ↓
    2. flora

      Perhaps they have the guy. Perhaps not. Perhaps they only have a person seeking fame by confessing to a famous crime. Perhaps the real guy. Innocent until proven guilty, etc.

      Reply ↓
      1. Dornbirn Panther

        I also remain unconvinced the killer has been apprehended. It’s certainly possible, but breathless headlines are worth little in the mainstream press.

        The fact the mask-off photo is obviously omeone dressed differently than the murderer in the captured footage gives me pause about the entire episode. The authorities clearly want this case solved asap, and the killer must be punished harshly to put down the joyous discussion surrounding the CEOs death. Let’s see the evidence, witness testimony if any, etc. The authorities have much to prove.

        Reply ↓
        1. steppenwolf fetchit

          I hope that someone preserves the photos of both guys in both coats beyond the reach of digital photoshoppers.

          Reply ↓
    3. IM Doc

      As of this moment, his Twitter account is still active. I have glanced over the entries. Nothing really “out there” – indeed quite a bit about permaculture and energy issues. But no posts anytime recently – kind of starts at 2023 – except for occasional retweets – and he does not ever seem to have been too prolific of a poster.

      I do find it interesting that the authorities have not yanked this down yet. That should be telling me something – but not sure what that would be right now.

      There is a video of him doing his graduation speech as the Valedictorian in 2016. Nothing really alarming or disturbing there either.

      Interesting. Again, they usually jerk these online profiles down really quick – and it has now been hours and still up. Another interesting factoid on the profile picture – he is posed shirtless in a tropical rain forest – obviously very healthy – but immediately to the left of that photo is an X-ray of a lateral lumbar spine view with screws and pedicles in place ( a very curious thing to have on your profile, if I say so myself). Looking at that film – it could be from him – the general body habitus fits. But it is impossible to say for sure. But, let me assure you, people who have that kind of surgery – especially young jocks – often end up in a quasi-miserable life. Very decreased mobility from what they are used to – and could be very painful at times. It does make wonder if his animus started right there or if that has something to do with the entire situation.

      Reply ↓
    1. ambrit

      Any mention in that piece about the biggest “terrorist” group in New York City, the police?
      When the subject of the New York City police comes up, I generally think back to the book and movie “Serpico.”

      Reply ↓
    2. AG

      Jessica Tisch!

      “is an American public administrator serving as the New York City Police Commissioner since November 25, 2024. She was previously the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation from 2022 to 2024. She has also served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications and Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology of the New York Police Department.
      On November 20, 2024, Tisch was named the NYPD Commissioner effective November 25, 2024 by Mayor Eric Adams.”


      “Tisch was born to Merryl Tisch and James S. Tisch, Chief Executive Officer of Loews Co.”

      Art students and staff of the NY Tisch School of Arts and lovers of performing arts in NYC will surely be happy to hear that the heir to the Tisch fortune and formal patron of their institution is working hard to surveil them.

      2000 cameras and soon 3000. And she is proud. May be employ graduates from the Tisch school film department?

      Reply ↓
  5. AG

    re: apples

    The new season 2 of Netflix´s THE DIPLOMAT – (a mean piece of NATO PR btw) – has a prep scene on apple pie. The US-Ambassador is supposed to try ALL of them to decide which one to serve to the guests. Then the issue of the apple pie from Maine – I think – comes up and that Maine would take a loss in this “contest” as an insult. So they settle on serving the one fom Maine…

    Reply ↓
      1. flora

        Clyburn is a stalwart 3rd Way, DLC Dem from the get go. If the blame cannons are now focusing on him, this can only be because of his age, imo. Throw the old stalwarts under the bus while pretending relevance to the young. Nothing personal, it’s just bidness. / my 2 cents.

        Reply ↓
          1. flora

            See also Tom Wolfe’s novel A Man in Full . Almost like the 3rd Way Dems took the book as an instruction manual, imo. As if they could not recognize it’s biting satire. Perhaps they could not. Their Achilles’ Heel, imo.
            / heh

            Reply ↓
  8. flora

    re: Harris campaign.

    My email account has finally stopped getting spammed by those annoying “send me money” begs from Harris and Co. An early Christmas present of sorts. / ;)

    Reply ↓
  9. JBird4049

    “Boeing failing to keep track of non-conforming parts, whistleblower says: “It’s like Russian roulette’”

    I just have to wonder about the sanity of the company’s management as having multiple planes falling from the sky again just about guarantees their losing the control (and pay from) of the company. If greed runs their lives, keeping control of Boeing is important.

    Reply ↓
    1. skippy

      2011 yet still applicable –

      The rule of the market. Under neoliberalism government control over prices, wages and working conditions are abandoned. Tariffs are abolished and goods, services and capital are allowed to move freely across national boundaries.

      Cuts to welfare and social services. Government spending on health, education, community services and income support is cut back under neoliberalism.

      Subsidies and tax breaks for business continue.

      Deregulation. Neoliberalism is opposed to regulations that threaten profits. That means less government control over pollution, workplace safety etc.

      Radical individualism. When individuals fail to adequately provide for themselves and their families, they are held responsible for failing to adapt to the requirements of the marketplace.

      Whilst it can be delivered ad hoc by any political party it still rolls on. Elons mob is very adamant about everything above, more so, failure to institute the above will be the death of the nation.

      Reply ↓
      1. The Rev Kev

        That’s not the rule of the market. It’s survival of the jungle. Well, unless your parents are rich and can protect you. Just ask Hunter.

        Reply ↓
    2. chris

      I realize that taxes are necessary and complaining about being taxed on money I’ve already paid taxes on is a position akin to pissing into a stiff wind. But I am all for eliminating taxes on SSI. Or even significantly raising the limits for taxation. Like, if you and your partner receive less than 200k$ in benefits each year, you pay no taxes.

      I understand based on the 1993 legislation that would hurt Medicare. But taxing SSI benefits these days seems exceptionally cruel given how poor most of the recipients are.

      Reply ↓
    3. JTMcPhee

      Just doing away with the cap on wage income subject to Social Security withholdings will, as I understand it, pretty much fix the supposed (and demanded by the kill-the-New-Deal monsters) “insolvency.”

      I’m just an old guy on fixed income, so tell me to piss off and die already — in accordance with Neoliberal Rule #2.

      What a wonderful species we are.

      Reply ↓
        1. flora

          Does your country’s ally
          Misbehave
          Grunt and grumble
          Rant and rave
          Shoot the brutes some
          Burisma-Shave

          —

          (With apologies to the Burma Shave company. / ;)

          Reply ↓
  12. vao

    an unidentified flu-like illness
    […]
    “The illness has symptoms that include fever, headache, cough, runny nose, fatigue, and body aches.” And: “WHO said that based on people’s symptoms and the number of deaths so far, authorities believe the illness may be acute pneumonia, influenza, COVID-19, measles, or malaria.”

    Isn’t anybody else perplexed and a bit annoyed that apparently the symptoms of every new illness befalling mankind are described as being “flu-like”? Why not saying “nondescript symptoms” or “unexceptional symptoms”? Or for that matter “bronchitis-like symptoms”?

    Is this an underlying, understandable but misplaced, attempt to avoid panicking the population by referring to the “flu”, frequently (and improperly) associated to common, benign colds by the majority of the population?

    The symptoms of Covid were characterized as being “flu-like”. So were those of RSV. So were those of mpox. And those of parvovirus. Now this mysterious African disease. I find this fixation with the “flu” — not even “influenza”, which evokes the terrible pandemics of the past — very odd. But perhaps I am reading too much in it.

    Reply ↓
    1. mrsyk

      I’m wondering why they don’t end that quoted part with either a list of unusual or unexpected symptoms, or if none, then a short statement of just that.
      Considering our downward existential direction and the delta thereof, I figure “flu-like” illnesses are going to want to take a turn at “rent extraction” of the human race.

      Reply ↓
  13. flora

    re: “Trump Taps Fiserv’s Bisignano for Social Security Administration” [Bloomberg].

    “All those measures would shrink revenue for the trust fund, the group said. During the campaign, Trump pledged to eliminate taxes on Social Security payments for seniors, which would benefit some elderly Americans but strain future benefits for those yet to retire.”

    I don’t see how their conclusion follows. Taxes on SS benefits do not include FICA taxes. The taxation rate on SS benefits upper limit to avoid taxes hasn’t been lifted to account for inflation since the Tax Reform Act of 1986, as far as I know. That “reform” act was a give away to the richest who got big tax cuts covered by the SS Tax Act which dipped into the SS Trust Fund. The promise to the Trust Fund was that the richest would pay back into the SS Trust Fund the windfall they’d received by borrowings from it to cover their big tax breaks. (Yeah, right. You wonder why the Pete Peterson group is so hostile to SS now? There’s your answer, imo. Dayz stole da moneys fairs un square. )

    Reply ↓
    2. Darthbobber

      It follows because the law that introduced taxation of benefits also stipulated that the government would transfer an amount equal to those tax revenues to the trust fund each year.

      This could be addressed by continuing those payments from general revenue, but I’d be very surprised if that winds up being the proposal

      Reply ↓
  14. Wukchumni

    NWS Oxnard has issued a PDSRFW, and it’s the first PDSRFW i’ve ever seen, Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning, for those of you not hep to preposterously long weather acronyms.

    SoCal is dry as a bone and this being the new normal where you can have horrific blazes any old time, watch out~

    Reply ↓
    1. mrsyk

      Yikes. Seems like only yesterday you wrote something about 3 disparate countries going TILT in a week. Also today, Arctic News dropped a post which is, I really don’t know how to say it, you be the judge. Did a Terminal Temperature Acceleration Event start in December 2024? This seems inevitable, but already? Those top three graphs are something. I’m beginning to consider a new investment strategy for my retirement funds called “hookers, blow, and penalty taxes”

      Reply ↓
        1. mrsyk

          That occurred to me, how those curves are drawn is above my level, but as a long time reader of AN a consistent theme for a multi-year stretch has been 2025 being the beginning of rapid acceleration of temperature increase. Todays graphs aren’t one-offs. They appear to be confirmations of most every graph he’s previously published. Maybe there is blind spot built in. Maybe we get one more sine wave cycle before the wheels fall off. Maybe I’m heading to the cellar to dig out those last dusty bottles. I don’t like wagers like this.
          And, this is not a rebuttal, just a side comment. Doesn’t his path from school to petro-industry to methane alarmist to climate alarmist (I think I got that right).make him a model “citizen scientist”? Remember when that was a thing?

          Reply ↓
          1. j

            mrsyk,

            The trend line on the first chart
            is just silly. He just has to know
            better.

            It looks like he’s using at least
            a fourth order polynomial fit on
            only two years worth of data.
            The data itself being temperature
            residuals, after the seasonal
            signal is removed. The resulting
            fit is (almost always) going to
            explode towards plus or minus
            infinity, if the fit is extrapolated.

            J.
            ——————————————–
            The long term graph showing a
            relentless warming over the
            last fifty years or so looks about
            right, and is plenty scary for my
            taste.

            Reply ↓
            2. chris

              I agree with everything you’ve said. The fit shown is ridiculous. And yet…

              The only consistent thing in the climate data since we started paying attention to these things is how quickly we’ve crossed the boundaries and how fast the data has shown us ever worsening results. Crying wolf isn’t helpful. But one of these days, we’re going to look back and see the foot of a very bad mountain of data.

              Reply ↓
  15. Screwball

    RE: The Doge thing with Musk and V.

    If nothing else, and maybe a good thing, this has sparked quite the conversations. Already the sides are digging in with their narrative, but what are the facts?

    After spending close to 40 years in manufacturing/engineering/corporate America, some working with the government I can say for sure – there is a vast amount of waste. I also see this from my local government who seems to be very good at wasting our money – enough I am considering running for city council next year so I can “watch” the money.

    At the same time, I was lectured yesterday on how the vast majority of people who work for government are good, honest people who truly want to make a difference for the American people, and how dare anyone mess with the system and these people.

    Well, I’m not so sure about that.

    They claimed there has been too many stories of ineptness and corruption so pervasive in relation to their incidence, and the damage they do can be so vast that it leads people to conclude the government is crooked and wasteful when it really isn’t. Even worse, there is an entire political party that wants to destroy it. This was from a PMC democrat so that makes sense from his perspective.

    Well, the Pentagon just failed an audit for the 7th time. That doesn’t sound good, and their budget is how many billion? 820 to answer my own question. I don’t know how much waste there is, and what can be saved, but I don’t see anything wrong with looking into it. I do suppose it matters who’s doing looking, and in this case, it’s two of the most hated men in America, so I don’t expect much to happen. Other than more entertainment, and larger deficits. But let’s see the numbers and data.

    Reply ↓
    1. Milton

      Hate this! What is waste! In the public sector, it is maybe having extra employees doing Jack squat–inefficiency as defined by our betters. In the private sector, waste is the hovering up of potential employee benefits and wages to shareholders and execs.
      At least it can be argued that govt waste is a jobs program that actually benefits the real economy.

      Reply ↓
    2. Steve Andrews

      Who thinks Elon Musk is going to share the spotlight with anyone, much less someone who if he is a billionaire only a borderline one? “Vivek, could you grab me one of those waters at the end of the table”? “Vivek are you taking notes?”

      And if K$H gets in, Vivek will be spending a lot of time showing that he’s the #1 Hindu in Magaland.

      DOGE will be a lot of drama, don’t know about much else.

      Reply ↓
    3. scott s.

      DoD fails audits because its financial systems aren’t good enough. Which means if there is “waste” it’s hard to tell. In my little corner of the biz the Navy Working Capital Fund tended to be prone to adverse opinions and NavComp used it kind of aggressively. (In my time it went from Navy Industrial Fund, to Defense Base Operating Fund — by Cheney so consider that –, to Navy Working Capital Fund by Perry. When things change names, there’s usually a political reason for it.)

      Keep in mind that “waste” can be defined as “not what Congress expected” rather than “not providing for defense against all enemies, foreign and domestic”.

      Reply ↓
  16. Jason Boxman

    From How Alarmed Harris Staffers Went Rogue to Reach Black and Latino Voters

    Kellan White, a senior adviser to the Harris campaign in Pennsylvania, said in a statement: “This campaign did more in Philadelphia to reach Black and Latino voters than any campaign has done in a long time. The issue is not that we didn’t knock on these doors — we knocked on a ton of doors. The problem was that the message itself didn’t connect — and that’s what we as a party need to spend our time and energy on, trying to understand why when we knocked these doors, what we had to say didn’t resonate with enough voters.”

    Well, Kellan, I thought telling black men that under Harris, they can have Bitcoin, was a great pitch! I’m not sure why this would not have connected with black men.

    Even though the campaign raised $1.5 billion, many of its field offices in the city were filthy and lacked basic supplies like tables, chairs, cleaning products and printers, staff members said. Several recounted being forced to raid the campaign’s better-stocked suburban offices or to raise money independently. One office received more than 20 boxes of campaign T-shirts, only to discover an embarrassing misspelling: “Harriz-Walz.”

    LOL. Our Democrats. So how well do you think this class was gonna run the federal government? Also, breathtaking disrespect for people of color with dilapidated offices. Democrats, tell us how you really feel! I guess they got nowhere else to go, right? Trump’s shown that, actually, they do!

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      Well, Stephanie in the suburbs may have voted for Harris but that was balanced out by Mohamed, Pedro and Serena in the poorer suburbs going for Trump instead. But at least all those consultants all got their pay packets for all their advice. And those celebs too.

      Reply ↓
  17. curlydan

    I stopped buying Enovid/No Wonder about a year ago. Boycott and divest… I’m pretty sure that’s what’s driven the rebranding, too.

    Reply ↓
    1. FlyoverBoy

      I’m sorry, Dan. I want to understand your comment, but I’m a bit slow on the uptake here and I just don’t. Could you clarify, please? Thanks.

      Reply ↓
  19. Michaelmas

    jm: she is beginning to realize that despite her PMC status and comfortably large salary she makes nowhere near enough to afford personal security services.

    PMC status?

    Average New Yorker staffer salary is $81,931.

    In the real world, that doesn’t go far in New York or even Brooklyn these days. Tolentino is just another mope (whether she knows it or not).

    Reply ↓
    2. mrsyk

      That’s poverty level in NYC. In most of the US, for that matter. I imagine she’s working for the benefits and opportunity on glass-half-full days.

      Reply ↓
    1. steppenwolf fetchit

      If Shooter Guy did indeed have UHC insurance and was indeed fearful of being denied care or being threatened with care denial by UHC, then I should think that the only way that Shooter Guy could claim self-defense is if Shooter Guy were to state his hope that by removing the current CEO, that UHC would get a nicer-guy CEO who would be less likely to deny Shooter Guy’s insurance claims.

      If Shooter Guy were to make such a claim with a straight face, it would indeed be epic.

      Reply ↓
  21. The Rev Kev

    ‘Tyler Austin Harper
    @Tyler_A_Harper
    In early 2020, when the CDC was saying don’t buy masks they don’t work, I got a call from a friend whose partner worked at the CDC: “He said to tell you to buy and wear masks. He says they’re lying to the public because they’re worried about a shortage.” I think about that a lot.’

    I keep remembering how we were told that wearing a face mask could be dangerous. Not only in the US but also here in Oz. That was one serious piece of gaslighting that. And when later they fessed up that they outright lied to us but it was a ‘white lie’ were surprised to find out that people were now mistrustful of what medical authorities told us anymore. Didn’t help that the vaccines they forced on people which they told us were 100% safe were anything but. When all you understand is political expediency, trust is such a foreign concept. maybe they think that you can buy it off a shelf or get it by running a few focus groups and a quick pr campaign.

    Reply ↓
  22. steppenwolf fetchit

    . . . ” Rapture Index: Closes down one on Oil Supply/Price. “Oil Demand drops with a global slow down” . . .

    Why might a dropping Oil Demand dropping from global slowdown cause the Rapture Index to close down one? Perhaps because dropping Oil Demand poses a risk of carbon skyflooding slowing down which would make global warming a little slower and a little less irreversible maybe.

    The Rapture Indexers consider global warming to be a sign of the approaching End Times. They want the global to warm faster to bring the Return of Christ closer. Pat Robertson said as much on the 700 Club once, when he called efforts to reduce or reverse global warming to be the work of Satan, because global warming was a sign of the End Times, and only Satan ( and his earthly helpers) would want to reverse global warming .

    Reply ↓
    1. Cat Burglar

      Of course, Robertson actually bought an oil refinery in California, so activism to end global warming would be the work of Satan.

      Reply ↓
  23. mrsyk

    nasal-cleansing hedge-betting viral vigilantes has ear-wormed me to the tune of supercalfragilisticexpialidocious. You’re welcome.

    Reply ↓
  24. steppenwolf fetchit

    About avoiding or defeating facial recognition, wasn’t there once a little item about somebody putting a hybrid transparent-reflective covering over their car’s license plate? A covering which human eyes could see right through but which the cameras saw as an all-blinding glare?

    If there was, I wonder whether patches of that material worn on the cheeks and forehead could also glare-blind the cameras?

    Or what if millions of people all began wearing bee-veils in public? They could see through the bee-veils, but could the cameras see through the bee-veils going the other way? Here is a bunch of images of bee veils. If millions or hundreds of millions of people all did it, it would be a fad and a fashion and a craze. How would the authorities stop hundreds of millions of people from doing it?

    Here is a bunch of images of bee veils.
    https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrEa35DhldnrRES5F1XNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Nj?p=bee+veil+image&fr=sfp

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      It’s hard to avoid these cameras. A coupla years ago the British police were getting very heavy with a London pub owner because he did not want to install cameras so that they would be facing anybody that entered his pub. In the 1980 book “Congo” by Michael Crichton, he wrote of a destroyed ancient city which had a logo that all their slaves could see wherever they were. It said ‘We Are Watching You.’

      Reply ↓
  25. NotTimothyGeithner

    Campaign organizers in Philadelphia said they were told not to engage in the bread-and-butter tasks of getting out the vote in Black and Latino neighborhoods, such as attending community events, registering new voters, building relationships with local leaders and calling voters. Instead, they said, they were instructed to spend most of their days phoning the same small pool of volunteers and asking them to knock on voters’ doors and help run field offices.

    To a certain extent, this isn’t wrong in a well-run machine, but the Biden campaign didn’t do any organizing. My gut is the Harris campaign wanted the appearance of success and popularity which is local energy has taken over the skeleton of the campaign instead of having the field organizers do late game stuff.

    The pool that the field organizers should be working should be expanded from the organizing period in the waning days. Except for training, the OG organizers shouldn’t be on the front lines anymore. This story feels like they just terrorized the permanent local volunteer types for the sake of saying “volunteers made this many calls” as opposed to having built that organization.

    Reply ↓
  26. AG

    re: COVID Germany vaccines

    Bastian Barucker (part of the RKI-Files team) on TWITTER:
    https://x.com/BBarucker/status/1865714189484118107

    “On February 11, 2021, the head of @PEI_Germany claimed (Paul-Ehrlich Insitute) (1)
    “Vaccinations do not cause deaths.” On November 28, 2024, the PEI published an extremely late side effect analysis(2) for the years 2021 – 2023. This alone already includes 1,113 deaths. Given massive but typical under-reporting, one could assume at least 11,130 deaths. At the time of his interview, the PEI already had at least eight deaths.”

    (1) https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/panorama/klaus-cichutek-wir-tun-alles-um-todesursache-festzustellen/das-erste/Y3JpZDovL25kci5kZS81ZmZhYzdjYy1hOTZiLTRkMGQtYTE0Yy0xNzU4OWZiNTU1Njc
    (2) https://www.pei.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/newsroom/dossiers/rohdaten-sicherheitsberichte/download-xls-uaw-daten-2020-12-27-bis-2023-12-31.html?nn=169638&cms_dlConfirm=true

    p.s. In all this it would be helpful if Barucker brought up older cases of newly introduced vaccines and possible deaths or lack of those for comparison.

    Reply ↓
  28. AG

    re: Syria

    Moon of Alabama:

    Syria – Winners And Losers Or Both
    https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/12/syria-winner-and-losers-or-both.html#comments

    – “Israel is for now the big winner in Syria. But with restless Jihadists now right on its border it remains to be seen for how long that will hold.

    The U.S. is bombing the central desert of Syria. It claims to strike ISIS but the real target is any local (Arab) resistance which could prevent a connection between the U.S. controlled east of Syria with the Israel controlled south-west. There may well be plans to further build this connection into an Eretz Israel, a Zionist controlled state “from the river to the sea”.”

    – “The incoming Trump administration sees China as its major enemy. By throwing Syria (and Ukraine) into chaos the outgoing Biden administration has guaranteed that Trump will have to stay involved in the Middle East (and eastern Europe).

    The massive U.S. ‘Pivot to Asia’ will again have to wait. This gives China more time to build its sphere of influence. It may well be the only power that has been a winner in this.”

    first reader´s cryptic comment there (with assumptions too off I find):
    “Max Blumenthal was talking with Napolitano the other day and he said something I want to go back and listen to again. I think he said there was some strange delay from the Russians at the onset of this. It’s all so strange.

    It would be something if Erdogan conspired with Netanyahu over what’s happening in Syria, only to see backstabber Erdogan hoodwink god’s chosen people, divine backstabbers extraordinaire, into a trap, using Syria as bait. (Russia backing off, staying at arm’s length)

    And then Turkey (population sympathetic to Palestinians) follow that up by smashing israel to bits once and for all.”

    Reply ↓

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