Says a Peruvian cocalero, who, we're told, farms coca "for traditional indigenous uses," quoted in "The coronavirus has gutted the price of coca. It could reshape the cocaine trade" (WaPo). I don't really understand how he's the victim of the supposed global market collapse if he's only providing for traditional indigenous uses, but I do accept the proposition that coca farming in Peru is "a solution for... survival."
Are we, the readers of WaPo, supposed to feel bad about the collapse of the coca market? I think so, because the article goes on to say that drug trafficking will come back after the lockdown, but the big operations — the "supersized cartels" — will survive and prosper, and as usual, we are prompted to care about small business... including, apparently, small criminal businesses.
The comments at WaPo find their own path and — surprise! — make it about Trump: "This will be hard news for Trump supporters. If meth and heroin supplies are disrupted, a part of the economy they actually participate in will be taking a hit"/"Notice trump isn't sniffing his runny nose as much as he used to"/"Finally! Something to explain trump's impatience to reopen the country - it's screwing with his cocaine trafficking logistics. Shoulda knowed."
How crazy is America right now? We've had low-level crazy for a while, and then they put us under house arrest for 3 months and they've hidden the faces behind masks, then we all watched video of a mind-bending murder, which was the go-ahead to pour back into the streets en masse and express ourselves — suddenly, emotively, violently — and all the while we were starving for our usual drugs.
Leading alcohol and drug rehab that has helped thousands of individuals suffering with drug addiction and alcoholism find rehabilitation for their addictions
Showing posts with label commerce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commerce. Show all posts
"I was trying to stick it to the [Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation] for their invalidated models resulting in needless, economy-wrecking, life-wrecking lockdown..."
"... and when I saw they were announcing modeling a solution to our racial crisis, I was incredulous, angry, and overly emotional. Involving George Floyd's name in that effort was wrong."
Tweeted Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit who's now given up his position as CEO, quoted in "CEO steps down after inflammatory George Floyd comments/A major sponsor and affiliated gyms dropped their partnerships after Greg Glassman invoked Floyd's name when complaining about coronavirus restrictions" (NBC).
The Institute had tweeted "Racism and discrimination are critical public health issues that demand an urgent response. #BlackLivesMatter." Glassman's response was, first, the disastrously curt: "It's FLOYD-19." A few hours later, he expanded his idea:
It’s the white thing to do... Who talks like that? To my ear, it sounds like left-wing critique of of white people — that white people are making these pious statements of empathy and support, and it's not really enough, it's fake and shallow, and he's the one who wants a real revolution. But it could also be someone who wants to stay out of politics and resists pressure to do what everyone else is doing. He might be using "white" in the sarcastic sense of the phrase "That's mighty white of you." In that light, it might be a way to say: Putting up those statements is virtue signaling.
In any case, Glassman was hurting his business, which was a brand that other businesses needed to want to pay to adopt as their own. That leaves little room for adamant self-defense.
Tweeted Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit who's now given up his position as CEO, quoted in "CEO steps down after inflammatory George Floyd comments/A major sponsor and affiliated gyms dropped their partnerships after Greg Glassman invoked Floyd's name when complaining about coronavirus restrictions" (NBC).
The Institute had tweeted "Racism and discrimination are critical public health issues that demand an urgent response. #BlackLivesMatter." Glassman's response was, first, the disastrously curt: "It's FLOYD-19." A few hours later, he expanded his idea:
Your failed model quarantined us and now you're going to model a solution to racism? George Floyd's brutal murder sparked riots nationally. Quarantine alone is "accompanied in every age and under all political regimes by an undercurrent of suspicion, distrust, and riots." Thanks!Glassman had also said some things behind the scenes that made his problem worse. BuzzFeed reports that — in a Zoom call with gym owners — Glassman was asked why Crossfit's website didn't have a statement addressing the death of George Floyd. Glassman was recorded saying: “We're not mourning for George Floyd — I don't think me or any of my staff are.... Can you tell me why I should mourn for him? Other than that it’s the white thing to do — other than that, give me another reason.”
It’s the white thing to do... Who talks like that? To my ear, it sounds like left-wing critique of of white people — that white people are making these pious statements of empathy and support, and it's not really enough, it's fake and shallow, and he's the one who wants a real revolution. But it could also be someone who wants to stay out of politics and resists pressure to do what everyone else is doing. He might be using "white" in the sarcastic sense of the phrase "That's mighty white of you." In that light, it might be a way to say: Putting up those statements is virtue signaling.
In any case, Glassman was hurting his business, which was a brand that other businesses needed to want to pay to adopt as their own. That leaves little room for adamant self-defense.
"People are kind of freaking out. They feel like all of the hard work they’ve been putting in for so long is at risk of going to waste."
Said Jahkeen Washington, co-owner of boutique gym in Central Harlem, quoted in "New York City’s Kettlebell Shortage: ‘People Are Kind of Freaking Out’/After fitness enthusiasts were forced to reimagine how they could keep in shape, demand led to a shortage of workout equipment" (NYT). Apparently, it's impossible to buy a kettleball in NYC.
Why kettlebells? When did that become the home exercise equipment of choice? Here's Joe Rogan last December:
“It’s pandemonium,” said Ed Pryst, the chief sales officer of Gym Source, a New Jersey-based workout equipment retailer with several offices in New York....But people have only wanted kettleballs now, in the lockdown, because they can't get to the gym, so there's little reason for U.S. foundries to adapt to this demand, which is, presumably, transitory.
The shortage is a problem, factory workers said, that could have been prevented were the U.S. not so reliant on foreign manufacturing and iron production.... There are more than 3,000 foundries that work with the iron needed to create kettlebells, but their efforts almost wholly go to larger industrial items like car parts or iron gates.... The process of equipping a foundry to make a new product is expensive and time consuming. In the case of a kettlebell, a design mold of the equipment has to be created, which can sometimes cost up to $100,000. Then a foundry must equip itself with the necessary materials (for a kettlebell, gray cast iron) and possibly, special machinery....
Why kettlebells? When did that become the home exercise equipment of choice? Here's Joe Rogan last December:
Unfit.
"A tweet Saturday from CrossFit founder Greg Glassman that appeared to make light of both the death of George Floyd and the novel coronavirus pandemic resulted in a widespread backlash within the CrossFit community. On Sunday, Reebok announced it was ending its corporate partnership with the popular fitness company, and after some gyms said they were cutting ties to the CrossFit brand, and others said they’re considering doing so, Glassman issued an apology. Glassman was responding Saturday to a tweet posted by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), in which the research center declared, 'Racism is a public health issue.' 'It’s FLOYD-19,' replied Glassman, 63. That sparked outrage among some owners of CrossFit gyms, or 'boxes,' as they’re called, that pay fees of several thousands of dollars annually to license the brand."
From "CrossFit founder jokes about George Floyd as Reebok, gyms drop the brand" (WaPo).
If what you're selling is branding, you'd better maintain that product. You're asking other people to put your reputation on themselves! You're not a solo, roving comedian. Even if it had been a great joke — which it wasn't — Glassman was an idiot to tweet it.
From "CrossFit founder jokes about George Floyd as Reebok, gyms drop the brand" (WaPo).
If what you're selling is branding, you'd better maintain that product. You're asking other people to put your reputation on themselves! You're not a solo, roving comedian. Even if it had been a great joke — which it wasn't — Glassman was an idiot to tweet it.
"Stepping into a Wing location feels a little like being sealed inside a pop-feminist Biodome."
"It is pitched as a social experiment: what the world would look like if it were designed by and for women, or at least millennial women with meaningful employment and a cultivated Instagram aesthetic. The Wing looks beautiful and expensive, with curvy pink interiors that recall the womb. The thermostat hovers around 72 degrees, to satisfy women’s higher temperature needs. A color-coded library features books by female authors only. There are well-appointed pump rooms, as well as private phone booths named after Lisa Simpson, Anita Hill and Lady Macbeth. There is an in-house cafe, the Perch, serving wines sourced from female vintners, and an in-house babysitting annex, the Little Wing, where members’ children may be looked after. The vibe is a fusion of sisterly inclusion and exclusive luxury: Private memberships run up to $3,000 per year, and the wait-list is 9,000 names long."
From "The Wing Is a Women’s Utopia. Unless You Work There/The social club’s employees have a story to tell about the company that sold the world Instagram-ready feminism" by Amanda Hess (NYT).
This sounds really funny, like something in a movie. Lisa Simpson, Anita Hill and Lady Macbeth — that got a big laugh from my imaginary movie-theater audience.
Anyway, what's the problem with the staff?
And the name of that in-house babysitting annex, the Little Wing, makes me think of a circus mind that's running wild — butterflies and zebras and moonbeams... and fairy tales....
From "The Wing Is a Women’s Utopia. Unless You Work There/The social club’s employees have a story to tell about the company that sold the world Instagram-ready feminism" by Amanda Hess (NYT).
This sounds really funny, like something in a movie. Lisa Simpson, Anita Hill and Lady Macbeth — that got a big laugh from my imaginary movie-theater audience.
Anyway, what's the problem with the staff?
Most Wing employees I spoke with had ambitions bigger than their starting positions... Some staff members hired to work the front desk or run events saw their job duties inflated to include scrubbing toilets, washing dishes and lint-rolling couches.... When staff members tried to exercise their membership privileges, on breaks or after their shifts, members would hand them dirty dishes or barge in on them in the phone booth. Some screamed at employees about crowding in the space and cried over insufficient swag. A common member refrain was that it was anti-feminist not to give her whatever perk she desired....This is all so pre-coronavirus. But it's interesting to get a nudge to remember what would could be fretting about if we didn't have this plague infesting our consciousness.
And the name of that in-house babysitting annex, the Little Wing, makes me think of a circus mind that's running wild — butterflies and zebras and moonbeams... and fairy tales....
Elon Musk can help and will help... but not just yet.
This is great news. I don't know exactly which hospitals are most in need, but my understanding is NYC and Seattle hospitals are in acute danger. If you're a hospital with a ventilator shortage or someone in a position to compile a list, please let @elonmusk and me know here. https://t.co/cecrQIj9GS
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 19, 2020
"Mr. Colvin does not believe he was price gouging. While he charged $20 on Amazon for two bottles of Purell that retail for $1 each..."
"... he said people forget that his price includes his labor, Amazon’s fees and about $10 in shipping. (Alcohol-based sanitizer is pricey to ship because officials consider it a hazardous material.) Current price-gouging laws 'are not built for today’s day and age,' Mr. Colvin said. 'They’re built for Billy Bob’s gas station doubling the amount he charges for gas during a hurricane.' He added, 'Just because it cost me $2 in the store doesn’t mean it’s not going to cost me $16 to get it to your door.'"
From "He Has 17,000 Bottles of Hand Sanitizer and Nowhere to Sell Them/Amazon cracked down on coronavirus price gouging. Now, while the rest of the world searches, some sellers are holding stockpiles of sanitizer and masks" (NYT).
ADDED: Colvin acquired his stash by taking "a 1,300-mile road trip across Tennessee and into Kentucky, filling a U-Haul truck" with what he found in "little hole-in-the-wall dollar stores in the backwoods." The commenters at the NYT are letting him have it, saying he's clearly much worse than the man he calls "Billy Bob."
From "He Has 17,000 Bottles of Hand Sanitizer and Nowhere to Sell Them/Amazon cracked down on coronavirus price gouging. Now, while the rest of the world searches, some sellers are holding stockpiles of sanitizer and masks" (NYT).
ADDED: Colvin acquired his stash by taking "a 1,300-mile road trip across Tennessee and into Kentucky, filling a U-Haul truck" with what he found in "little hole-in-the-wall dollar stores in the backwoods." The commenters at the NYT are letting him have it, saying he's clearly much worse than the man he calls "Billy Bob."
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