Something I find strange is why meat packing plants seem to have relatively high incidents of Covid. Seems strange to me. I did a little digging but couldn't come up with anything that meant anything. My gut is telling me there is something there but I just can't put my finger on it.
Okay, so that is kinda where my thoughts end up. I guess next thing would be to find out the source of their meat. Is it being infected in the plant or externally?
Ok, well that seems to be it then. Would be interesting to see their distribution lines. I have a feeling it would match up pretty good with initial outbreaks.
Well that's kind of my point. It just doesn't sound right. I just get the feeling that SOMETHING is going on there but no idea what. If I remember the chart the CDC lady had yesterday, meat packing plants had like a quarter of all cases. That is pretty darn high.
Reservation? It's on a reservation?
Something just occurred to me. Back in the 1400s, the black plague, if I remember right, came from the far east aboard trading ships.
Black Death
The Black Death, also known as the Pestilence and the Plague,[a] was the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, resulting in the deaths of up to 75–200 million[1][2][3][4][5][6] people in Eurasia and North Africa,[7] peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351. Plague, the disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, was the cause;[8] Y. pestis infection most commonly results in bubonic plague, but can cause septicaemic or pneumonic plagues.[9]
The Black Death was the second plague pandemic recorded, after the Plague of Justinian (542–546).[10] The plague created religious, social, and economic upheavals, with profound effects on the course of European history.
The Black Death most likely originated in Central Asia or East Asia,[11][12][13][14][15] from where it travelled along the Silk Road, reaching Crimea by 1347. From there, it was most likely carried by fleas living on the black rats that travelled on Genoese merchant ships, spreading throughout the Mediterranean Basin and reaching Africa, Western Asia, and the rest of Europe via Constantinople, Sicily, and the Italian Peninsula. Current evidence indicates that once it came onshore, the Black Death was in large part spread by human fleas – which cause pneumonic plague – and the person-to-person contact via aerosols which pneumonic plague enables, thus explaining the very fast inland spread of the epidemic, which was faster than would be expected if the primary vector was rat fleas causing bubonic plague.[16]
The Black Death was the second disaster affecting Europe during the Late Middle Ages (the first one being the Great Famine)[17] and is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe's population.[18] In total, the plague may have reduced the world population from an estimated 475 million to 350–375 million in the 14th century.[19] There were further outbreaks throughout the Late Middle Ages, and with other contributing factors[b] it took until 1500 for the European population to regain the levels of 1300 (Crisis of the Late Middle Ages).[20] Outbreaks of the plague recurred at various locations around the world until the early 19th century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death
Sorry, 1300s, 14th century.
Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods, Inc., is a meat-processing company based in Smithfield, Virginia, in the United States, and a wholly owned subsidiary of WH Group of China.[a] Founded in 1936 as the Smithfield Packing Company by Joseph W. Luter and his son, the company is the largest pig and pork producer in the world.[5] In addition to owning over 500 farms in the US, Smithfield contracts with another 2,000 independent farms around the country to grow Smithfield's pigs.[6] Outside the US, the company has facilities in Mexico, Poland, Romania, Germany, and the United Kingdom.[7] Globally the company employed 50,200 in 2016 and reported an annual revenue of $14 billion.[3] Its 973,000-square-foot meat-processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, was said in 2000 to be the world's largest, processing 32,000 pigs a day.[8]
Then known as Shuanghui Group, WH Group purchased Smithfield Foods in 2013 for $4.72 billion.[9][10] It was the largest Chinese acquisition of an American company to date.[11] The acquisition of Smithfield's 146,000 acres of land made WH Group, headquartered in Luohe, Henan province, one of the largest overseas owners of American farmland.[b]
Smithfield Foods began its growth in 1981 with the purchase of Gwaltney of Smithfield,[13] followed by the acquisition of nearly 40 companies between then and 2008, including Eckrich; Farmland Foods of Kansas City; John Morrell; Murphy Family Farms of North Carolina; Circle Four Farms of Utah; and Premium Standard Farms.[14] The company was able to grow as a result of its highly industrialized pig production, confining thousands of pigs in large barns known as concentrated animal feeding operations, and controlling the animals' development from conception to packing.[8]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithfield_Foods
WH Group
WH Group (Chinese: 万洲国际; pinyin: Wànzhōu Guójì), formerly known as Shuanghui Group (Chinese: 双汇集团; pinyin: Shuānghuì Jítuán),[4] is a publicly traded Chinese meat and food processing company headquartered in Hong Kong.[1][5] Sometimes also known as Shineway Group in English-speaking countries, the company's businesses include hog raising, consumer meat products, flavoring products, and logistics.[6] It is the largest pork producer in the world,[5] and the largest meat producer in China.[7]
Wan Long, nicknamed China's "number one butcher" because of the large number of pigs the company slaughters, is the chairman and chief executive officer of WH Group.[2] Kenneth M. Sullivan, the president and chief executive officer of Smithfield Foods, became an executive director of WH Group in January 2016.[10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WH_Group
Kenneth Sullivan
Kenneth Marc Sullivan is an American businessman, and the CEO and president of Smithfield Foods, the world's largest pig and pork producer.
Sullivan earned a bachelor's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.[1]
Sullivan has been CEO and president of Smithfield Foods since December 2015.[1] He has been a director of Smithfield Foods and its Chinese parent company WH Group since January 2016.[1]
The Smithfield pork processing facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the US's largest single source of COVID-19 cases, closed on April 15, and Sullivan wants it to re-open as soon as possible, "For the security of our nation, I cannot understate how critical it is for our industry to continue to operate unabated".[2] On April 16, 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported Sullivan's statement, "The right thing for Americans is that we operate these plants".[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Sullivan
CDH Investments
CDH Investments (CDH, 鼎晖投资基金管理公司) is a major Chinese alternative asset management firm based in Beijing, China. It specializes in private equity, venture capital and credit products.[2] CDH invests across a range of sectors and regions. As of March 2015, CDH manages over RMB 100 billion of investor capital across its various investment platforms.
Founded in 2002, CDH is a diversified alternative asset manager covering private equity, venture capital, mezzanine, real estate, and wealth management.[3] Its investor base includes sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurers, endowments, family offices and fund of funds from China, North & South America, Europe, Middle East, Australia and Asia.
CDH invests across industries including information technology, media, modern services, innovative engineering technology, telecommunication technology and services, new media, industrial manufacturing, education, finance, fast growing high-tech and services, energy, clean technology, healthcare, medical, retail, consumer product and services, and agricultural industry.[4]
Since inception, CDH has invested in or acquired hundreds of companies including Hang Seng Electronics, Mengniu Dairy,[5] Li-Ning, Focus Media, Yurun Food, Yongle, China Merchants Bank, Belle International, LDK, AirMedia, CNInsure, Joyoung, Shanshui Cement, Modern Dairy, Hanting Hotel, Kanghui Medical, TSL Jewelry, M&G Stationery,[6] Xueda Education, Qihoo 360, Midea, WH Group,[7] Luye Pharma, Nanfu Battery,[8] and Baroque Japan Limited.[9]
CDH is headquartered at Fortune Financial Center, 5 Dongsanhuan Central Road, Beijing, China, with additional offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Jakarta.
In 1992, Wu Shangzhi, then Senior Investment Officer at the World Bank Group's Direct Investment Division, decided to establish an investment firm in China. He approached GIC with a fund raising proposal. Instead of considering an equity commitment, GIC suggested Wu to join China International Capital Corporation, an investment bank that GIC was involved in the preparatory work related to the firm's establishment at that point. Wu led the direct investment business at China International Capital Corporation until it was split off by the firm in 2001, when China Securities Regulatory Commission prohibited investment bank from doing private equity investment.[10]
In 2002, CDH was established with six founding partners including Wu Shangzhi and Jiao Zhen, who had worked together at China International Capital Corporation's Direct Investment Division since 1995. Other shareholders include GIC, China National Investment & Guaranty Co Ltd, and Capital Z Partners.[11] CDH have kept all the six founding partners within the firm to this day,[6] despite famously losing its head of venture capital, Wang Gongquan, who ran away with his mistress.[12][13]
In 2003, CDH raised only $102 million for its first standalone fund, but quickly found its way into a series of successful China deals, including stakes in sportswear company Li-Ning, display advertising firm Focus Media and Mengniu Dairy. That first fund returned around 3.5 times its investors' money, according to data seen by Reuters, making it one of the top performing funds in China, and enabling it to raise capital for a series of bigger funds.[12]
In 2006, CDH and Goldman Sachs invested $256 million in a controlling stake in a struggling meat producer, then known as Shuanghui Group, along with Temasek and New Horizon Capital.[14] That buyout deal, one of the first of its kind in China, sparked controversy as opponents claimed the country was selling assets too cheaply to foreign investors. Goldman sold half its stake back to CDH in 2009 for five times what it originally paid.[15]
CDH's performance attracted large institutional investors into its funds, including California Public Employees' Retirement System and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. 75 percent of CDH's private equity funds now come from international investors.[12] With a target cap at $2 billion, CDH's fifth USD PE fund was closed at a hard cap of $2.5 billion due to over-subscription.[16]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDH_Investments
Not sure, but the location of this company might be near those early Q drops with the windows of a tall building in China.
CDH's performance attracted large institutional investors into its funds, including California Public Employees' Retirement System and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. 75 percent of CDH's private equity funds now come from international investors.[12] With a target cap at $2 billion, CDH's fifth USD PE fund was closed at a hard cap of $2.5 billion due to over-subscription.[16]
California Public Employees' Retirement System
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is an agency in the California executive branch that "manages pension and health benefits for more than 1.6 million California public employees, retirees, and their families".[3][4] In fiscal year 2012–13, CalPERS paid over $12.7 billion in retirement benefits,[5] and in fiscal year 2013 it is estimated that CalPERS will pay over $7.5 billion in health benefits.[6]
As of June 30, 2014, CalPERS managed the largest public pension fund in the United States, with $300.3 billion in assets.[3] CalPERS is known for its shareholder activism; stocks placed on its "Focus List" may perform better than other stocks, which has given rise to the term "CalPERS effect".[7] Outside the U.S., CalPERS has been called "a recognized global leader in the investment industry",[8] and "one of America's most powerful shareholder bodies".[9]
As of 2018, the agency has $360 billion in assets, and is underfunded by an estimated $150 billion, with current assets below 70% of necessary to provide for liabilities.[10][11] In an effort to reduce this shortfall, at the end of 2016 the board lowered their expected annual rate of return on investments from 7.5% to 7.0%, increasing the costs California cities must pay toward their workers' pensions.[12]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CalPERS
Moar on CalPERS
Governor Pete Wilson
In 1990, fund value reached $49.8 billion.[18] In July 1991, Governor Pete Wilson addressed the state's $14.3 billion budget deficit by removing $1.6 billion from the pension fund.[19] Wilson further sought to give the governor's office control of the PERS’ actuarial projections and the appointment of a majority of its board of directors.[19] Public employee unions responded by seeking an amendment to the Constitution of California that would guarantee the board's independence, remove the fund's duty to minimize contributions or administrative costs, and require the provision of benefits to “take precedence over any other duty.”[19] The initiative, known as Proposition 162, passed by a single percent at the November California elections, 1992.[19] Proposition 162, also known as the "California Pension Protection Act of 1992," gave the PERS board "the sole and exclusive fiduciary responsibility over the assets of" PERS.[16][20]
To avoid confusion with public employees' retirement systems in other states, the organization's name was changed to "CalPERS" in 1992.[15] By 1996, the CalPERS portfolio was worth $100 billion, and the number of members exceeded 1 million.[15]
Governor Gray Davis
In 1999, fund value reached $159.1 billion, requiring $159 million in state tax dollar contributions.[18] In 1999, the CalPERS board proposed a benefits expansion that would allow public employees to retire at age 55 and collect more than half their highest salary for life.[18] CalPERS predicted the benefits would require no increase in the State's contributions by projecting an average annual return of 8.25% over the next decade.[18] When Board member Phil Angelides’ aide questioned whether the stock market could grow that long, Board Chairman William Crist, a former union president, replied that they “could make all sorts of different assumptions and make predictions, but that’s really more than I think we can expect our staff to do.”[18] CalPERS' chief actuary, objected, finding that it would be “fairly catastrophic” if the fund only grew at 4.4%.[18]
The benefits expansion bill, SB 400, passed with unanimous backing by California State Assembly Democrats and was signed into law by Governor Gray Davis.[18] CalPERS then produced a video promoting the legislation with Chairman Crist promising greater benefits “without imposing any additional cost on the taxpayers” and the California State Employees Association president praising it as “the biggest thing since sliced bread”.[18]
The next year the dot-com bubble burst, and CalPERS did not grow, instead losing value in the stock market downturn of 2002.[18] In 2001-2002, CalPERS provided technical assistance for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act because it had sustained financial losses from the Enron and WorldCom bankruptcies.[15] After the Great Recession, in 2009 CalPERS investments lost 24%, dropping $67 billion in value.[18] Chairman Crist retired from the board and it was later revealed he had accepted more than $800,000 from a firm to ensure hundreds of millions of investment from CalPERS.[18]
In November 2005, CalPERS expanded its headquarters with the 560,000-square-foot (52,000 m2) "Lincoln Plaza East & West" buildings which cost $265 million.[21][22] The architecture of the buildings, which received praise, includes an entry tower 90 feet (27 m) high in a shape reminiscent of a tree which is made of steel covered with glass.[22] The project was awarded a Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating.[23]
Governor Jerry Brown
In 2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation that reduced benefits for all new state employees and sought to combat pension spiking.[24] Legislators rejected Governor Brown's proposals to include a 401(k) type defined contribution plan and to require CalPERS Board members to be independent, not themselves pensioners.[24] Governor Brown promoted the reform as the “biggest rollback to public pension benefits in the history of California”, but it only resulted in a 1% to 5% reduction in contribution increases.[24] Total savings from the reform are estimated to be $28 to $38 billion.[24]
In the fall of 2014, CalPERS named Ted Eliopoulos as chief investment officer. He won the #2 ranking in the Public Investor 100 for 2016.[25] Blackstone Group LP announced in November 2015 that it would acquire 43 international and domestic real estate funds from CalPERS for $3 billion.[26]
In 2016, CalPERS fund value reached $295.1 billion.[18] State tax dollar contributions have had to increase to $45 billion, a 3,000% increase from before the 1999 benefits expansion.[18] Promised benefits exceeded funds available by $241.3 billion.[27] Unfunded retiree healthcare costs add an additional $125 billion to California's public retirement debt.[27]
(cont)
CalPERS is overseen by a 13-member Board of Administration whose members are elected, appointed, or ex officio:[32]
Six are elected from CalPERS members (two by all CalPERS members, one by active State members, one by active CalPERS school members, one by active CalPERS public agency members, and one by retired members of CalPERS)
Three are appointed (two by the Governor, one by specified leaders of the Legislature)
Four are ex officio (California State Treasurer, California State Controller, Director of the California Department of Human Resources, and designee of the California State Personnel Board)
Notable past Board members have included Caspar Weinberger (1967–1969), Jesse Unruh (1983–1987), Gray Davis (1986–1994), Matt Fong (1995–1998), Kathleen Connell (1995–2003), Phil Angelides (1999–2006), Willie Brown (2000–2005), and Steve Westly (2003–2006).[15]
As of 2017, the current Board members are Rob Feckner (President), Priya Sara Mathur, Michael Bilbrey, John Chiang, Richard Costigan, Richard Gillihan, JJ Jelincic, Henry Jones (Vice President), Ron Lind, Betty Yee, Bill Slaton, Teresa Taylor and Dana Hollinger.[33]
Between 1999 and 2001, several conflicts among Board members were notable:
In 1999, after Board member Phil Angelides (also state treasurer) criticized a statement in a report, Board chairman Charles Valdes said about Angelides "What we have here is a Greek treasurer who doesn't like Turkey, the country; who doesn't like Turks, who is trying to … drive our policy according to those ethnic hatreds".[34] Angelides responded that he was "do[ing] what is best for the state".[34] Valdes later apologized for the remarks.[35]
Board member Kathleen Connell (also state controller) sued CalPERS in January 2001 to limit its investment managers' pay.[36] Although CalPERS argued that the higher salaries were necessary to compete for qualified investment managers and that CalPERS had the authority under Proposition 162 to issue the higher salaries,[36] it lost the lawsuit, which "helped prompt the fund's chief investment officer to quit".[35]
Valdes endorsed a lawsuit against the Board's proposal to change its election procedures to require a majority vote (not simply a plurality vote) for Board seats chosen by CalPERS members.[35]
In response to such conflicts, the Board took various measures (e.g., it adopted a "document of collegiality" in October 2001).[35]
Other controversies have affected the Board, such as:
In 1998, it was discovered that several Board members were "taking expense-paid trips and other gifts from people trying to do business with" CalPERS.[37]
Articles in 2002–03 issues of BusinessWeek[38] and The Wall Street Journal[39] noted cronyism and conflicts of interest among Board members.
A president of the Board, Sean Harrigan, was removed from his position in December 2004 amid criticism for his activism on matters of corporate governance.[40] He claimed his removal was politically motivated.[41][42]
In September 2014, California's State controller, John Chiang criticized the fund for "passive" approach towards pension spiking - a practice of inflating workers' benefits just before retirement in order to boost their pensions- and failing to adequately review payroll data, inviting abuse.[43]
If you can believe some of the things said about it, temp does seem to be a factor. It apparently isn't very strong and temps above a certain threshold seem to kill it, but I'm no doctor.
Okay, up to you, you're the baker.
Dig some digs on Tuberville last night.