Author: condor

We May Yet See A Private Norwegian Company Achieve Orbit This Week… But Weather (Winds) Scrub First Window, Today…

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Old man Musk should take heed: many very capable European space science and rocketry programs are now in private hands, and are well-capitalized to compete for the space / orbital hauling business of delivering satellites to stable orbits above the planet.

And here they come — while today’s launch was scrubbed from northern Norway due to high winds, and frigid temps… there will be more launch windows later this week. This is a two stage, ~90 foot tall rocket — easily capable of hauling smaller communications satellites into near Earth orbit. Per the AP, then:

…A private European aerospace company scrubbed its attempt on Monday to launch the first test flight of its orbital launch vehicle from Norway.

Unfavorable winds meant that the Spectrum rocket couldn’t be launched from the island of Andøya in northern Norway, Munich-based Isar Aerospace said.

The launch is subject to various factors, including weather and safety. The company said it could also conduct the test flight later in the week. Another date hasn’t yet been set.

The startup, which says it has raised more than 400 million euros ($435 million) in capital, hopes to build up to 40 launch vehicles per year in the future at a plant outside of Munich. The launch vehicles are all to be used for putting satellites into orbit….

Smiling… eat his lunch, friends!

नमस्ते

USAID Case: Status Update Due From Government/DOGE On Payments Made Last Week…

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Bit by bit, the ship is righting itself.

USAID funds are being restored.

Here is the full text out of DC District Court Judge Amir Ali’s courtroom:

…MINUTE ORDER.

The Court is in receipt of Defendants’ [69] status report. Defendants propose to submit another status report by March 27, 2025. Defendants shall file another status report by March 27, 2025, which includes the same information as directed in the Court’s March 17, 2025, minute order, and every seven days thereafter until otherwise ordered by the Court.

Signed by Judge Amir H. Ali on 3/24/2025….

Now you know.

No, Paul — An “Insurrection” Against The Judiciary Branch Is NOT Part Of The “Process”.

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Here Paul, and a guy named Jason Willick would tell us that this is just a “brawl” with the judiciary — with Trump as a legitimate protagonist.

Not so.

This is Trump, trying to end the system of ordered liberty we’ve relied on for over 240 years.

This is Trump, saying he is beyond any judicial review process.

And Mirengoff, Willick and Hayward all should recognize that what they do here is legitimize… insurrection.

John Hinderaker, for his part — and childishly so — last evening, started making AI generated images of a judge who has ruled against Hegseth on who all might lawfully and honorably serve in our armed forces. The ham-handed goal of Hinderaker is to demoralize and demonize her.

She is openly lesbian. John thinks it humorous to try to equate her with some weird freak show — simply for saying that people with gender dysphoria can also be warriors, as many studies have confirmed.

I find it… all deplorable that the frothy hard right uses personal attacks in place of arguments on actual policies — and doubly so, given that Trump is threatening the very lives of several of these federal court judges. [We should note that his own late sister, a federal judge, in Maryland, had ruled that he cannot use the statute he’s now trying to use against Mr. Khalil, from last time around — to deport green card holders. But perhaps surprisingly, it does not seem that he tried to have her killed.]

The boys should find Trump’s dangerously escalating moves toward violence disturbing, too.

Sit the F- down, boys. Stop gilding the lily. Damn.

You have no legitimate argument here — to target federal judges with violence.

Just shut up.

23andMe Elects To File Chapter 11 This Morning — Will Reorganize And Recapitalize… So It Goes.

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We have covered its twelve-year-long meteoric rise — from a “go fast and break things” (without FDA approvals, no less!) DNA health information provider, to an ancestry resource, to a nascent drug discovery firm — to a compounder of weight loss injections (called Lemonade)… now, to the founder’s departure (after the board resigned six months ago).

I do believe it has the ability to rise again, but we will see — this is now a pretty deep hole it is in. Most of all, a lack of any real sustainable profit model — for the business at base. Here’s the UK Guardian on the latest:

…The US genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US to help sell itself, as its chief executive quit to pursue a bid for the business after several unsuccessful attempts.

23andMe said late on Sunday that it had started voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to “facilitate a sale process to maximise the value of its business”.

The loss-making company, which provides saliva-based test kits to customers to help them track their ancestry, added that it was operating as usual throughout the sale process. “There are no changes to the way the company stores, manages, or protects customer data,” it said.

The San Francisco-based company said its chief executive and co-founder Anne Wojcicki was stepping down. She has been pushing for a buyout since April last year but was rebuffed by 23andMe’s board….

Onward — to a gray but warming week ahead — be excellent to one another.

While the Guardian is quoting UK authorities suggesting that users delete their data at 23andMe… I’ll leave mine up there. I am not too concerned about that, these days — given my great health and longevity. Grin. And so I say… let the life sciences advance, naturally. Smile.

नमस्ते

There Will Be A Status Hearing (Audio Feed Available) From USDC Judge Chutkan’s Courtroom In DC, In The New Mexico Case Against Musk, This Thursday…

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We are gratified to see these matters being fast tracked.

People’s very lives hand in the balance, here. I’ll listen in, and you may do so as well, come Thursday at 11:00 AM Eastern:

…MINUTE ORDER:

The parties are hereby ORDERED to appear for a status hearing on March 27th, 2025 at 11:00AM ET by Telephonic/VTC via Zoom before Judge Tanya S. Chutkan.

The court will provide access for the public to telephonically attend the hearing. The hearing can be accessed by dialing the Toll Free Number: 833-990-9400 (Meeting ID: 493633106).

It is hereby ORDERED that the attendees using the public access telephone line shall adhere to the following: persons remotely accessing court proceedings are reminded of the general prohibition against photographing, recording, and rebroadcasting any court proceedings (including those held by telephone or videoconference). Violation of these prohibitions may result in sanctions, including removal of court-issued media credentials, restricted entry to future hearings, denial of entry to future hearings, or any other sanctions deemed necessary by the presiding Judge.

Signed by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan on 3/24/2025….

Now you know — onward, as day by day, Elon Musk is unmasked — as the huckster/charlatan and racist reprobate he is. Grin.

नमस्ते

Hegseth & Tangerine 2.0: Lost Souls. Period.

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Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump — without a shred of evidence — seek to exclude an entire class of able bodied soldiers from service.

And they propose to do it by a Black Sharpie, alone. Welp, game over.

Here’s that whole 75 page opinion, from a very able federal USDC Judge in DC — and a bit:

…THE COURT: Is saying that transgender people or people with gender dysphoria, [that] their inherent identity is inconsistent with a commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, is that demeaning to them?

DEFENSE [Trump] COUNSEL: I don’t have a characterization for that, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Okay. And if I asked you about all the other words in [the Military Ban], with respect to the characterization of transgender people or people with gender dysphoria, you would have the same answer?

DEFENSE [Trump] COUNSEL: Yes, Your Honor.

THE COURT: There’s nothing [supporting these assertions] in the studies; right?

DEFENSE [Trump] COUNSEL: That says those same things, no, Your Honor, not that I know of.

THE COURT: [No study] says anything close to those things; correct?

DEFENSE [Trump] COUNSEL: Not that I know of, Your Honor. Tr. (Mar. 12, 2025) at 188–89.

An “Action Memo” claims the Policy “was informed through consideration of” three studies and cost data. Dkt. 73-23 (Action Memo) at 4. Who considered the information, however, is anyone’s guess; Defendants [Tangerine 2.0 forces] do not know. Maybe no one, because one study is eight years old and the other two support Plaintiffs’ position.

Transgender persons have served openly since 2021, but Defendants have not analyzed their service. That is unfortunate. Plaintiffs’ service records alone are Exhibit A for the proposition that transgender persons can have the warrior ethos, physical and mental health, selflessness, honor, integrity, and discipline to ensure military excellence. Defendants [Tangerine 2.0 forces] agree.

They agree that Plaintiffs are mentally and physically fit to serve, have “served honorably,” and “have satisfied the rigorous standards” demanded of them. Tr. (Feb. 18, 2025) at 9–14, 148; see also Tr. (Mar. 12, 2025) at 130. Plaintiffs, they acknowledge, have “made America safer.” Tr. (Feb. 18, 2025) at 10. So why discharge them and other decorated soldiers?

Crickets from Defendants [Tangerine 2.0 forces] on this key question….

What is wrong with these people and their hateful, malign, backward Seventeenth Century views? Geez.

नमस्ते

Hinderaker: Sad Old Reprobate, Defending Slavery.

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We are once again reminded that Hinderaker feels no one should bother to apologize, to anyone — for the atrocities at right.

Then, as this afternoon, his sole rationale is that everyone did it.

Except, of course John… many societies didn’t.

Whether calling out Steven Hawking is a stretch or not… this is a particularly stupid place for Hinderaker to once again take up his “moral defense” of slavery arguments. Damn.

The old coot is as myopic as he is… evil.

Onward.

It Is Unlikely That Halozyme Will Win Substantial Keytruda® Patent Damages From Merck — As Merck Is Licensing Entirely-Independent Tech In The Subcutaneous Field.

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Last week, Halozyme was pushing a narrative that Merck would need to pay it very large license fees, for Halozyme’s patented formulation of human hyaluronidase, in order to introduce a subcutaneous version of pembrolizumab (branded as Keytruda®).

What Halozyme failed to mention was that Merck has already licensed a Alteogen invented, separate human hyaluronidase variant, one not mentioned in any of the Halozyme patents, either as a claim, or as known prior art.

That would, in turn, mean that Halozyme is likely to only get a tiny “buy peace” payment from Merck, of a few pennies per dose — or nothing at all, when the dust settles. In any event, here’s Fierce’s fine reporting on it all, from mid-week:

…To develop the new product, Merck licensed a hyaluronidase variant from Alteogen. Called ALT-B4, the variant was independently developed by Alteogen scientists, and its sequence is not disclosed in any Halozyme patent, the Merck spokesperson noted.

Halozyme’s claim stems from its Mdase group of modified human hyaluronidases, which the company publicized in October. Halozyme came up with its Mdase tech to sign more partners who may not be able to tap into the company’s well-established Enhanze subcutaneous drug delivery platform thanks to existing exclusive licensing pacts.

The Mdase portfolio includes about 100 patents with protection extending into 2032 in Europe and 2034 in the U.S., according to Halozyme….

Now you know — and for its part, Merck intends to have its subcutaneous formula on market in the US by the end of 2025, according to CEO Davis. [This is in no small part why I’ve repeatedly said that Merck has clear sailing with Keytruda through 2032.]

I am in “my high dungeon” — as more NCAA March madness is on tap on this otherwise gray but warming Sunday afternoon… smile.

नमस्ते

Saying That Two Leaders Should Work Harder, Separately For Peace…

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…Is in no manner immoral.

Mr. Mirengoff seems to think that any criticism of Bibi is forever and always an act of… blasphemy.

While I agree with him that Putin’s aggression should not ever be equated to Netanyahu’s overall defense of Israel… it is true that both of them have committed atrocities.

That is a truth — of almost every leader of every nation that went to war. Defending atrocities is a losing proposition, Paul. criticizing acts of war is part of the duty of being a citizen of the world.

That is so, because you see — to the people of Gaza… it would seem that their children are no less dead, even if it is a fact that Bibi firmly believes he is just trying to protect his nation.

Paul, war is hell. And Vladimir Putin is a malign actor on the world stage, there can be no doubt about that.

That said, Bibi is no Holy Roman Crusader.

And there may very well come a time, some years from now, if he has not made peace in one way or another… Bibi will have forfeited Israel’s nation state.

That too is a reality of war. Eventually, it is always a zero sum game for all involved.

It is high time to beat your swords into plowshares, Paul.

Out.