Author: condor

“I am not one of those who criticize January 6 protesters for “desecrating” the nation’s Capitol….”

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

That’s John Hinderaker, today. Full quote.

So… in the supposed anti- Democratic / pro- MAGA scandal he hopes to create, and as he’s written, repeatedly…

Seeing Ashli Babbitt shot dead (completely her own fault — for trying to overthrow the peaceful transfer of power, violently as part of a mob) is not much of a problem, in John’s telling.

But an amateur sex tape… is, because it was made by a “homosexual” — in John’s phrasing.

Just to keep the record straight, on where Hinderaker’s moral priorities… lie.

“The thing speaks for itself.”

Out.

Exactly 120 Years Ago This Sunday… What Ultimately Becomes The Space Age… Opens.

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Yes. Of course. I understand that Sputnik I (now 66 years ago) is officially the proper opening — of the “space age”.

In point of fact though, what the Wrights did at Kitty Hawk now 120 years ago… is the animating moment, for all of it.

But instead of 120 feet, a few feet off the ground, for 12 seconds, or even 1,440 low-Earth orbits, over 20 days… last month, we were flying an entirely robotic helicopter, some 41 million miles out into the night sky, on Mars. That was a 48th flawless, and smoothly-powered jump, on Barsoom. Whoosh.

So, we will offer a short salute, and link to NASA’s photo of it (while offering our take on it, at right) — as of tomorrow morning.

…120th Anniversary of the First Powered, Controlled Flight

Orville Wright makes the first powered, controlled flight on Earth as his brother Wilbur looks on in this image taken at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903. Orville Wright covered 120 feet in 12 seconds during the first flight. The Wright brothers made four flights that day, each longer than the last….

I don’t mean to be flippant here, but Sputnik was really just a rock thrown into the sky. Impressive that it achieved orbit, but it was a rock with a few wires inside — it made no controlled descent after be flung into the sky. What the Wright brothers did — even for a moment — was controlled powered flight, with a human aboard. And a safe landing. Much more like the Moon landings, and returns, than not alike. Kudos.

And yes, it was nearly windless that day at Kitty Hawk. As it was — this very morning, here. Smile. Onward. Whatever you might dream… it may… one day, occur.

नमस्ते

This RCC Approval From FDA, For Belzutifan (branded as Welireg®) — Its Second, Is On The Verge Of Being… Material To Rahway.

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So… we will dress up the “immaterial graphic” — but just slightly.

This is all great news for patients with renal cell carcinoma — as those who don’t respond well to Keytruda® (pembrolizumab), are now FDA cleared to get Welireg® (belzutifan), even if not enrolled in a study. And Fiercepharma has, as ever, done an excellent job of laying out the context for the story:

…Since Merck secured approval for kidney cancer pill and blockbuster hopeful Welireg (belzutifan) in August of 2021, sales have grown slowly but surely.

With a second FDA nod on Thursday for a much larger patient population, the company can anticipate a more pronounced upswing in revenue from the hypoxia-inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2a) inhibitor.

The U.S. regulator has given a thumbs up for Welireg to treat relapsed or refractory renal cell carcinoma (RCC) for adult patients who have not responded to a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor and who have also been treated with a vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (VEGF-TK1)….

Once this franchise is generating more than $1.6 billion a year in revenue, as it will with the RCC approval, by the 2025 time frame — it will be a material item, as to Merck’s overall results. Now you know. Onward.

नमस्ते

Next Gen Version — Of An Uncrewed Mini-Shuttle… Now Approaching Reality, At NASA And Its Colorado Based Partners…

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The reusable space cargo hauler issue… is as old as space travel itself.

And this is the latest suggestion, to address the spotty record of Mr. Musk’s offerings. I am not throwing a dart — space is, as we always say… “hard”. Really hard. But we cannot be reliant on only one source of supply in this arena — or even two. So, here is the latest:

…The Dream Chaser cargo system, manufactured by Sierra Space in Louisville, Colorado, consists of two major elements: the Dream Chaser spacecraft and the Shooting Star cargo module. As a lifting body spacecraft, Dream Chaser is designed to be reused up to 15 times, and is modified from the HL-20 spacecraft developed at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

The space plane’s cargo module companion, Shooting Star, is designed to support delivery and disposal of pressurized and unpressurized cargo to and from the space station. The cargo module can be used only once and is disposed of prior to re-entry….

Now you know — what a prodigious time to be alive!

नमस्ते

Hinderaker Cannot Read. Reparations Are Underway.

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So… keeping up with the news is not John’s long suit.

The graphic at right was a kickoff, three years ago. Now we are well underway.

Tonight he talks SF, but ignores… my town.

We told him before (in ‘21, obviously).

Now over 30 legacy families have received funds, initially of $25,000 each, to improve their homes.

These are families who were expressly prevented from buying in white neighborhoods in the 1940s, 50s and ‘60s.

I represent several of these families.

Do shut it, Hinderaker.

You are… an idiot.

Rudy Owes $148 Million [He’s Broke]; And Gov. Abbott — Now, Likely Out Of Runway, In Fifth Circuit — Will He Seek Supremes’ Review? Hilarious.

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The Biden Admninstration has (as we predicted) said tonight that there is no reason to hold an en banc rehearing. This is not a very novel legal question — and the statute contstrued is clear. Abbott loses.

Here’s a bit of the 24 pager (a pdf file) but this is not going to become a Supreme Court case. The law is clear, the Circuits are not split on how to apply it. Game over:

…The panel held that the district court did not err in concluding that the United States had shown that it was likely to succeed on its RHA claims because the segment of the Rio Grande at issue was historically navigable, and thus navigable under the RHA. Op. 6-15. Next, the panel concluded that the barrier is both an obstruction to the Rio Grande’s navigable capacity and an “other structure” placed in the river without a permit. Op. 15-21.

On the equities, the panel concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion. The panel explained that the United States had established likely irreparable harm in its relationship with Mexico, as well as to federal operations on the river; and that the public interest, as expressed by Congress in the RHA, weighed in the United States’ favor. Op. 22-28….

Onward, smiling on a warm December Friday, as a classical violinist plays baroque selections in the subway… whilst I wait on a northbound train. Grin….

Oh. And the already broke, disbarred nearly-80 year old former NY mayor and former US attorney (and cross-dressing Trump buddie)… has lost a libel verdict in Georgia, one he decided to try, to a jury. If he ever recovers his health, and / or finds some money — it will go first to the two election workers he intentionally defamed — in Tangerine’s name. Karma, they say… is a wheel. Indeed.

नमस्ते

Very Nearly The Most Powerful CME/Solar Flare/Radio Bursting Event Recorded, Aimed At Earth — Just Documented By NOAA…

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Well, we did say this solar-max cycle would arrive early, and be intense. Both are true — as of this morning.

Listen to NOAA/NCAR for the whole story, and see gif animation at lower center:

. . .An X2.8 flare (R3) occurred from Region 3514; located over the far NW area of the Sun. This is likely one of the largest solar radio events ever recorded. Radio communication interference with aircraft were reported by multiple NWS Center Weather Service Units (CWSU) co-located at FAA facilities. These impacts were felt from one end of the Nation to the other. Additionally, SWPC is analyzing a possible Earth-directed Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) associated with this flare. Continue to monitor our web page for the latest information and updates. . . .

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Wow!

नमस्ते

In Which Mirengoff Blames The Departure Of The Wizards And Caps (From DC, To VA)… On Derek Cauvin?!

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Now I’ve heard it all.

Of course, the embittered old racist Paul Mirengoff actually labels the cause as the reaction to the murder of George Floyd (1,200 miles away, in Minneapolis). This is the reason the two pro sport franchises are decamping from DC — to about a stone’s throw away — in Alexandria, Virginia?! C’mon, man. Yeesh.

That is to say — to be sure, the same “but for” non-rational thought points directly to the murder by cop for which Derek Chavin was convicted (and recently stabbed 23 times, in an Arizona prison), and sentenced to 25 years.

See — had Derek Chauvin not kneeled on a prone, cuffed George Floyd’s windpipe for over nine minutes… there wouldn’t have been as strong a BLM protest movement.

And (in Paul’s telling)… DC would NOT be a hellscape, now. Of course, his premise is false.

DC is fine.

Virginia is simply offering vast tax incentives — to lure a pair of storied sports franchises, into a new arena complex: jobs and tourism are the main aims. [This is happening in Chicago as well, as a group in Nashville tries to entice Reinsdorff and his White Sox (but not Bulls!)… into Music City. This is common. It is just… business — and as to the Sox — I say good riddance. Yes, I’m a Cubbie (north-sider) fan. But I digress.]

The ultimate point? This is in no manner about George Floyd, you racist moron.

Johnson And Billingsley Imagine They Are Oppressed Philosophers, Under A Tyrannical Government?!

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This is too precious for words. Scott is expounding on Michel de Montaigne (after Gibbon, last week), and suggests his true intent (and that of Billings-Puss) in slandering one of the world’s great religions… is to make clear that the pair are presently virtuous philosophers, living under a repressive, tyrannical government.

Poppycock.

Their intent is to demonize all people who follow Islam, by associating them with a series of small bands of violent radicals (just like christianity occasionally gets tarred by the small bands of terrors who bomb or shoot up synagogues, Scott?).

That’s — at base — all the pair seeks: to demonize the other — whomever is perceived as “unlike” them.

Deplorable. These embittered mediocre whyte guys are being oppressed by any tyranny — other than the “tyranny” of rational (and moral) thought.

Out.

Confidential To Hinderaker: A Lesson In Venn Diagrams…

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I’ll just let pictures do the teaching, tonight — since (like Tangerine) John’s addled brain gets lost in normal sized paragraphs of text — as he slips into senility, day by day… do see graphic at right.

Hinderaker sees this Venn (plainly factual as I’ve drawn it — at right) as a single circle. With all three groups… inside, and coterminus.

Yikes.

Of course, he knows his burping tonight is a lie. But he needs a wedge issue. Fugly.

Out.