Now In SF, There Are 14 NEW Cases Of Mpox — Just Since June 2025… This Is What De-Funding/Cutting CDC “Costs…”

August 16, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

To be clear, these cases are all Clade 2, the less-lethal variant of the virus. But that variant is generally thought to be… more easily spread. To wit: the SF metro area had been seeing about one case per month (late 2022 to 2024) — but that has now risen to around five, per month.

So bay area health officials are renewing the public information and awareness campaigns, especially in the affected communities. We well-know, even without seeing hard data, that these efforts are less effective without the full backing of the federal CDC and health systems. And Tangerine has made clear that gay people are NOT his priority. Damn. Here’s the latest, out of SF Public Television:

…Since late June, 14 San Francisco residents have been diagnosed with mpox, the disease formerly known as “monkeypox.” So far in 2025, the city’s average was around one case per month.

As the name suggests, mpox is related to the smallpox virus but is generally less severe and far less contagious than smallpox, according to the California Department of Public Health. In addition to fever, chills, headache and muscle pain, mpox can cause a painful rash — also known as lesions — that appear on many parts of the body.

Anyone can get mpox, which spreads mainly through close physical contact, including sex, but past outbreaks have particularly affected gay and bisexual men, along with trans and nonbinary people who have sex with men….

On Thursday, SFDPH issued a health update to local providers, noting that these cases have “typically been mild, with no signs of severe infection or need for hospitalization” — but also that most 2025 cases in San Francisco had been in people who had received both doses of the mpox vaccine, Jynneos….

Now you know. And do go be excellent to one another. We are all… we’ve got.

नमस्ते

What A Complete Nuthin’ Burger! Two Losers — One Con.

August 15, 2025August 15, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

So much for any Russia / Trump deal-making.

And actually, this complete waste of time is better for Pres. Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine… than having a moron like Trump or a sociopath like Putin decide their collective futures, without their input.

It does once again highlight… how very little Donald Trump understands about how the world works.

And therefore — how dangerous he is.

Out.

Updated, X2!: Trump’s Ham-Handed Attempts At Fascism Will Lead Eventually To… DC’s Statehood, And Two NEW US Senate Seats — In A Blue District!

August 15, 2025August 15, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

6:10 pm EDT — the moron Hinderaker probably should have bothered to read Mayor Bowser’s complaint at law (and Section 740, for context) before popping off so stupidly.

Hinderaker “cannot imagine” how the suit will prevail. Hah — he is a bear of very lil’ imagination, indeed – as the below and the USDC Court hearing indicated this afternoon. 30 days; and Trump cannot “order” Metro Police to do anything, per the able judge. Out.

4:30 pm EDT — I used shorthand this morning, as I was rushing out. The point below is that Tangerine 2.0’s endless penchant for trying to become a military dictator of some sort — but only over blue areas of the electoral map… will ultimately lead to a vote for statehood, likely in DC — and perhaps even in possessions, like Puerto Rico. Thus Trump will (eventually) see the opposite result — of what his lil’ pea brain was hoping for: less control, as opposed to more of it — in MAGA hands. Perfectly flawless… karma. End update. Do stay tuned.

Mayor Bowser has filed the suit we predicted.

I am running to meet a client, so more later — but here’s the sharp end of the stick, and a bit:

…Section One, captioned “Crime is out of control in the District of Columbia,” asserts that there is a problem of “rising violence” and “increasing violent crime” in the Capital. The sole data the order cites for those assertions are statistics from 2024. As noted above, in 2024, violent crime fell 35% from the prior year.

And it has since fallen by an additional 26%. The claim of increasing violence based on 2024 statistics is also contradicted by the President’s and DOJ’s own statements in 2025 that violent crime in the District has decreased….

On August 13, 2025, the President expressed his intention to retain control over MPD indefinitely. When asked in a press briefing whether he would be seeking congressional support for a resolution extending the Section 740 invocation beyond its 30-day limit, he stated, “well, if it’s a national emergency, we can do it without Congress. But we expect to be before Congress, very quickly…. We’re going to be asking for extensions on that — long term extensions — because you can’t have 30-days… We’re going to want extensions. I don’t want to have to call a national emergency, but if I have to, I will….”

…Section 740 expressly limits the President’s use of MPD services until the
conclusion of the emergency circumstances or the expiration of 30 days — whichever occurs first — unless Congress intervenes. There is no exception for “a national emergency”….

Trump has just given us — the smart independents and Democrats, by 2026 or 2028 — (at least two, and maybe even FOUR!) new US Senators.

“Irony! That’s for… me!”

Woot!

नमस्ते

The “Precursor” Measure, To Consumer Prices — Just Shot Up — Largest Jump Since… 2022. Damn, Tangerine’s Tariffs — In Effect!

August 14, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Welp. Not even remotely surprising. If you’ve been paying attention, at all — to the US’s leading economic indicators, that is.

And yet, very disappointing just the same. Utterly… avoidable. Even if Trump doesn’t understand the world, Bessent does. And Navarro does. They are intentionally crushing the US consumer, on Tangerine’s orders. Damn their lawlessness. Here’s the latest from CBS; do buckle up for a very tough Fall of 2025 (on middle class US consumers):

…The producer price index, or PPI, surged last month, far outpacing economists’ forecasts and suggesting that President Trump’s tariffs are starting to significantly drive up the cost of imported goods.

Wholesale inflation rose 0.9% in July from the prior month, the Labor Department said Thursday, outstripping economists’ expectations for a 0.2% increase. The jump marks the largest in more than three years, since June 2022.

The PPI, which measures price changes before they reach consumers, suggests cost hikes are on the way for shoppers, economists said….

Most of the larger, more sophisticated outlets are reporting that threatened “targeted” pharma tariffs — from Trump — will likely never happen. He doesn’t have the juice to fight the 78% of Congress that takes deep pharma money. I think that assessment is correct. Even so, pharma will have to pass on the tariff related inflation in its contracted-for raw inputs, like oils, and APIs that come from overseas. So even pharma / biotech… is not immune. He’s killin’ us all, with his lunacy.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

Vote the GOP/MAGA Congress OUT — in 2026!

नमस्ते

Cool Rocks On Mars Edition! Perseverance Saw This “Conquistador Helmet / High Hat / Volcano”…

August 14, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Of course, no one seriously thinks “Horneflya” might be the remnants of any actual helmet — from long ago “John Carter of Mars” [Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ sci-fi novel series] lore.

No, it is almost certainly a weathered (primarily by billions of years of wind), soft and porous rock… shaped by the timeless raindrops, that came long before the… words, as Norman MacLean might have it.

This is an imagination-firing bit of imagery from Perseverance’s mast cam, to be certain, though. Here’s the latest, from Space.com:

…NASA’s Perseverance rover has stumbled across a curious, volcano-shaped rock on the surface of Mars that looks rather like a weathered battle helmet….

Captured by the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument on Aug. 5, 2025, the rock displays a pointed peak and pitted nodular texture that evokes an image of armor forged centuries ago. On Earth, similar nodule textures can form through chemical weathering, mineral precipitation or even volcanic processes….

“This hat-shaped rock is composed of spherules. This rock’s target name is Horneflya and it’s distinctive less because of its hat shape (which looks to me to be generally consistent with the pyramid shape we often see in / of wind-eroded float blocks on the surface of Mars) and more because it’s made almost entirely of spherules,” David Agle, a spokesperson for the Perseverance team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said. . . .

For now, the helmet rock remains a compelling snapshot of Martian history. Features like this help scientists piece together the Red Planet’s environmental history, showing how wind, water and internal processes may have sculpted the landscape over billions of years….

Also, as we’ve previously mentioned, no one should believe the 2024 Musk / Rogan fabrications / image manipulations, either. What a pair of yutzes. [See at lower right. That is not by any stretch, any ruined Martians’ “fort” of a billion years past. Damn.]

Okay — now you know… be excellent to one another. This is a wonderful time to be alive — to see with our own eyes… the Red Planet’s wonders… 45 million miles out into the night sky… as a “red hot coal, rising — with a moan….” Smile.

नमस्ते

DHS & ICE Are Dragging Their Feet, On Letting Mr. Khalil Move All Proceedings Into NY/NJ… Out Of Jena, LA — Despite Clear Federal District Court Orders.

August 14, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Y A W N.

I suppose this sort of open distain — for the orders of the New Jersey federal district courts… is the new “normal” — for ICE and DHS, under Kristi Noem’s banal and evil control. Still, it is an affront to civil justice, in the impartial /non-partisan sense of that notion.

The readership will recall that Mr. Khalil (holding a lawful student visa, here in the US – with all required papers) has 100% won his release on $1 bond, and his return to NY/NJ. As we all now know (and a federal court judge has ruled!), he was taken without due process (essentially kidnapped by the Noemites), and held in Jena Louisiana for nearly three months (missing the birth of his first child — a US citizen, with his US citizen wife) — for speaking peacefully at Columbia University, against this Mal-administration’s actions in Gaza. He is trying to get the last of his immigation court proceedings moved back to NJ/NY — as the statutes require of Noem. She is actively resisting, by refusing to file required paperwork in Jena. Damn — here’s that, in a three page overnight letter, from his lawyers:

…[Mr. Khalil] filed a motion for change of venue on July 18, 2025, seeking a transfer to the New York immigration court, as is the norm when an immigration detainee is released from detention and returns to their home. DHS opposed the change of venue in immigration court on July 28, 2025, and Petitioner submitted a reply on July 29, 2025. Despite this being a routine motion that would normally be granted as a matter of course when the detainee is released, the motion remains pending before the Jena, Louisiana immigration court today. Moreover, on July 22, 2025, Petitioner’s counsel inquired through counsel for ICE about when DHS intended to file the Form I-830 with the immigration court, as required by applicable regulations following an immigration detainee’s release or relocation. See 8 CFR 236.1; 8 CFR 1003.19(g) (“[T]he Service shall immediately advise the Immigration Court having administrative control over the Record of Proceeding of a change in the respondent/applicant’s custody location or of release from Service custody….

This notification shall be in writing and shall state the effective date of the change in custody location or status, and the respondent/applicant’s current fixed street address, including zip code.”). The filing of this form ordinarily triggers a change of venue. Petitioner’s counsel have received no reply to their inquiry and Respondents do not appear to have complied with the regulatory requirement….

What a pack of embittered misanthropes these political hacks are. Damn. Out — to a summer city-street market, tonight.

नमस्ते

It Is Not Just Merck. Pfizer, BMS, Bayer And Yes, Moderna… Are Currently Laying Off Workers, Too.

August 13, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

This is my second power alley post of the day; my apologies. Various reports in the bioscience trade mags indicate that Moderna is laying off about 800 workers, or about 10% of its global workforce.

And Merck’s layoffs — as we’ve previously said… are not about cost-cutting per se (you cannot “save your way to greatness“), but more a case of “retro-fitting” the work force to where the company’s demand for first rate science help will be most productive and profitable. Here’s the latest on the other WARN Act notices, all as layoff announcements come through at Rahway (58 positions, and rising, as of this afternoon — slated to be effective in November of 2025):

…Merck isn’t the only Big Pharma company undergoing a significant [force reduction] effort. Over the last two years, Bayer has reduced its headcount by more than 12,000 under an initiative designed to save 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) through 2026.

Bristol Myers Squibb has launched a “strategic productivity initiative,” which will slash $2 billion in costs through 2027. In April, Pfizer upped the ante on its cost-cutting program, aiming to save $7.7 billion through 2027….

Now you know. Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

So This Has Been A Federal Class Action For Now Almost EIGHT Years… And ICE/Border Patrol Claims It Cannot Identify Who Is Covered?! Damn.

August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

The able USDC Judge Sabraw, as I noted last week, entered an order — clearly within his authority to administer the settlement (which Trump signed in 2018) — to get the names and ID numbers of all the approximately 8,000 people that ICE knows are members of this class. The judge imposed a ten day deadline, so that peoples’ rights would not lapse — due to the government dragging its feet, ever since Tangerine occupied 1600 Penn, for a second term.

The churlish Noem / Rubio / Miller / Trump lawyers now say it is a “manifest injustice” for the Judge to order that list be produced. Injustice?! These human beings are being held in cages. Over 8,000 of them.

And ICE cannot even be bothered to print out a list of who all they are. . . holding?! These people are. . . monsters. They claim (without any factual basis) that even producing a list with 8,000 names. . . must be done by hand. And so it will take five months. That’s preposterous. We have SEEN them using bar code scanners on the asylum seekers in custody, with our own eyes — at the Southern Border (all of whom wear ID wristbands). Just print out that — on an excel spreadsheet — from all that scan data, you idiots.

No one is buying your malign malarkey — least of all the able USDC Judge Dana Sabraw (he will give you a short extension, but you’ll produce the list by the end of August, ole’ Kristi). Here’s the stupid claim, by the Noemites:

…Based on its understanding of its internal procedures and operational capabilities at this time, ICE estimates that production of the list would take “at least five (5) months.” See Second Supplemental Decl. Byoung Park ¶ 2, 5. Ten days is not a realistic deadline, given the logistical challenges that Plaintiffs failed to account for when they proposed it….

The stoopid — it burns. Even under the Geneva Convention, such a list was always required — of PoWs [and that’s been extended, under Bush 43 to include… enemy combatants and the like]. And we all know this is just another bad faith stalling tactic.

Throw the book at them, Judge Sabraw! Out.

नमस्ते

Held For Three Years On Felony Warrant: No Trial — No Progress?! Finally Released Last Week.

August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

To be certain, making a bomb threat, by dropping a Fed Ex package that reads “This Is A Bomb” inside the security line, at Foley Square (SDNY federal district court house)… is both STOOPID, and a pretty dangerous threat (if ignored). The man was known to court officers, from a prior bomb threat in 2002, apparently. And all seem to agree — he suffers from some mental defect/illness.

But InnerCityPress was the lone journalist following his travel (or lack of travel, more precisely) through the federal crim. pro. processes.

The system clearly failed this man — who made very bad choices, but also is almost certainly profoundly mentally… ill.

This past week, while explaining nothing — after three years in the can, a one page order was entered (no trial or hearings to speak of…) and the AUSA just dropped all charges, and the man walked free.

That is a bad outcome, for everyone. He may well return with another scribbled-on Fed Ex package (at this, or some other courthouse security screening)… and it is crystal clear: he received no treatment for his disorder.

It is likely he will re-offend — even if it is unlikely… that he can make a real bomb.

He should have been in some form of a state-run, limited means psychiatric hospital over two years ago — to be treated. But… he was dumped into a meat grinder… and lost to time.

As it is, he is likely to wander the streets of Manhattan now — with nearly nothing changed, but three years of his life… gone. [His aging father is now likely to have to take care of him.]

Damn. Kudos To The Estimable InnerCityPress For Noticing!

The Factual / Evidentiary Hearing, As To CA Gov. Newsom’s Complaint About Tangerine Rolling Natl. Guard Into LA Concluded Yesterday… Good News!

August 13, 2025 ~ condor ~ Leave a comment

California will sum up its own evidence this morning, then the able USDC Judge Breyer will rule. And while one can never be certain, as to future court rulings… Condor notes: