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[U] H5N1 (Avian) Virus Was Just Seen In The First US Child, In 2024 — Out In California. Do Be… Vigilant.

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I must say, at the outset that people like Hinderaker should be ashamed of their efforts in “running interference” for manifestly loony potential Tangerine appointees — in US public health roles. Kennedy, if seated — will cause the deaths of perhaps thousands of US children (all of limited means) — kids that need not die, at all. Disgusting — John this is not “shaking things up,” at HHS or CMS — against some mythical “deep state”. This is killing children, and the elderly, as conscious choices… mostly. Own it, you putz!

In any event, the below item, from CIDRAP serves as a reminder that especially in children, we ought to be very vigilant about persistent respiratory symptoms, of any kind.

California regularly tests school kids for illness — which is how this case came to light. This was a child with no farm animal contacts, so the likelihood is that it was a human to human transmission path. Here’s the latest — and do be extra careful, if visiting farm animals (on holiday outings), especially later in this damp Fall weather.

…The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that its tests have confirmed H5N1 avian flu in California’s recent suspected case, involving a child who had no known exposure to infected animals.

Also, California announced another confirmed H5 case in a dairy farm worker. The new developments lift the state’s total to 29 human cases of H5 avian flu and the national total since the first of the year to 55….

The CDC statement noted that the confirmation marks the nation’s first H5 infection in a child, and it reiterated much of what the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said in its initial announcement of the case on November 19.

The child’s infection was detected through California’s flu surveillance system, and the level of viral material in the specimen was low. Follow-up tests several days later were negative for avian flu but were positive for other common respiratory viruses….

Moreover, somewhat worryingly, it also seems that even seniors are largely foregoing COVID boosters and flu shots this season. We cross our fingers, and hope that this trend doesn’t come back to bite us — nationwide. Onward.

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In Which — After 40 Years, Hinderaker “Figures Out” Who McConnell Is (Was).

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Again, too precious — by half.

It’s what John doesn’t mention… that matters.

This pick of Thune is plainly a rebuke of Trumpism.

That’s all that matters here.

Tangerine’s own guys… are gonna’ knife him (in the front), especially those who held their noses — and his coattails — to get elected again in 2024.

Hilarious!

Hinderaker long knew McConnell was a big spending turtle — but it greased his pet projects… so he pretended he liked it.

As Mirengoff Admits Today, Trump Barely Squeaked By In 2024 — And He Was Deeply Unpopular, Last Time — As A Governing Preznit.

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Sure sure — he will get some of his nominees through the Senate, but there is zero chance now that the Senate will wholesale go on vacation for perhaps six months, so he might make interim appointments, like Matt Gaetz [now ash-canned].

Here’s how Paul puts it:

“…Trump was an unpopular president. Maybe this time will be different. Or maybe he will impose high tariffs that will lead to greater inflation than that which plagued Joe Biden. How popular Trump will be a year from now is anyone’s guess…. Trump [won] the popular vote by only about 1.6 percentage points and his share was a hair less than 50 percent…. Trump’s electoral victory… depended on very narrow margins in the “blue wall” states….”

That’s no mandate — no landslide.

And I’ll predict that Mrs. McMahon… will not be the US Education Sec’y, when the dust settles, after the Senate asks her about the allegations in several lawsuits, that she and hubs sexually assaulted underage girls — who wanted to become professional wrestlers.

I’ll also guess that Dr. Oz, and Mr. Kennedy may not survive a term of more than one year, in the public health roles. The FDA nominee has a better shot, as does the prospective Treasury Sec’y.

But mostly, since Tangerine is almost immediately a lame duck (no honeymoon!), and the nation is divided — and many of the Senators will not face election again, until well after Trump is gone… very little may actually get done on his various “concepts of a plan” for much of anything. [Most of all, I predict there will be no mass deportations — the military will be enjoined immediately, should anyone even wish to do what Tangerine bloviates about.]

But there will be a daily circus — as there was in 2017 to 2021. And he will engage in various forms of personal grifting. Think golf club stays, here — for hundreds — at his own resorts, charging top dollar, for every crappy room. That graft (alone) is likely to eclipse $250 million, by the end of his term.

Count on that.

F U G L Y.

Out.

Rudy Giuliani May Be In Contempt, In TWO Federal Courts, By Mid December… Sequential Jailings?! NY, And DC?

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This is, almost word for word, what the cogent Wilkie Farr lawyers (pro bono, for the Georgia election workers) asked for yesterday.

Just read what the able USDC Judge Liman in Manhattan entered, overnight — all three pages — and a bit of it [Judge Liman’s original turnover order from October 2024 may be read here.]:

[This man is also subject to jailing, in DC as we mentioned yesterday — for his continuing to defame the Georgia election workers over the public airwaves — and thus willfully violating the injunction entered, against such speech and conduct.]

…Among other things, it also ordered Defendant, his agents, employees, and those acting in concert with them to comply with the directives of the Plaintiffs Receivers issued pursuant to the Turnover Order. Id. at 21 ¶ 4(f). Defendant did not object to the appointment of receivers or to the terms of the Turnover Order or powers of the receivers, other than limited objections with respect to specific items of property. Dkt. No. 44. No motion for reconsideration of the Turnover Order was made.

On November 7, 2024, after the Court had been informed that Defendant had turned over none of the Receivership Property ordered to be turned over by October 29, 2024, the Court issued a further order that was then memorialized in a November 8, 2024 written order. Dkt. No. 94. As memorialized in the November 8, 2024 order, Defendant was required by November 15, 2024, to deliver to Plaintiffs-Receivers “all items of property identified in the Turnover Order, according to the Plaintiffs-Receivers’ instructions.” Id. at 2. Defendant has not complied with that order nor with the Turnover Order. Dkt. No. 147.

In light of Defendant’s noncompliance, Plaintiffs-Receivers have issued new directives to Defendant pursuant to the Turnover Order. Id. at 7-8. The Court has reviewed the directives and finds that they are consistent with, and authorized by, the Turnover Order. Accordingly, and for the avoidance of doubt, the Court orders that Defendant Giuliani shall comply with the following instructions provided by the Plaintiffs- Receivers on pain of contempt….

By no later than 5 p.m. Friday, December 6, 2024, Mr. Giuliani shall segregate all Receivership Property located at the CTS Facility from property that is not subject to the Turnover Order…. By the same date and time, Mr. Giuliani shall provide a detailed list containing pictures of the segregated Receivership Property located at the CTS Facility sufficient to show the size and quantity of that property….

Defendant Giuliani, his attorneys, agents, and persons in active concert or participation with him or them shall not transfer, encumber, or interfere with any of Defendant’s property located at Corporate Transfer and Storage, Inc. (“CTS”) or America First Warehouse (“AFX”) until the Receiver files notice on the docket that the above conditions have been satisfied.

SO ORDERED….

Damn. What a precipitous fall… from what he was, in the late 1980s to about 2001. Damn.

He will die penniless, and alone now — in some low rent trailer or motel in the Florida panhandle.

If not in… some county drunk tank. Out.

So… An Mpox Clade 1b Case Was Just Seen In At Least One Canadian Who Recently Traveled To West Africa… Ugh.

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The importance of available vaccines, in wherever the index cases are seen — in the future — cannot be overstated. For its part, Ebola has almost never made wholesale leaps, to other parts of the world, since 2014. That is because we have an effective vaccine — and each time a new flare-up occurs, everyone who had contact with any index case gets a vaccine. The dying though lamentable, is limited to at most a few dozens, now in all recent outbreaks, post 2017.

So too, we (the WHO, the EU Health Commission, Britain’s public health ministers, the US CDC — and similar Japanese authorities) must now stock the world — and Africa particularly… for the “fire next time” — even as this Mpox Clade 1b outbreak is leveling off. In Canada — this represents a still-ongoing failure of public health education, for travelers to West Africa, to be sure. Here’s the latest:

…Canada’s Public Health Agency (PHAC) has confirmed the country’s first case of clade I mpox in a traveller from Manitoba. The individual contracted the virus, linked to an outbreak in central and eastern Africa, during their travels and sought medical care upon returning to Canada.

“The individual sought medical care for mpox symptoms in Canada shortly after their return and is currently isolating,” reported by Reuters….

PHAC noted that the case was identified as clade Ib mpox following testing by the National Microbiology Laboratory, which informed Manitoba health officials on 22 November….

Now you know — and… go Buffs — at two this afternoon!

नमस्ते

Hilarious! Readers at Powerline Cannot “Share” To Trump’s Truth Social!?

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Well… we’ve long known that the boys at Powerline are particularly technologically backward.

But even for them, this seems… dangerously unconscious.

I don’t really care, but Tangerine is going to be more than a little upset when he finds this out.

See, if you like something on Powerline, you can share it to X-itter or Facebook, but you cannot share it to his “truth social”.

Hilarious! Is that a bug — or a feature?

Out.

Power-Alley: TRC Capital Tries To Catch Retail Investors Unaware, And Buy Shares Below NYSE Quoted Prices… Ugh. Ignore Them.

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This is a securities lawyer’s PSA: entities like TRC look to buy up under 5% of various high dividend, solid, long standing blue chip companies’ free shares — all to either clip the dividend, and/or then resell on a small rise on the NYSE. At the moment, the outfit is offering about 4% below today’s NYSE prices, for shares of Merck. Don’t fall for it.

Walmart, Pfizer, P&G and AMD are just a few of the names TRC has targeted in the past. Most of these bids see anemic participation / performance, once the word gets out. And Rahway is putting out the word tonight, after market-close:

…Merck has been notified that TRC Capital Investment Corporation (TRC Capital) has commenced an unsolicited “mini-tender” offer, dated November 12, 2024, to purchase up to 1,000,000 shares of Merck common stock at $96.38 per share. The offer price is approximately 4.32% below the closing price of the Merck common stock on November 11, 2024 ($100.73), the last trading day before the date of the offer, and approximately 3.48% below the closing price of the Merck common stock on November 21, 2024 ($99.86), the day prior to this release.

Merck does not endorse TRC Capital’s offer and recommends that Merck shareholders reject the offer and not tender their shares in response to TRC Capital’s unsolicited mini-tender offer. This mini-tender offer is at a price below the closing price for Merck’s shares….

Like TRC Capital’s other offers, this one puts individual investors at risk because they may not realize they are selling their shares at a discount. Merck urges shareholders to obtain current stock quotes for their shares of Merck common stock, to review the terms and conditions of the offer, to consult with their brokers or financial advisers, and to exercise caution with respect to TRC Capital’s mini-tender offer.

Merck shareholders who have already tendered are advised they may withdraw their shares by following the procedures for withdrawal described in the TRC Capital offer documents prior to the expiration of the offer, which is currently scheduled for 11:59 a.m. EST on December 11, 2024….

Now you know — ignore these jokers, people. The practice, without more in the way of affirmative fraud — is lawful. So you must protect… yourself.

If you do want to cash some of your Merck stock, just call your own broker, and set a limit order slightly above the last closing price on the NYSE. It is my opinion that within 12 months, this stock will reach $130 a share, and most of Wall Street sees it that same way, with an injectable version of Keytruda due in 2025. [Don’t give these clowns your potential 30% gain in a year.]

Onward, grinning!

नमस्ते

[Now, With NY Updates, Too!] DC Federal Court Case — Defamation: Contempt Hearing On December 12, 2024 — End Of The Line, For Rudy G…?

~ condor ~ 1 Comment

Before you read the rest, about the DC case — read this, about Rudy’s continued disdain for the Manhattan federal court turnover orders — it just got filed, moments ago, and seeks answers to its nine pages, by this coming Tuesday. Rudy’s minions are apparently trying (via press conference / instructions from Mr. Cammarata, his new divorce lawyer) to intimidate the workers seeking to secure and inventory his possessions in two storage facilities. Apparently Mr. Giuliani is a “partner” in at least one of the storage facilities, and may be directly obstructing justice, here. End, updated portion.

[This below pertains to the DC case — to be clear.] Yep, the guy is just… burning. himself. up.

By December 12, 2024, he will have to be sitting inside the federal courtroom of the very able USDC Judge Howell, in DC — awaiting a decision on whether the various remarks he continues to make on radio broadcasts show disdain for a prior court order — an injunction, against defaming these two Georgia election workers from the 2020 cycle, by falsely alleging that they somehow “fabricated” Democratic votes, back then.

The guy is… reportedly often drunk by midday, now — and rambling aimlessly, about one perceived grievance or another, most evenings. He’s coming to the very end of the line. As we’ve said before, these are matters over which Tangerine holds no sway, let alone any pardon power.

They are all… federal and state civil actions — beyond the reach of any preznit. Here’s the overnight order:

…Set/Reset Deadlines/Hearings:

Defendant Response To [19] Motion For Civil Contempt due by 12/2/2024.

Plaintiff Reply, if any, due by 12/6/2024.

Contempt Hearing set for 12/12/2024 09:30 AM in Courtroom 26A | In Person before Judge Beryl A. Howell….

Now you know — and he still hasn’t surrendered the paper title to the Mercedes, despite an order to do so, last week. All this just… couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Out.

नमस्ते

An Unusual Infant Star, And Its Ultra Hot, And Bright, Accretion Disk — Way Out, In Orion [Under Observation Since 1936(!)]…

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I am all but certain that within a year or two, the JWST will slew past this section of the constellation Orion — to enhance, and confirm the data just collated from Hubble.

This is an amazing time of discovery, to be certain — almost daily, now we read of new insights — new discoveries, in many cases millions of light years off into the night skies. Truly… wonderful! Here’s the latest, from NASA’s Hubble team (at over three decades, “on mission”, now):

…In 1936, astronomers saw a puzzling event in the constellation Orion: the young star FU Orionis (FU Ori) became a hundred times brighter in a matter of months. At its peak, FU Ori was intrinsically 100 times brighter than our Sun. Unlike an exploding star though, it has declined in luminosity only languidly since then.

Now, a team of astronomers has wielded NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope’s ultraviolet capabilities to learn more about the interaction between FU Ori’s stellar surface and the accretion disk that has been dumping gas onto the growing star for nearly 90 years. They find that the inner disk touching the star is extraordinarily hot — which challenges conventional wisdom….

“We were hoping to validate the hottest part of the accretion disk model, to determine its maximum temperature, by measuring closer to the inner edge of the accretion disk than ever before,” said Lynne Hillenbrand of Caltech in Pasadena, California, and a co-author of the paper. “I think there was some hope that we would see something extra, like the interface between the star and its disk, but we were certainly not expecting it. The fact we saw so much extra — it was much brighter in the ultraviolet than we predicted — that was the big surprise….”

This is — as they say… a very bright-burning youngster, indeed — and we all have known some, in our time.

[Consider Travis “Heisman” Hunter, above — in action again tomorrow afternoon, against the Kansas Jayhawks.] Smile — and consider… from 12 years ago, to roughly eight years ago — now… out of Music City. Wishing you and the kiddos all the best, at Thanksgiving and always — grinning. Onward.

नमस्ते

Giuliani’s NEW [Divorce] Lawyer Missed Filing Appeal Date — By Listing WRONG Case Number / Set Of Parties?!

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As they say — “A” people… hire “A” people… but “B” or “C” people… hire… “D” people. Seems that adage here applies.

Mr. Cammarata (on the 29th day) meant to appeal a judgment to the Second Circuit, for the seizures of Rudy’s property, among other matters. But he listed the wrong parties, and the wrong case file number. I am pretty sure the SDNY — and the Second Cir. Clerk — will allow him to correct the filing, and move forward with this largely specious appeal, anyway — even though his filing has now missed the 30 day deadline. Here’s the clerk’s note — advising him to RE-file (overnight):

…Notice to attorney Joseph Cammarata to RE-FILE Document No. [140] Notice of Appeal.

The filing is deficient for the following reason(s): The wrong case number is listed on the document. Re-file the appeal using the event type Notice of Appeal found under the event list Appeal Documents – attach the correct signed PDF – select the correct named filer/filers – select the correct order/judgment being appealed….

I should note also that this is not the lawyer that represented Paula Jones, some three decades ago — no relation whatsoever. This guy is a former NY cop and firefighter, who went to law school after 9.11.

Now you know. He is depicted above right, along with his Staten Island divorce law offices. From where I sit, this all is “giving” a strong echo — of the stop the steal “press conference”, in later 2020, at the “Four Seasons” Lawn & Gardening, just across from the porn shop — in NYC.

Cheers.

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