Category: Uncategorized

See Paul — “Debate” — And Dissent… Is An Important Part Of A HEALTHY America…

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This morning, Paul gleefully writes about “a revolution” in what he sees as a near-communist far left neighborhood organization in DC.

He chortles about whether there will be certain kinds of “political” support for immigrant families in the neighborhood (once almost entirely filled with people of color of limited means) — from the now-gentrifying people moving in.

That debate — contrary to what Paul writes everyday — is what makes America a free and vibrant place to live.

And… I must confess: this puts in bold relief his (and the Powerline boys’) refusal to give a moment’s reflection to the daily MAGA “dissenter” pod-cast/vlog of Tucker Carlson — now calling the US and Tangerine 2.0 “Bibi’s lil’ b!tch“.

Carlson [and that loon, Candace Owens] have long-turned the corner into ugly and open anti-semitism (on many fronts). I disagree with about 99% of what they say regarding Israel.

But on a far more weighty (truly global) scale — they have taken a fairly wide swath of the whyte supremacy wing of MAGA with them. There is open MAGA agit-prop war going on — for the [broken-]soul of the hard-right.

And Paul wants us to… look away.

There is nothing to see there — Mirengoff says — so instead, he focuses on a DC local neighbors’ spat.

Do remove the lumber from your eye, Paul — before reaching for the splinter… in DC’s.

D A M N.

Out.

PSA: If Your Summer Travel Plans Are Taking You To Finland, Germany, Israel, Gaza, Poland, Spain, Or The UK: Get A Polio Booster…

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This is… truly surreal — but these are the times in which we find ourselves. [That I first saw it in People magazine… is also rather disconcerting.]

The CDC’s warning is clear though — and perhaps to be expected in parts of the African continent [where means limitations, not the vanity of personal preference(s)… drive low vaccination rates]. But the UK? Spain? Germany? Yikes — here’s the latest:

…A travel alert has been issued warning Americans to take precautions against polio, which is spreading in Europe and elsewhere across the globe.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a level 2 alert, cautioning travelers to “practice enhanced precautions” before visiting 32 countries….

The full list of countries where polio is spreading includes Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Finland, Gaza, Germany, Ghana, Guinea, Israel, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Spain, Sudan, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Yemen, and Zimbabwe….

If you are heading to these countries — do like Elvis did: go get your booster, before you travel. Polio. That’s… insane. Onward.

नमस्ते

It Is Nice To See That There Are Still Some Real “Priorities” — In Next Gen Immuno-Oncology: Good FDA News, At Merck [Power Alley]…

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We used to write quite a bit about “priority review vouchers” at FDA (and, more precisely, the secondary market — in selling and buying them — we weren’t… fans of that wrinkle). [But all that has fallen off the radar screen, in large measure, since Tangerine 2.0 has very few actual “pro-life-science” priorities — and his minion, Kennedy, Jr. seems hell-bent on keeping most new drugs from being approved.] Now, to keep the bidding straight, the company’s Belzutifan is already approved in the EU, for a more limited set of indications — while US patients do already get it under FDA investigational exemptions, at present.

And yet, into the teeth of all of that, a very promising drug candidate has received a new FDA priority review designation (and we know Merck will never sell that!) for treatment of earlier-stage clear cell renal cell carcinoma. That’s great news — as it could mean that Rahway’s oral HIF-2α inhibitor might be on market by June 20, 2026, or so.

Here’s the latest, from FirstWordPharma.com:

…A preliminary interim analysis from a late-stage study of Merck & Co.’s Welireg (belzutifan) in earlier-stage clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) showed that the oral HIF-2α inhibitor significantly boosting disease-free survival (DFS) when combined with the PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) as adjuvant therapy following nephrectomy. The latest readout — building on findings highlighted last October — prompted a priority review by the FDA, with a target action date of June 19.

The LITESPARK-022 trial randomised 1841 patients to receive either Welireg plus Keytruda for approximately one year, or Keytruda plus placebo, with the primary endpoint being DFS.

Results presented Saturday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU) showed that Welireg plus Keytruda lowered the risk of disease recurrence or death by 28% compared with Keytruda plus placebo at a median follow-up of 28.4 months. While the estimated 24-month DFS rate was 80.7% for the combination arm versus 73.7% for the control arm, median DFS was not reached in either group. The trial’s key secondary endpoint of overall survival (OS) continues to be evaluated….

Now you know, as Iran is now firing missiles into… Turkey. Damn. Damn. Damn. Hegseth had zero sense of what he and Tangerine would unleash, here. And US troops have been (and will be) paying for it — with their very lives. Damn.

नमस्ते

What Is… Sophie Adenot Up To — At The International Space Station, Via εpsilon This Evening?

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We had mentioned that she’s going to be pretty accessible, in near real time, from the ISS — via her εpsilon dashboard on the European Space Agency’s website. That is absolutely proving to be true.

Here is some of the latest, both in text and YouTube videos at bottom below here [and en française, at the second half of this text box, on YouTube, too] — of her journey, so far:

…During her mission aboard the International Space Station, Sophie Adenot will carry out a series of European-led experiments focused on health and crew autonomy.

Among them is the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D), a compact and versatile in-flight exercise system designed to support the future of human exploration. The mission also includes experiments conducted in collaboration with CADMOS, CNES’ centre dedicated to human spaceflight and microgravity research.

Alongside her scientific work, Sophie will contribute to several educational initiatives. Through ChlorISS (with CNES), she will grow seeds aboard the ISS while more than 260,000 students in over 4,000 schools replicate the experiment in their classrooms.

Students can also participate in the European Astro Pi Challenge, programming computers on the ISS to collect real orbital data, and in Mission X, where they train like astronauts through science and fitness challenges that promote healthy lifestyles on Earth and in space.

This video features interviews with Tobias Weber, Space Medicine Scientist at ESA, and Rémi Canton, Project Manager for Human Spaceflight at CADMOS….

And, unfortunately, here in the City of Big Shoulders, we’re all socked in, so we will see none of the lunar eclipse at around 4 am local through 5:30 am. So it goes. Same, same in Music City, too. But the High Rockies will be clear as a bell. Ah, well.

नमस्ते

UniQure Common Stock Has Tripled — In A Week, On Huntington’s Disease Candidate AMT-130’s Phase I/II Stellar Results. Wow.

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There is clearly more wood to chop here — in the Phase II/III clinicals ongoing.

But this all is pretty encouraging — especially given the high overall burden — of these brain-devouring diseases. Here’s the latest:

…The dazzling 36-month clinical data announced by uniQure (NASDAQ: QURE) showing a significant slowing of Huntington’s disease (HD) progression in patients treated with its gene therapy candidate AMT-130 was just one of several reasons why the company’s stock more than tripled this past week on the better-than-expected news, reaching a five-year high.

Part of the… buying from investors reflected the strikingly positive tone taken by investigators—and analysts—in discussing the results. Key among those results was the statistically significant 75% slowing of disease progression as measured by the composite Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale (cUHDRS) in patients treated with the high dose of 6×1013 gc/subject, meeting the primary endpoint of the study.

“[A] 75% slowing of disease progression is greater than what we even anticipated, expected, and hoped for. That means for one year of disease progression, they will have four years longer in terms of disease-free life,” Sarah Tabrizi, MD, PhD, director of the University College London (UCL) Huntington’s Disease Centre, told analysts Wednesday on a conference call convened by uniQure to discuss the data. “The effect of 75% slowing is a huge effect size and will have massive effects for patients’ lives….”

Clearly I am scouring high- and low-, to find good news [and look away from the chaos Tangerine has created — but does not even remotely understand — in Iran, and beyond — in the Strait of Hormuz]. Onward, just the same.

नमस्ते

“Whatsoever You Do… For the Least Of My Sisters And Brothers”: First Fatality, From Mpox Clade 1b, On Madagascar… Sad News.

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The news this afternoon… is fundamentally sad. This is a three year old. Her life is gone — for essentially no reason. She might have grown up to be… a world class scientist, sprinter or stateswoman. But no longer.

[Prior backgrounder, of mine, here.] Here is the very troubling story of just some of the challenges her family faced, in trying to find “real science” treatments for her, toward the end of her short life:

…Madagascar has announced the country’s first death from mpox, a 3-year-old girl from the island nation’s eastern city of Toamasina who died on Saturday.

After an initial hospitalization, the girl was later moved to a public hospital at her family’s request, where she died, Health Ministry spokesperson Mamy Randria told reporters on Monday.

“Skin rashes were observed on her body. Doctors also noted that the little girl was already very weakened when she arrived at the hospital,” he said.

The girl’s parents said she became ill after a sprained ankle, sought treatment from traditional healers, and faced delays and refusals of care at several hospitals.

Despite objections from her relatives, the ministry said tests confirmed the late child had mpox.

The ministry reported the country’s first five mpox cases last Dec. 30, all detected in Mahajanga, in the Boeny region of western Madagascar….

This well-illustrates the public health challenges. And makes me… fundamentally sad, that the US has effectively turned its back on these needy people (by ending USAID, to the region). Sigh.

नमस्ते

Tangent | Definition Of A Failing “Business” Model: Chasing The Last 5% Of… Anything. [Especially A Bunch Of Ones And Zeroes.] Yikes!

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Well, now. This is just… silly.

There is no “there, there“. But it is 95 per cent… gone, already. See, Satoshi Nakamoto — whatever else one thinks of his creation — he hard coded a immutable limit into the Blockchain: no more than 21 million Bitcoin will ever be “mined”. And using mathematical algorithms, he made each successive coin “harder to find“. To use the imperfect analogy, he set it up so that the “gold ore body” keeps moving (forever) deeper, and deeper into the mountain’s hard rock face.

Thus, over the last 15 or so years, the difficulty of “mining” has increased in logarithmic fashion. And yet, with the irrational frenzy for these digital beanie babies, already the vast majority… have been “found” by mining rigs. At current hashrates, some time on Saturday night, the 20 millionth one will be mined.

So — Riot is spending billions each year, to upgrade its fragile liquid cooled mining rigs, and build ever more powerful transformers [to suck ever-more electricity from the Texas grid], and chase this last 5%.

And, so — Riot and the other miners will before too long have to either rely on day-trading their hoards (in hopes of catching other suckers unawares), or live off of the meager transaction fees, exclusively.

This is (supposedly) the cash cow, one that feeds the high performance computing center cap ex (also over $2 billion, all in, in cap ex over the next two years, alone)… Riot hopes to lease out to big companies [like AMD and Google], eventually. Eventually, like 2028 or so.

Welp. “good luck” with all that, I say. The company simply does NOT have a customer service ethos. It is “all pirate — all the time“. It, in sum, cannot survive in the world it created for itself.

Out.

नमस्ते

Both The Ringsiders, And Powerliners… Are Tamping Down Any Notion Of “Real Success”, In Iran — At Day Five. Wild.

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Most directly, Paul Mirengoff gives an awful lot of pixels over to admitting that the hard right critics (the “stay in your lane” wing) are mostly right about how this is going — and how it is going to go: badly for all GOP-ers, MAGA or not.

The cynicism, though of deciding the merits of an unfolding war of choice, based primarily on how it will help mid-terms chances (or not so much)… is disgusting to me. But whatever.

They are right: this is a bad idea. [And I might add: putting US troops on the ground in Iran will look a lot like the 20 years of death [in the 1980s] the old Soviets endured — for their troops — in Afghanistan. In the end, they tucked tail, and ran — after losing a guerrilla war. And probably 26,000 soldiers. That’s about half-a-Vietnam, BTW.]

But Paul still manages to lick the boots of Dear Leader in the process — so as not to lose his radical MAGA readership.

Hinderaker, in turn, yesterday already is writing of how the ultimate goals may well never be acheieved — but it is always good fun to unleash sidewinder missiles on brown people — just to watch sh!t burn, on the other side of the world.

He is sentient enough to mention that troops on the ground in Tehran will lead only to an endlessly lethal quagmire for the US. [One for which Bibi is obviously more than happy to grind up an endless stream of US kids up into, all for his visions of an Israeli super-power — in the region.]

Damn.

He’s a… lost soul.

But he is right — this won’t end well for the USA.

Out.

Full Speed Ahead, On Trial Schedule In Hudson Tunnel “Vanity” Matter…

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We will keep an eye on these dates.

Even as the appeal is pending, the trial on permanent injunction (against Tangerine 2.0 trying to stiff the tunnel workers) will proceed in Manhattan, thus:

…It is hereby ORDERED that a hearing will be held with respect to Plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction. ECF No. 11.

Per the parties’ correspondence with the Court, ECF No. 57 (“Joint Ltr.”), Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction is hereby consolidated with adjudication on the merits pursuant to Rule 65(a)(2). Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(a)(2).

The hearing will take place on Thursday, April 16, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., in Courtroom 11B, Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, New York 10007.

Defendants shall submit their papers in support of their motion to dismiss and in
opposition to Plaintiffs’ motion for relief by March 17, 2026. Plaintiffs’ papers in opposition to Defendants’ motion to dismiss and in further support of its motion for relief is due by March 31, 2026. Defendants’ reply in support of their motion to dismiss is due by April 7, 2026.

SO ORDERED.

Dated: March 2, 2026

/s/ JEANNETTE A. VARGAS
United States District Judge….

Now you know. Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

Looking For “Good News” Dept.: Gilead To Fund A $12 Million Effort — Aiming At AIDS Outreach, In 14 States…

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This is me… searching for some good news — on a very dark day, in the Middle East.

While our own F-15s continue to be shot down (three, so far), by “friendly fire” over Kuwait… at least some sensible fundings — of real life-science continues — albeit in the private sector:

…Gilead Foundation today announced a $12 million investment in 33 community‑based organizations across 14 states and the District of Columbia through its Community Health Worker (CHW) Comprehensive HIV Prevention Initiative. This two‑year effort expands CHW‑led prevention models that strengthen knowledge, care navigation, and access to services for communities disproportionately affected by HIV….

“Community health workers are often the first and most trusted point of connection for people seeking information, support and care,” said Keeley Cain Wettan, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Legal and Compliance at Gilead Sciences and a Board Member of Gilead Foundation. “Advancing HIV prevention requires both medical innovation and strong, community-led systems that address the social and structural barriers people face every day. By investing in community-based organizations, we’re helping expand access to trusted information, screenings, and culturally responsive care that can drive more equitable health outcomes….”

Go, be excellent to one another — for we are all… we’ve got. Onward.

नमस्ते