Category: Uncategorized

[U] When All The Hard Righties Start Waxing Philosophical, On Post Felony Convicted Trump… We… SMILE.

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It seems clear that Truth Social, and the stock symbol DJT will be worth about one-twentieth of today’s price, post his felony convictions. That’s just for starters.

But I write to note that all the boys at Ringside and Powerline are already trying to draw the sting of the felony, out.

I am not 100% sure there will not be a jury nullifying holdout among the 12 in Manhattan — but I think the evidence of guilt is simply… overwhelming. And the boys (especially at Powerline) if they are honest, do too. [UPDATED: But now even Bill Otis is… burping on it: Bill sees a 75% chance of conviction on at least a few felonies.]

So all their keyboards are clacking — and, in rhythm, too — trying to minimize the damage that running a convicted felon for 1600 Penn will do, in eternity, to the old-line GOP “brand”.

This makes my heart… quite profoundly glad, for the reality is… Trump is a felon. And we may know it by tonight.

And Devin Nunes may yet go down for felony securities fraud in his materially misleading statements about the stock DJT.

Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy — a service with around 100,000 regular monthly users… cannot ever compete with one that sports over 340 million of them.

Trump’s “brand” is increasingly a dead letter, not just in politics, but in commerce as well.

Lovely. Out.

Merck Scores Another Target — Smaller Scale M&A / R&D, In The Eye Care Space — Min: $1.3 Billion; Max: $3 Billion For EyeBio.

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Again, this is at the moment immaterial to vast Merck.

But it is smart diversifying / back-filling… for the 2030s — at a very fair price, as well. Very smart. Here’s the bit:

…Merck & Co is nearing a $1.3 billion cash deal to buy ophthalmology biotechnology company EyeBio in an agreement that could see an additional $1.7 billion in milestone payments, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The deal could be announced as early as Wednesday, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Merck did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for a comment, while EyeBio declined to comment….

Now you know — off to the steel and glass canyons, under a bright and sunny sky… grin.

नमस्ते

Hinderaker Forgets That Tangerine’s Been “1984”… Since 2017, Non-Stop…

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Whopperline-Hinderaker-2019-Brain-Small So, to be certain, Xi’s China is a civil liberties horror show.

Has been, for at least the last three decades — and then, for fifty years before about 1960. So it is dishonest for Hinderaker to suggest spying on one’s neighbors occurs here, in 2024 — excepting in ruby red Texas (with its bounty hunters for women leaving the state while pregnant, of course).

And so, Hinderaker well knows we here in the US are “freer” under Mr. Biden than we were under Tangerine. Especially individual civil liberties (think family planning / contraception, which Tangerine recently said he’d like to end as a federal health coverage item).

That is, excepting large coal companies owners being freed to pollute wildly, and oil companies — drilling, in federal protected habitats.

Yes, John — billionaires were freer to pollute — under Trumpie. But that’s it.

What a yutz. Damn.

Onward.

A Garnet Child’s Ring — Not Seen Since The Fourth Century BCE… Unearthed, Under A Car Park In Jerusalem…

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These finds always spark my imagination.

Did a Hebrew boy or girl wear it, or a Persian? [Possibly even a Roman or Greek boy or girl(?)] Was s/he of a merchant-class family, or higher born? How did it stay untouched for over 2,300 years — as layer upon layer, of later buildings were deposited atop it? Here’s the whole story (as thus far known):

…Archaeologists recently discovered a rare 2,300-year-old gold ring while excavating in the parking lot of the City of David in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said Monday.

The “exceedingly well-preserved” ring is set with a red garnet and given its small diameter, was likely made for a child, the IAA said in a statement. The ring, which “since its last use 2,300 years ago accumulated neither rust nor suffered other weatherings of time,” dates from the early Hellenistic era in Jerusalem, around the 3rd or 4th century BCE.

The ring was manufactured by “hammering thin pre-cut gold leaves onto a metal ring base,” the statement said. During this period, gold jewelry with set stones, instead of decorated gold, became fashionable. Gold and other luxury items became more popular in the Hellenistic world after Alexander the Great’s conquests in the late 4th century BCE, which eased transport and trade….

And even as I marvel at it, I am deeply saddened by the IDF’s apparently indiscriminate firing on women and children again today, in Gaza. Humans are such a mass of contradictions — capable in a single moment of both… graceful beauty, and unspeakable barbarism. Resolve to do better, for and to everyone you meet this week. Onward.

नमस्ते

Drug Fraud Tangent: Welp. If You’re Willing To Fly To Tazmania, You May Go To A “Shaolin” Listening Party, At A Museum…

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I am going to do my best NOT to mention that Mr. Shkreli claims he burned a copy of the “Shaolin” to a laptop hard drive, before he lost custody of it, in various legal proceedings, in 2017.

Oops. Oh well. Where was I? Right.

In a highly-gratifying turn of events, the Wu- has consented to “charitable” listening parties — this first one at a museum exhibit exploring the effect of celebrity status and digitization on… art. And Pleasr, the art collective, has agreed to do more of this.

Below is the full story (out of Tazmania) — but two object lessons emerge: (i) Martin Shkreli will not be able to further monetize his bootleg copy, and (ii) you likely won’t have to wait very long for a similar listening party, at some art museum in the US or the EU.

Here’s the UK Guardian on it:

…“Every once in a while, an object on this planet possesses mystical properties that transcend its material circumstances,” Jarrod Rawlins, Mona’s director of curatorial affairs, said. “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is more than just an album, so when I was thinking about status, and what a transcendent namedrop could be, I knew I had to get it into this exhibition.”

Pleasr said it was “honoured to partner with Mona to support RZA’s vision for Once Upon a Time in Shaolin”.

“Ten years ago, the Wu-Tang Clan had a bold vision to make a single copy album as a work of fine art. To ‘put it in an art gallery… make music become a living piece like a Mona Lisa or a sceptre from Egypt’,” Pleasr said in a statement. “With this single work of art, the Wu-Tang Clan’s intention was to redefine the meaning of music ownership and value in a world of digital streaming and commodification of music.”

Also in the exhibition are objects such as David Bowie’s original handwritten lyrics for Starman, complete with spelling corrections, which was purchased at auction by Mona’s owner, David Walsh, in 2022….

Now you know. Onward, grinning — ever, grinning.

नमस्ते

Later This Week, ESA May Launch EARTHCare To More Closely Study Aerosols’ Role — In Heating And Cooling The Atmosphere…

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It may yet slip to the first week of June, depending on lots of factors, but it could come as early as May 28, 2024.

This is the most sophisticated craft esa will place in permanent Earth orbit. [The Europa Clipper we mentioned yesterday, heading deep into space in October, is a more complicated mission, but this will be the apex in permanent Earth orbit, for the near term, technologically speaking — for esa.] Here’s the latest:

…ESA’s Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) mission is getting ready for lift-off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, California, with a target launch date of no earlier than 28 May 2024. Save the date and watch the launch live on ESA WebTV or ESA YouTube.

EarthCARE, the most complex of all of ESA’s Earth Explorer missions, will quantify and reduce the uncertainty about the role that clouds and aerosols play in heating and cooling Earth’s atmosphere — contributing to our better understanding of climate change. . . .

EarthCARE will, for the first time, measure vertical profiles of cloud particles and aerosols, and their fall speed – providing new insights into interactions between clouds, aerosols and precipitation. It will also register the distribution of water droplets and ice crystals and how they are transported in clouds.

This essential data will improve the accuracy of both cloud development models and their behaviour, composition and interaction with aerosols, as well as improve future climate models and support numerical weather prediction….

Now you know — with the drenching rains ending here now, and clear azure skies to the West, at sunset… smile.

नमस्ते

Wells Fargo Predicts Merck Will Lead Larger Pharma- M&A Deal Space — In Back Half Of 2024…

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This might even be called… “the attack of the obvious”, but the bank does list out about 20 likely M&A targets for Merck — and its compatriots in Big Pharma this morning.

I note it mostly to say I concur that in terms of flexibility, Rahway is at the top of the heap, in near term deal doing.

It also has shown discipline on price, in the prior two years — coupled to a bold appetite… so, what’s not to like?

Ever onward, grinning.

नमस्ते

For Whatever Tiny Insight Might Be Offered… Compare / Contrast…

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Hinderaker took some measure tonight, on the boost from Instapundit.

So… I did, too. Same one; same night.

The questions are mostly meaningless; so in my estimation, the output is useful only… directionally.

He is much farther right, and much more an authoritarian than the measure scored him.

And in fairness, I am probably a little less left, and a little less libertarian than it scored me.

But… whatever. After 20 years, I think his (and my) views are more fully reflected in these 7,000 or so posts and critiques.

Onward — enjoy.

Coming Up, In October 2024: ESA’s Launch To Europa — In Search For… Salty Liquid Subsurface Oceans, Ones That May Harbor Rudimentary Biology…

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On a quiet Saturday holiday evening… we look ahead — to the prospect of finding life, off-world, but right here (relatively speaking) in our own neighborhood: on Europa.

CalTech/JPL has contributed mightily to this effort, on a space science basis, but the lead is in fact the European Space Agency. We are keenly excited to see, what comes of this daring effort. Here’s the latest:

…Europa Clipper’s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life.

The mission’s three main science objectives are to understand the nature of the ice shell and the ocean beneath it, along with the moon’s composition and geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.

NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will perform dozens of close flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa, gathering detailed measurements to investigate the moon. The spacecraft, in orbit around Jupiter, will make nearly 50 flybys of Europa at closest-approach altitudes as low as 16 miles (25 kilometers) above the surface, soaring over a different location during each flyby to scan nearly the entire moon….

Onward — laughing about the waves we’ve already created… in Palatine’s village government chambers.

नमस्ते