Category: Uncategorized

Juno Mission Is Able To Refine Our Estimate, On Oxygen Produced Daily — At Icy Moon Europa: ~1,000 Tons Per Day…

~ condor ~ 1 Comment

As we’ve indicated many times before, we are privileged to be alive at a time of near-daily discoveries — in the space sciences, as our advancing technology peels back the cover of darkness that previously obscured our “knowings”.

This time, it comes from around mighty Jupiter, and its potentially-life supporting moon Europa — where a subsurface ocean may be naturally-packed with lots of oxygen, as a result of natural ionization in the surface ice shell, and its plumes, which are blasted by Jupiter’s vast plasma/radiation fields. Here’s the latest:

…Scientists with NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter have calculated the rate of oxygen being produced at the Jovian moon Europa to be substantially less than most previous studies. Published on March 4 in Nature Astronomy, the findings were derived by measuring hydrogen outgassing from the icy moon’s surface using data collected by the spacecraft’s Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment (JADE) instrument.

The paper’s authors estimate the amount of oxygen produced to be around 26 pounds every second (12 kilograms per second). Previous estimates range from a few pounds to over 2,000 pounds per second (over 1,000 kilograms per second). Scientists believe that some of the oxygen produced in this manner could work its way into the moon’s subsurface ocean as a possible source of metabolic energy.

With an equatorial diameter of 1,940 miles (3,100 kilometers), Europa is the fourth largest of Jupiter’s 95 known moons and the smallest of the four Galilean satellites. Scientists believe a vast internal ocean of salty water lurks beneath its icy crust, and they are curious about the potential for life-supporting conditions to exist below the surface….

“Europa is like an ice ball slowly losing its water in a flowing stream. Except, in this case, the stream is a fluid of ionized particles swept around Jupiter by its extraordinary magnetic field,” said JADE scientist Jamey Szalay from Princeton University in New Jersey. “When these ionized particles impact Europa, they break up the water-ice molecule by molecule on the surface to produce hydrogen and oxygen. In a way, the entire ice shell is being continuously eroded by waves of charged particles washing up upon it….”

Now you know — onward grinning up, some 500 million miles into the night sky, at Lord Jupiter and its shepherded moons.

नमस्ते

Paul’s Sanguine Tone — About GOP Prospects In ‘24… Is So Precious!

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I don’t really care, but Mr. Mirengoff tonight tries to whistle past not just the local bone-yard… but even dance on his own grave.

Yep. Today marks the day that the Supremes signed the death warrant for the traditional GOP. With Tangerine eligible in all 50 states, the Republicans have no choice but to run him in the general.

And he will lose — and lose badly. By nearly 10 million votes, this time. In the process, he’ll spend all the RNC’s money, and further alienate most college educated people of good will.

As Mr. Biden coasts to reelection (on real wins, like lowering drug prices for working class Americans, and) on a generally solid economy… Trump will scorch the GOP Earth, and may even be incarcerated by January 2025.

So ends the GOP, Paulie: in a whimper.

Nice try, though. The Trump 2.0 Paradox is… real.

Out.

And So, Merck (Among Other Drug Cos) Has Made A Counter-Offer — To HHS And CMS — On Prices, For Januvia®…

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Mr. Biden has indicated that he will have some more searching thoughts on this topic in his address to the nation on Thursday evening. [It is a lil’ rich that some of them are suing their biggest customer, here.]

He is correct to point out that all of the companies are continuing negotiations — since in most cases, the federal government is the largest single buyer of any given medication on the list of ten. No matter how you slice it, this will be a benefit to people of limited means who need the meds, just to survive. Here’s the latest:

…All of the manufacturers whose drugs were chosen for the federal government’s Medicare price negotiation program have sent back counteroffers for what they consider to be a maximum fair price, the White House said Monday.

President Biden confirmed in a statement Monday that all companies are continuing to engage in the negotiation process, despite the host of legal battles brought by a few, to block the program….

Talks are expected to go through Aug. 1, when negotiations officially end, per CMS guidance. The maximum fair prices are scheduled to be published Sept. 1 and are set to go into effect at the start of 2026….

As we indicated repeatedly here, there is no constitutional problem with saying a manufacturer must at least negotiate in good faith. And the IRA contemplates that no manufacturer must sell at any specific price to the government. So this will, like the ACA of 2010… pass muster in the Supremes, in my experienced opinion. Onward.

नमस्ते

Hinderaker Revisits His Manifestly Racist / False Tropes — Citing Crime Data Without Adjusting For Portion Of Whole Population, In US.

~ condor ~ 2 Comments

And again, he takes Heather Mac Donald’s BS at face value.

Neither of them take into account that people of African decent are a small portion of the overall population in the US, yet are far more likely to live below the poverty line than their Whyte cohorts.

Far fewer whytes (proportionately) commit property crimes than people of color — in no small measure because… they are far more likely to live without need for any material thing.

As to homicides and violent crime — many many of these arise in self-defense situations, and again, far fewer whytes (proportionately) live in the danger-filled () streets. And it cannot be seriously disputed that law enforcement is far more likely to approach a person of color violently, than an analogous whyte.

We’ve proved this literally hundreds of times, to John over the prior two decades.

I’ll not waste any more breath, tonight, on his lost soul.

Out.

Tangerine Likely To Need To Post ~$83 Million Bond This Week, In Jean Carroll II… USDC Judge Kaplan Will Rule This Week.

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I love the way Tangerine is being… “inconvenienced” — solely by his own repeated sexually predatory behavior.

Decades upon decades… of it.

Now — he wants everyone else to hop to it (including the able SDNY USDC Judge Kaplan), so he can minimize his own dislocation / illiquidity… all caused by his… sexual assaults. Damn:

…The Court is aware of defendant’s request for a decision on the stay motion no later than today “to allow time for [him] to finalize arrangements for an appropriate bond if necessary.” Dkt 287, at 21. A decision will be rendered as promptly as is reasonably possible. Without implying what that decision will be or when it will be made, however, it will not come today.

SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan on 3/4/24)….

Shut the f- up, Tangerine.

“One Merck; Two Merck — Red Merck, Blue Merck”: With C4 Therapeutics Now, For Both!

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As we mentioned back in December, the US Merck (no relation) has inked a collab with this research team, as well. It too involves smallish up-fronts, but a big payout in bio-bucks — if all milestones are met.

So too, this morning, with the Darmstadt German one. It features a slightly-larger upfront payment — at $16 million, but then a smaller back-end payout — if milestones are hit. Here are the details in the cleverly captioned Fierce / Kelis “boys to the yard“ headline:

…Apparently, C4 Therapeutics’ protein degradation tech brings all the Mercks to the yard. The Massachusetts biotech has signed on Merck KGaA in a $740 million biobucks partnership to find two degraders for cancer.

Merck KGaA is offering $16 million upfront and $740 million in biobucks for the two degraders aimed at proteins that drive cancer growth. Merck will pay for C4’s discovery work and be responsible for future clinical development, according to Monday’s announcement. C4 also stands to make mid single- to low double-digit royalties should any of the targets turn into marketed drugs….

Now you know — and this along with the Roche and Biogen relationships — suggests C4 is on to something substantial, here. Grin.

नमस्ते

Regrettably, We Must Return — To Discuss The Deplorable Conditions Under Which CHILDREN Are Being Detained In Southern California CBP Open Air Facilities…

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Most of this lawlessness was ended when Tangerine was moved out of 1600 Penn, in January of 2021. However, increases in the flow of asylum seekers, and particularly at the Southern California ports of entry, have left CBP overwhelmed, and under-staffed.

But that is no excuse for mistreating children, especially. This needs to be a five alarm emergency in the federal courts, since the Congress refuses to act to modernize our processing facilities — and address our treaty and legal obligations in a responsible manner.

So it is that Flores (search our archives — this is a case that has been actively litigated since 1985!) has seen accelerated motion practice, yet again. See, for example, this 25 page renewed motion:

…U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) is holding Flores class members outdoors in open-air detention sites (“OADS”) along the U.S. border in extraordinarily unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Children have spent anywhere from several hours to several days at these sites before CBP transports them to brick-and-mortar facilities for formal processing. Children in OADS are in the legal custody of CBP and are therefore entitled to the full protections of the Flores Settlement Agreement (“FSA”). 1 See FSA ¶ 10.

CBP has decision-making authority over the welfare and legal status of these children from the moment of first discovery in the United States. See Flores v. Barr, No. 85-4544-DMG, 2020 WL 5491445, at *4 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 4, 2020); 8 U.S.C. § 1232(b)(2). CBP directs noncitizen children to wait at OADS for formal processing, including regularly physically transporting or escorting children to specific OADS. While children are at OADS, they cannot leave without CBP permission and are subject to CBP orders. CBP has at times exercised its authority to separate families, requiring adult men to move to different OADS than their children or other family members.

Both accompanied and unaccompanied children are regularly detained at OADS. CBP is plainly failing to meet its obligations to these children as it offers them no shelter or medical care and little to no sanitation, food, water, or blankets. Children and their families are forced to take shelter in porta potties, dumpsters, or tarps filled with trash to escape the cold, wind, and rain. Children and families must depend on the generosity of volunteers to meet their most basic needs. Some arrive with or develop serious medical conditions while at OADS and rely on humanitarian volunteers for medical care. CBP often fails to assist children in desperate need and sometimes exercises its authority over OADS to obstruct access to critical supplies provided by volunteers and to emergency medical services….

Holding children in these sites flagrantly violates the requirements of the Settlement. Without court intervention, CBP will continue to fail to meet its obligations to class members. The Court should grant Plaintiffs’ motion and order Defendants to comply with the Settlement by immediately placing all class members in safe and sanitary facilities….

[As a result of the freakish weather of late in Southern California,] People held at these sites have no choice but to burn brush and garbage to try to stay warm. See Pinheiro Dec. ¶ 46; Kahn Dec. ¶¶ 91, 114; Cheng Dec. ¶ 25. The brush that is available in Jacumba is often creosote, which can be toxic when burned. See Pinheiro Dec. ¶ 46. Noncitizens and volunteers at OADS experience watery eyes, a burning sensation in their throats, black mucous coming from their noses and throats, and other respiratory problems….

CBP agents sometimes provide just a single bottle of water and granola bar or a couple crackers per person [per day]. See Jasso Dec. ¶ 23; Pinheiro Dec. ¶ 44; Kahn Dec. ¶ 111; Ex. 11, Declaration of Lillian Serrano ¶ 19, February 26, 2024 [“Serrano Dec.”]. At other times they provide no food or water at all. See E.G. Dec. ¶ 10; Kahn Dec. ¶¶ 12, 30; see also Cheng Dec. ¶ 28 (at least six formula-fed infants were held at OADS without formula)….

CBP further undermines access to medical care by threatening people seeking medical assistance with a loss of the right to seek asylum. See Pinheiro Dec. ¶ 56; Alvarez-Lopez Dec. ¶¶ 30, 34; see also Rios Dec. ¶ 36 (mother declined recommended medical treatment for herself and one-year-old baby after agents threatened negative immigration consequences if they went to the hospital). CBP agents have also accused noncitizens of faking illness to try to leave OADS. See Alvarez-Lopez Dec. ¶¶ 31-32; Pinheiro Dec. ¶¶ 54, 58; Serrano Dec. ¶¶ 25, 29; see also Cheng Dec. ¶ 37 (“Border Patrol … insisted that migrants fake medical emergencies in order to leave the camps and questioned my triaging and diagnoses of migrants’ health conditions.”)….

CBP appears to exercise discretion as to how quickly it processes individuals out of the OADS. For example, OADS have been cleared quickly in advance of visits from higher-level DHS officials. See id. ¶¶ 36-39; see also id. ¶ 37 (“In the two to three days before [DHS headquarters staff] arrival, Border Patrol agents processed most migrants out of the Jacumba OADS” and “cleaned the camps of some of the garbage, dismantled some of the makeshift shelters built by migrants, and threw out tents and other shelters our collective had built”). These periods of faster processing then subside, and the cycle of detention continues. Id. ¶ 38….

We as a nation are certainly capable of better than this. Damnation. Onward, just the same.

नमस्ते

Women’s History Month: Women In Space Sciences… 2024

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This is one area where, for many decades, the then-Soviet Union scientists were candidly out far ahead — of the USA, Europe and NASA… Do take a look.

To have more, we must… teach more — STEM programs are worth their weight in gold. Here’s the latest, from NASA:

…As of Feb. 29, 2024, 75 women have flown in space. Of these, 47 have worked on the International Space Station as long-duration expedition crew members, as visitors on space shuttle assembly flights, as space flight participants, or as commercial astronauts.

This article recognizes the significant accomplishments of these women from many nations as well as the pioneering women who preceded them into space. Many other women contributed to the assembly of the station and the research conducted aboard on a daily basis, including those on the ground who served as center directors, managers, flight directors, and in many other roles to pursue the exploration of space. Their achievements will contribute to NASA’s efforts to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon and possibly send the first crews to Mars in the coming decades….

The era of women in space began on June 16, 1963, when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova launched aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft. Chosen from a group of five women selected for training, Tereshkova completed a three-day mission and entered the history books as the first woman to orbit the Earth. Nearly 20 years passed before another woman flew in space.

In January 1978, NASA announced the selection of 35 new astronauts including six women for the space shuttle program. In response, the Soviet Union secretly selected a group of nine women cosmonauts in 1980. On Aug. 19, 1982, one of these women, Svetlana Y. Savitskaya, launched with her two crewmates aboard Soyuz T-7 for a week-long mission. The next day, they joined the two long-duration resident crewmembers aboard Salyut 7, marking the first time a space station hosted a mixed-gender crew. Ten months later, on June 18, 1983, astronaut Sally K. Ride made history as the first American woman in space, spending seven days aboard space shuttle Challenger during the STS-7 mission….

That is only the first bit — do go read it all. Onward, grinning!

नमस्ते

This Is Spot On On Tucker Carlson — In General.

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I’ll let you figure out who wrote it:

“…I am beyond disappointed in what Tucker Carlson has become… I mean Tucker — I don’t know if you listen to this — but you have a chance to admit that you made a terrible mistake by going to Moscow, that you were made use of by a fascist dictator. You don’t want to be the Walter Duranty of this story. You don’t want to be the useful idiot of American journalism who fell for a dictatorship….

So my advice is own it. You made a huge blunder and you need to admit it and recognize that you have been used by a fascist regime. The fact that Navalny was killed just after you had been made a fool of in that interview where Putin filibustered, made stuff up that you didn’t know enough Russian history to correct — all of this has all but destroyed your reputation and the only possible solution is a full and frank apology and an admission that you screwed up….”

That all rings true — and it comes from his own… hard right side of the aisle.

Onward.

We Await A Supremes Ruling, On The Colorado DQ Case: Trump Will Be On The Colorado Ballots, Tomorrow.

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We now know. It will appear in about 20 minutes, here.

It makes sense, since tomorrow is the primary in Colorado, and in Maine — if memory serves. Here it is (in a per curiam unsigned opinion):

…Former President Trump challenges that decision on several grounds. Because the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates, we reverse….

Ah. Well. In any event, as I’ve long said here — I think it wiser to defeat Tangerine at the ballot box in Colorado and Maine (and now Illinois), to avoid his claiming to be some form of political martyr in those states. That is just a philosophical, not legal view.

There is and was a strong and sound legal argument that the move by Colorado — after a full trial on the merits, and appeals — was within the remit of its “states’ rights”.

Barrett (a Trump pick) wrote “In my judgment, this is not the time to amplify disagreement with stridency. The Court has settled a politically charged issue in the volatile season of a Presidential election. Particularly in this circumstance, writings on the Court should turn the national temperature down, not up. For present purposes, our differences are far less important than our unanimity: All nine Justices agree on the outcome of this case. That is the message Americans should take home….”

But we shall see. Onward.

नमस्ते