Category: Uncategorized

The Integrated High School Made Famous In “Remember The Titans” May Continue Its “Holistic” Admissions Policies: Supremes

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Well… this deserves a special mention.

The first integrated public high school in Virginia to win a state football championship with kids of all colors playing all positions — and a model, at the time, for the nation, as to how it ought to be done, under Coach Boone — TJ High… has been given a green light to keep admitting diverse students into its highly acclaimed math and science curriculum, based on more than just raw test scores. It may keep using a holistic approach.

The Supremes, minus Alito, just said so.

In Alito’s warped view — test scores are all that matter.

I am gratified to see… he is a man… on an island, alone.

Onward, smiling — as this also likely spells the end for the reverse discrimination claims at the service academies.

Smoke that, Scott Johnson and John Hinderaker.

Merck Wins FDA Priority Review In Certain Uterine Cancers, For Keytruda®, Plus Chemo-… Good News.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

This is decidedly good news, but given that pembrolizumab already generates over $25 billion a year in revenue… in the near term, this coming approval will not materially boost that total — all by itself.

But this certainly continues the impressive winning streak — against a wide array of solid organ tumors / cancers, where Keytruda® is now greatly extending survival odds, and quality of life durations. Here’s the latest, from a Merck presser this morning:

…[Rahway] announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for priority review a new supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) seeking approval for KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in combination with standard of care chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel), followed by KEYTRUDA as a single agent for the treatment of patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma….

The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), or target action, date of June 21, 2024….

Onward, into the warm sunshine now — grinning. Be excellent to one another.

नमस्ते

John Hinderaker Thinks “Deep Fakes” Will Primarily Aid Liberal Causes?!

~ condor ~ 2 Comments

This is scarcely worth a moment’s typing, but John doesn’t think deep fakes can or will be used in the 2024 cycle to benefit MAGA causes (or even GOP ones, apparently).

The obvious idiocy of this view might only be logically explained by one possibility:

Hinderaker is convinced the MAGAts aren’t smart enough to master the tech.

He cannot even remotely believe they are too moral to… at least try.

But all that said, he’s likely right: they won’t muster any, because not much of anything they would come up with… will be plausible.

Hilarious.

Power Alley Update: Bayer Effectively “Vanishes” Its Cash Dividend… Whoa.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

The idea of an old line pharma company effectively ending its dividend is… radical.

I highly doubt this will spread (as any sort of trend), as it is clearly-specific as a financial challenge — to this company’s Roundup litigation woes. But we will keep an eye on it, just the same:

…Bayer AG is planning to slash its dividend by 95% in an effort to pay down debt as the German company looks to recover from multiple crises including a wave of litigation over Roundup herbicide.

Bayer will present a plan to offer investors 11 euro cents ($0.12) per share for fiscal year 2023, down from €2.40 last year, according to a statement Monday….

Now you know. But pharmas have always been dividend kings. Likely to decline in the coming days — by about 20% — so, maybe not so much of a king, any longer.

नमस्ते

What More Is There, To Be Made — Of Lincoln’s Examples, After 160 Years?

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

So much has been written — so many movies made… and frankly, so much water is now under the bridge… it is hard to say whether there is anything original that might yet be said of Abraham Lincoln.

Certainly he was a great American President — perhaps second only to George Washington — and yet, both of them seemed to less than fully embrace the equality of all humans.

…John Brown was executed by the state of Virginia with the approval of the national government. It was the national government which, while weakly enforcing the law ending the slave trade, sternly enforced the laws providing for the return of fugitives to slavery. It was the national government that, in Andrew Jackson’s administration, collaborated with the South to keep abolitionist literature out of the mails in the southern states.

Such a national government would never accept an end to slavery by rebellion. It would end slavery only under conditions controlled by whites, and only when required by the political and economic needs of the business elite of the North. It was Abraham Lincoln who combined perfectly the needs of business, the political ambition of the new Republican party, and the rhetoric of humanitarianism. He would keep the abolition of slavery not at the top of his list of priorities, but close enough to the top so it could be pushed there temporarily by abolitionist pressures and by practical political advantage….

Lincoln could skillfully blend the interests of the very rich and the interests of Black America at a moment in history when these interests met. And he could link these two with a growing section of Americans, the white, up-and-coming, economically ambitious, politically active middle class….

I will add nothing else, except to say his life is worthy of celebration — but certainly not deification. He was a man. In many ways, he was a better man than anyone who has led this nation in over ten years, but in many ways… he too, was in part a pandering politician.

We may be certain though, that while he had engaged in fisticuffs as a youth for sport and money, he would never have hawked colognes and hideously-made spray-painted gold sneakers on the streets of Philadelphia — or any other city.

And, he did manage to avoid ever being indicted, despite the virulent racists who sought to end him… and eventually… did. Onward, to more substantive — and on topic — fare by tomorrow.

नमस्ते

After Glitches, Euclid Underway For The European Space Agency…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

The mapping of our “dark universe” has begun in earnest now.

To get to this moment took a tic, because it turns out that in space, even when the “can” of the scope was positioned with its back light shield directly into (and perpendicular to) the Sun’s position, small amounts of light still leaked into the imaging sensors. The fix was to skew the opening at an angle, to throw an additional “porch shadow” across the imaging opening.

But it’s all sorted out now, and data is flying back to Paris — without a hitch. Here’s the latest from ESA:

…Over the next six years, Euclid will observe billions of galaxies across 10 billion years of cosmic history.

Euclid, one of the most precise and stable space telescopes ever built, was launched on 1 July 2023. During its first months in space, teams across Europe turned on, tested, and prepared the mission for routine science observations. However, these ‘routine’ science observations are no piece of cake…

To minimise the effect of ‘stray’ sunlight, the teams found out that Euclid needs to observe with a more restricted rotation angle, such that the sunshield is not directly facing the Sun, with a small but impactful tilt in one direction…

Euclid is a European mission, built and operated by ESA, with contributions from NASA. The Euclid Consortium – consisting of more than 2000 scientists from 300 institutes in 13 European countries, the US, Canada and Japan – was responsible for providing the scientific instruments and will provide the scientific data analysis….

Now you know. Grinning into the gray but luminous approaching dawn, about two thirds through February… so, Spring is not so distant.

नमस्ते

Hinderaker: Mascot Moron. Full Stop.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

John is still mad about the DC-area NFL franchise re-naming itself.

Same — with the Cleveland MLB franchise.

But those are wars… he’s long lost.

So instead, he complains when an entirely new middle school near him decides against the name… “Dakota Bison”.

The thing is — John misrepresents the dispute — as ever.

It is the Dakota portion of the name (the actual name of a distinct indigenous tribe) that has been vetoed, precisely because no Dakota have lived there for nearly 150 years.

It is (as John admits) a very upscale largely whyte ex-urb now.

This is obviously not about the “Bison” portion of the name / mascot.

And — in any event, as a new school, it may change easily. It doesn’t have decades under… ANY name or mascot.

Geez, Hinderaker — rent a real life.

Out.

What’s The Over / Under — In Months — Before Tangerine Mentions Putin’s Culpability In Navalny’s Prison Death?

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

I gather he’s too busy selling gold-leaf adorned sneakers, fashioned in Southeast Asia or China by child labor (but truly, why would Jabba the Hutt be needed to… endorse a basketball line?!), some awful cologne, and even now has apparently launched a “GoFundMe” — for his legal bills.

We really shouldn’t expect him to — well, you know — actually care… about a dissident dying in the frigid reaches of a brutal, arctic prison.

Not when he needs Putin far more than Putin will ever need him.

This alone ought to be disqualifying — but for some Americans who slept through middle school civics… it won’t matter. They are ready to throw their votes… away.

Ah, well… but do know this, you Trump voters (as Bantu Steven Biko taught us all): “it is better to die… for an idea that will live — than to live for an idea that will… die“.

And Tangerine’s ideas… are definitely… dying.

Out.

As Expected, USDC Judge Moses Is Very Concerned About Asylum-Seeking Moms And Babies… Drowning In The Rio Grande. Texas Gov. Abbott Is In… Hot Water.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Overnight, the Del Rio federal courts entered an order — preparing both sides for what the arguments on March 4 and 5, 2024 will center around.

And this presaging in no manner favors the lawless position of the State of Texas. We will keep you posted, but here it is:

…It is ORDERED that the parties at the March 4, 2024 and March 5, 2024 hearings be prepared to discuss whether the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded this case for the Court to make new factual findings only, or to make legal determinations in light of new factual findings to be made after taking evidence.

It is FURTHER ORDERED that the parties at the March 4, 2024 and March 5, 2024 hearings be prepared to discuss how new factual findings may impact appellate review of the Court’s November 29, 2023 preliminary injunction decision, considering that the evidence to be taken at the hearings will not have been before this Court before the preliminary injunction decision was entered. It is

FURTHER ORDERED that at the March 4, 2024 and March 5, 2024 hearings, the parties submit photographs, videos, and maps needed to make new factual findings.

It is FURTHER ORDERED that the scope of the March 4, 2024 and March 5, 2024 hearings include all the issues raised in the parties’ joint brief [ECF No. 83], including but not limited to:

A. The Defendants’ use of and access to Shelby Park and surrounding areas;

B. The Plaintiff’s control of municipal and non-municipal land in and around Eagle Pass, Texas since November 29, 2023;

C. The scope of the physical area that the Plaintiff has occupied in and near the Shelby Park area since November 29, 2023;

D. The Defendants’ access to the Rio Grande in and near the Shelby Park area since November 29, 2023, including but not limited to boat ramp access;

E. The Defendants’ ability to surveil the border, patrol the border, apprehend migrants,process migrants, and perform other duties in and near the Shelby Park area since November 29, 2023;

F. The Defendants’ ability to respond to medical emergencies in and near Eagle Pass,Texas since November 29, 2023, including the Defendants’ ability to access Shelby Park and surrounding areas on or about January 12, 2024;

G. Events in and near the Shelby Park area on or about January 12, 2024, including but not limited to migrant drownings; and

H. The frequency of migrant crossings in and near Eagle Pass, Texas since November 29,2023.

Signed by Chief Judge Alia Moses. (jaw) (Entered: 02/16/2024)….

Now you know. Onward — but still shaken by Alexei’s murder in the arctic prison — by Putin and his thugs.

नमस्ते

Wanna’ Be A Martian-eer?! Or, At Least Simulate Being One? Apply By April 2, 2024…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Technically, the idea is to study the isolation, and limited resources effects — of living in under 2,000 square feet — with three other “Martian-eers”… while solving mechanical problems, growing crops — and dealing with a 20 minute delay on all communication outside the 3D printed pod.

In sum, not really like being 210 million miles off, in the night sky — with no way home, for a year. But we must crawl before… we walk. This will be the second of these four member “crews” to be studied in isolation at NASA Houston:

…NASA is seeking applicants to participate in its next simulated one-year Mars surface mission to help inform the agency’s plans for human exploration of the Red Planet. The second of three planned ground-based missions called CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) is scheduled to kick off in spring 2025.

Each CHAPEA mission involves a four-person volunteer crew living and working inside a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The habitat, called the Mars Dune Alpha, simulates the challenges of a mission on Mars, including resource limitations, equipment failures, communication delays, and other environmental stressors. Crew tasks include simulated spacewalks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, exercise, and crop growth.

NASA is looking for healthy, motivated U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are non-smokers, 30-55 years old, and proficient in English for effective communication between crewmates and mission control. Applicants should have a strong desire for unique, rewarding adventures and interest in contributing to NASA’s work to prepare for the first human journey to Mars….

I am by no means claustrophobic, having worked in deep mines — but living in 1,700 sq. ft., for a year — with the occasional Mars-quake, and not being able to get a foamy root beer float, tacos or fresh cherries… that might be a… problem.

In any event, the deadline to apply is April 2, 2024. Mark your Barsoomian calendars!

नमस्ते