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Twin Comets, Visible With Binocs — In The Night Skies — Tomorrow Night, Through Tuesday Night… Excellent.

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They will be easiest to view about 90 minutes after sunset — but before the moon rises — and near the horizon, just below the Big Dipper.

Last year saw no comets visible to the naked eye — but now we have two, in the same week, in 2025. Here’s the latest, from LiveScience.com:

…If you want to see two comets, your best chance will be early this week. After a year without any comets bright enough to be seen without specialist equipment, two — Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) and Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) — have come along at once.

Comet Lemmon may look more like a lime than its name suggests, but on Tuesday (Oct. 21), the dusty snowball from the outer solar system will reach its closest point to Earth and most likely shine at its brightest. It’s… about the same brightness as spring’s Beehive Cluster (M44) and only a little dimmer than the Andromeda galaxy (M31).

While Comet Lemmon is technically visible to the naked eye in very dark skies, you’ll need binoculars to glimpse another, fainter icy visitor, Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN). Remarkably, Comet SWAN will get closest to Earth Monday (Oct. 20), the day before Comet Lemmon, but it’ll be about three times dimmer, at magnitude 5.9. (In astronomy, the higher the magnitude, the dimmer the object)….

Follow the [handle, toward the horizon, while looking at] the Big Dipper — to “arc to Arcturus”; the comet will be about two-thirds of the way there. On Tuesday, it will be a little higher.

For Comet SWAN, look for the Summer Triangle of bright stars — Vega, Deneb and Altair — in the southwest. You’ll find Comet SWAN about halfway between Altair and the horizon….

Excellent — and I am eternally grateful that so, so many natural wonders depend, in no manner… on the whims of any earthly dotard. Onward.

नमस्ते

The Noemite Legal Team [As US Prosecutors, With Duties To The PUBLIC] Is Plainly In Contiuning Violation Of TN Rule of Professional Conduct 3.8(f)…

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Welp. Not surprising. But disgusting — just the same.

I could be forgiven for surmising that now, Noem knows she will never get to trial on this case — and so, she is just doing as much collateral damage as she can — to the rule of law, in the US. She likely has been briefed, that the Tennessee case is likely soon to be tossed, for her own misconduct — and the Maryland case will soon see Mr. Abrego Garcia walk out of PA — a free man. Also due to other — and vast — governmental misconduct.

Thus this would explain why the government hasn’t turned over the “selective enforcement” memos and emails, that led to charging — as multiple felonies — a three year old traffic stop — where no misdemeanor tickets were issued, and no one even went to a police station (for a chin waggle)… they never will show their cards. They will just allow USDC Judge Crenshaw to dismiss it. But he must do more, and Mr. Hecker is correct — the involved lawyers need to see proceedings against their respective law licenses — locally:

…Mr. McGuire’s and Mr. Harley’s reports are facially insufficient under the Court’s Order, because neither report addresses whether Mr. McGuire and Mr. Harley have taken any steps at all to discourage those “assisting or associated with the prosecutor[s]” — which includes DOJ leadership — and “investigators” and “law enforcement personnel” — which includes DHS officials — to refrain from making prejudicial extrajudicial statements about this case. Id.

If Mr. McGuire and Mr. Harley have taken steps to comply with their ethical obligations, those steps have been wholly ineffective, which is plain from the extraordinary volume of prejudicial extrajudicial statements that have been made throughout this case. But at the very least, they should be required to report on any steps they have taken, including so that the Court may assess whether it is appropriate to order that additional steps be undertaken to discourage extrajudicial statements in compliance with the Rule. Accordingly, and for the reasons stated in Mr. Abrego’s motion (Dkt. 118), Mr. Abrego respectfully requests that the Court enter an order requiring (1) Mr. McGuire and Mr. Harley to file amended reports with the additional information required by Tennessee Rule of Professional Conduct 3.8(f), and (2) that all DHS and DOJ officials involved in this case, and all officials in their supervisory chain, including Attorney General Bondi and Secretary Noem, refrain from making extrajudicial comments that pose a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing this proceeding….

Damn. At the moment, this is still the time of… out of her (extensions-laden) numb-skull ICE-Barbie / Kristi Noem. But it is also soon drawing to a close, as that much will come from her lawyers being suspended or disbarred, for prosecutorial misconduct, against Mr. Abrego Garcia, down in Music City.

See you all on the third through fifth of November down there — at the old Union Station lobby bar. Out.

नमस्ते

As We Said — This Is Largely Due To The Fecklessness, Of US GOP Leadership… Damn. Clade 1b Now In Swakopmund, Namibia. Nearly Wholly Avoidable.

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And the collateral damage from Trump’s isolationism… rolls ever onward, and outward.

Here is the latest, this morning — from Reuters, in Namibia:

…Namibia’s ministry of health and social services on Sunday declared an outbreak of mpox in the coastal city of Swakopmund.

“Surveillance, contact tracing, and response teams have been activated to contain the spread,” the ministry said in a post on Facebook….

Try to be better (than him) to your fellow humans — it is a low bar, I know — but do try.

Onward, resolutely — we do not countenance… false kings, ever.

नमस्ते

Now Three [Not Two] Unrelated Clade 1b Mpox Cases — In Southern California — With No Recent Histories Of Travel… Disconcerting.

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When we decide against addressing outbreaks / epidemics on the other side of the globe — because a Tangerine dotard doesn’t want to help largely non-whyte humans, with USAID… we here eventually ride the lightning, too. This is so, because viral vectors spread readily when hundreds of thousands of humans — as they do — travel globe-wide, daily.

The first three cases of Clade 1b, the more serious strain of Mpox, have now been hospitalized in Southern California. The deeply troublesome factor here is that none of them personally were travellers outside the US, and did not (knowingly) interact with people who had recently come from any African locale. To be sure, there are also reports of one case in New York City… but here is last week’s news. It should worry us all:

…The California Department of Public Health and local health officials in Long Beach and Los Angeles County have identified three unrelated cases of clade I mpox in Californians who did not report recent travel outside the United States.

Prior cases of clade I mpox in the United States have been associated with international travel to areas where clade I mpox is circulating.

All three cases required hospitalization and the patients are now recovering. . . .

And, as if on cue — my next post when I return from brunch will be of a new outbreak in Namibia — again… when we choose NOT to address the small outbreaks. . . they become larger, and more lethal… and more of a global problem, rather than a local one. That’s how real bioscience works. Out.

नमस्ते

Probably ~200,000 People Heard Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Impassioned, Solidly Fearless Speech — This Afternoon — At “No Kings” Chicago Edition…

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Not too much else to say, really — the trains were packed, but all ran right on time.

The cloud cover made the day very easy — without even a sprinkle/shower, so all good… and Chicago’s finest did an excellent, even handed and peace-enhancing job. True professionals, each and all.

Very much (I think) the way the framers envisioned… the best mass First Amendment activities might unfold.

Both the vast numbers — and the buoyant energy — of the progressive leaning young people there… should be very frightening to the MAGA mid-terms ticket.

Now you know. Go, be excellent to one another. And tolerate no kings, now or ever. Out.

नमस्ते

Now November 4-5, 2025 — In Music City… COOL!!

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Yes. I will book the Union, for the evening before (the 3rd), through the evening after — the 5th.

Now all the evidence / hearing dates are locked — and loaded — per today’s order from the able USDC Judge Waverly Crenshaw, in Nashville:

…ORDER as to Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia:

The Court will hear any evidence and argument regarding all the pending pretrial motions (Doc. Nos. [104], [151], [155], and [158]) on November 4 and 5, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. The Court will also address any conflicts regarding the juror questionnaire during that time. To give the Court adequate time to prepare for these hearings, the Court is also going to accelerate the parties’ briefing schedule.

The Government’s responses are now due on October 22, 2025 (as opposed to October 24) and Defendant’s replies are due on October 28, 2025 (as opposed to October 31). The evidentiary hearing previously scheduled for November 3, 2025 is reset to November 4th and 5th as set forth above.

Signed by District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr on 10/16/2025….

Onward. And if you’ve got a sweater and a sign, I’ll see you in Grant Park tomorrow, too! Do peacefully… resist, the lawlessness.

नमस्ते

So… Pot — Calls Kettle… Black (AGAIN?!) Sheesh — DC: Trump Pardons, Of Proud Boys?!

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Hey Paulie… how is it that the several dozens who assaulted and beat DC POLICE OFFICERS (into unconsciousness, with poles) on January 6 2021, are already freed by Trump — and not even mildly condemned by you… but two guys who grabbed a DOGE moron’s car, and punched him (also in DC — but without even an assault on any law eforcement officer)… receives your “knickers in a twist” ire?

The J6-ers assaulted and injured dozens of officers — while literally attempting to stop the peaceful transfer of power, post an election outcome they didn’t like.

Compared to… two thugs — who shouldn’t be punching people or stealing autos… but seriously man… where is your sense of proportion?!

Too busy sucking Tangerine boot tips, it seems.

Out.

The Unblinking Irony — It Boggles The [Rational] Mind: Tangerine 2.0 Is Boosting German Merck, To SPEED New IVF Therapies To Market, In USA?!

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Under a year ago, MAGA Alabama was litigating to prevent IVF from being lawful for any woman inside that backwater state. They’ve lost — of course.

And to be clear — I cheer German Merck’s advances in IVF therapies — but I do wonder… how is it, exactly that making a vast German public pharma company… the beneficiary of a tens of BILLIONS of dollars in value FDA speed-voucher (assuming such an executive move is even lawful — doesn’t that power reside in the Congress?!) making “America Great, Again“?!

Yet again — this is where we are: is Trump getting some form of under-the table pay-off, for directly slamming down his purportedly “Christian” hard right base — a base that opposes a woman’s right to use science to help her conceive?

I love that the Merck KGaA entity will soon win market clearance from FDA for its IVF therapy enhancers, but yikes… who is this feckless “Kennedy manipulated” geezer, now? And, just the latest — from an inside-pharma trade rag:

…[M]ore fertility options for US patients are on the way. In conjunction with the MFN deal, Merck also announced that it’s part of the inaugural cohort of companies to receive one of the FDA’s new Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers (CNPVs). The pharma plans to use its voucher to accelerate review of Pergoveris, an IVF therapy that combines recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (r-hFSH) and recombinant human luteinizing hormone (r-hLH) in a single injection pen. The product has been approved in Europe since 2017.

With the CNPV, Merck is promised a regulatory decision on Pergoveris within one to two months after filing the application, along with “enhanced” communication with FDA staff during the review process….

It is not at all clear to me that FDA has the regulatory power (without Congress) to create “new kinds” of priority review vouchers. Damn. What a strange, strange… and likely… corrupt world this is, at the moment. Damn.

नमस्ते

UPDATE: There Have Now Been At Least 17 Confirmed Deaths, From RVF, In Senegal And Mauritania. For Shame.

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Again, these deaths could / would likely have been avoided — if USAID was still on the ground and working, in the St. Louis region of Senegal. And in an around the capital of Dakar.

Yet here we are — a number of outbreaks (ebola and mpox included) that we well-know how to arrest… are ongoing, if not worsening. This is a very sad step backward, for the humanity, in/of bio-science, all due to one feckless narcissist:

…In an update today from the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), officials said no new Ebola cases have been reported for 16 days, and mpox is down 65% from its peak.

But Rift Valley fever (RVF) cases in people and animals are rising in Senegal and Mauritania and have killed at least 17 people, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said in a statement today. RVF is a viral hemorrhagic fever that affects mainly livestock but can also infect people. “These outbreaks appear to be linked to heavy rainfall and flooding in preceding months which have created favourable conditions for disease transmission,” the WOAH statement said.

“As RFV is a transboundary animal disease, regional cooperation will be essential to assess and manage the risk posed by these outbreaks….”

Onward, resolutely just the same. Be excellent to one another. The quantum entangled love story play of last night was passable but not outstanding. Smile….

नमस्ते