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[U, X2] Scott Johnson Knows Less Than Nothing About Those Twitter Files. And Yet, He Persists.

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Updated: 12.27.2022 @ 10 am EST: Scott yammers… on, again. Yawn. And some more. Hey, Scott — typing up more pixels… doesn’t change the fact that you cannot comprehend what you’re reading, and reposting — in any actual, reality based context. For reality, see below, by EW. End, update.

Like Matt before him, he keeps carping… about nothing, actually — it turns out. OTOH, if you want an educated take on the supposed Twitter files kerfuffle, do read EmptyWheel.

She’s dead on point — on all of it:

…In short, Matt Taibbi has gone from being furious that Twitter removed non-consensually posted dick pics, some of which were the product of inauthentic campaign launched by Steve Bannon buddy Guo Wengui, to being outraged that the FBI shared Tweets advertising the wrong day for election day.

He has done so in spite of the fact that Chan’s deposition explains why the FBI was doing that: because sending false information that might lead someone to lose their opportunity to vote is a crime….

I’ve got a request into the FBI but have not gotten a response about what crime this violated, but I believe the crime DOJ was relying on — Bill Barr’s DOJ! — was the Ku Klux Klan Act, which was passed in 1871 to prevent racists from conspiring to deprive former slaves from voting. This is the same crime that Douglass Mackey was charged with for allegedly conducting a more systematic campaign to misinform black voters about when to vote in 2016 (Mackey has pled not guilty and is vigorously contesting the constitutionality of the statute).

In other words, after complaining that Twitter chose to take down revenge porn targeting Joe Biden’s son, Taibbi is now complaining that DOJ enforced a law designed to protect Black people’s right to vote.

And his fellow Twitter File propagandists, at least two of whom claim familiarity with Elvis Chan’s deposition that explains this, are letting him continue to grossly misrepresent an effort to protect the right to vote….

Now you know — Scott Johnson is (at best)… a useful idiot (for the far right moron-istas). And a mal-informed one — to boot.

If The Soyuz Module — Now Docked At ISS — Is Deemed Not “Return Flight Ready”, Russia Is Quickly Working A Backup Plan, For Cosmonauts’ Safe Return.

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It is almost as though the Sandra Bullock/George Clooney sci-fi vehicle — “Gravity“ — of a few years back has come to life. Well, almost. The .gif at right is from NASA / ISS higher-res video footage of the event.

It is not yet known whether the current Soyuz module will be deemed safe for a crewed re-entry. But in the event it is deemed “not safe“, Russia is making plans to fast launch another Soyuz, as a “life-raft” of sorts, here on Christmas Eve 2022.

Here are the details, from Space.com’s fine reporting today:

…It will be a while before backup comes for a space station crew currently depending on a leaky Soyuz to get home. February, to be exact.

Should the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft be deemed unsafe after spouting coolant into space Dec. 14, two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut will need to wait until February for a backup Soyuz to arrive at the International Space Station (ISS), a Russian space official said during a press conference Thursday (Dec. 22).

“Our next crew… was scheduled to fly in the middle of March,” said Sergei Krikalev, head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center near Moscow, during the livestreamed NASA press conference….

If Russia indeed fast-tracks the next Soyuz to the space station, the damaged MS-22 would come back empty. “Roscosmos would plan to return the current Soyuz on orbit and collect the data so they can use that for future evaluations” Montalbano said….

Now you know — be excellent to one another — and we wish you all peace, and prosperity, in the coming New Year. Thinkin’ only good thoughts, of all of you… be wonderful, and be… adventurous! Grin.

नमस्ते

A Vaccine Trial Against The Sudan Ebola Variant… Will Be Mothballed, For Lack Of Enrollment. And… That’s The Good News.

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Well… in my estimation, last week, the President of Uganda prematurely declared the outbreak at an end. That won’t come, based on WHO guidelines, until December 26 at the absolute earliest. However, it is true that the overall narrative arc is… encouraging, here at Christmas time.

Here’s the latest, from Science magazine:

…A planned clinical trial of vaccines against the Sudan ebolavirus likely will not go forward, after traditional containment methods appear to have arrested the outbreak of Ebola that surfaced in Uganda on 20 September. An international effort moved at record speed to deliver two experimental vaccines against the virus, which differs from the Zaire ebolavirus that caused the massive West Africa outbreak in 2014–16.

The vaccines arrived in Uganda last week, and a third is on the way. But the planned “ring trial” depended on vaccinating recent contacts of people with confirmed Sudan ebolavirus infections. The last known case in Uganda left the hospital 3 weeks ago, and the number of contacts still eligible for the trial has dwindled.

As of 15 December, Uganda had recorded 77 confirmed and probable deaths from the outbreak. A statement from the World Health Organization (WHO) said Makerere University is ready to lead the ring trial if new cases emerge. WHO plans to consult with experts in January 2023 on other potential studies of the vaccines….

Now you know — onward, feeling it, for the people trapped in the upper midwest, and east — and even Music City… in an icy / blustery deep freeze / bombogenesis. Damnation.

नमस्ते

[U: Set For 01.25.23 | 2 Hour Depo.] Eddy Grant Getting Closer To Winning A “False Light” Damage Award From Tangerine, For Stealing “Electric Avenue”…

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Updated 12.23.2022 — the deposition is set for January 25, 2023; it is limited to two hours. End, update.

Original Dateline: 12.21.2022 — The corporate representative of the Trump campaign for 2020 has been doging service of a subpoena, and avoiding an interview, even though he tweeted about not caring that the music wasn’t cleared, and no ASCAP fees were offered for it. The guy’s name is Dan Scavino.

And now the able USDC Judge Koetl’s patience is at an end, in Manhattan. He has given Tangerine’s lawyers until 4 pm tomorrow to submit a date in January to make Scavino available for a dep. Otherwise, Judge Koetl will just order the day, based on his own calendar, in early January. Ought to be entertaining.

…On its face, Mr. Scavino’s claim of executive privilege is without merit. Plaintiffs intend to depose Mr. Scavino about his role in authoring tweets promoting the Trump campaign for re-election and in particular the infringing tweet at the center of this litigation.

The tweet was not made for any executive purpose, but instead was entirely campaign related. Importantly, Mr. Trump was deposed in this action and did not object to answering questions about the tweet….

So there you have it. Things are closing in, all over. Out, grinning — into a warm desert sunset.

नमस्ते

Juno, On 47th Dip Near Jupiter, Took A Shot Of Radiation And Lost Comms; Had To Reboot, But Now Delivering All Data Again, Normally.

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As longer term readers well-know, we’ve covered this wildly successful in situ mission for almost six full years now, and over eleven and a half, since liftoff from Earth. The copper clad lithe and long legged craft is now veering out, away into the dark — after her 47th close encounter. Amazing!

But being anywhere very near Jupiter, on these close dips, is to dive into an inferno of radioactivity — driven by the magnetosphere of Jupiter — over 1,000 times more powerful than that found surrounding Earth (this is due both to its vast size, and extremely fast rate of rotation around its axis).

So — the mission team knew, even with all critical instruments loaded into titanium buckets for shielding, and many redundant systems, there could be degradation later in the mission. That is likely what the team just saw, on December 17, when Juno dropped data, and had to be rebooted in safe mode. But all is once again performing 5 by 5, tonight — thus:

…[A]s the solar-powered orbiter was sending its science data to mission controllers from its onboard computer, the downlink was disrupted.

The issue — an inability to directly access the spacecraft memory storing the science data collected during the flyby — was most likely caused by a radiation spike as Juno flew through a radiation-intensive portion of Jupiter’s magnetosphere. Mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and its mission partners successfully rebooted the computer and, on Dec. 17, put the spacecraft into safe mode, a precautionary status in which only essential systems operate.

As of Dec. 22, steps to recover the flyby data yielded positive results, and the team is now downlinking the science data. There is no indication that the science data through the time of closest approach to Jupiter, or from the spacecraft’s flyby of Jupiter’s moon Io, was adversely affected. The remainder of the science data collected during the flyby is expected to be sent down to Earth over the next week, and the health of the data will be verified at that time. The spacecraft is expected to exit safe mode in about a week’s time. Juno’s next flyby of Jupiter will be on Jan. 22, 2023….

Now you know — and here at almost 10 pm local, it is time for a Sky Harbor airport pickup! Woot!

नमस्ते

So… It Was Security’s Fault That Ashli Babbitt (Ex-USAF) Attacked Them?!

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I know Hinderaker (nearly exclusively) means to provoke, with this. He cannot be serious.

No rational human being would seriously suggest that even ordinary rioters should be held blameless if security forces do not stop them… from rioting. And that’s John’s best case.

These were mad dogs (he’s not watched Babbitt’s pre-riot rants, whipped into a foaming at the mouth frenzy by Trump’s own rhetoric). She was ex-military, and chose to fight through a sealed barricade well inside the building after repeatedly being warned “halt, or I’ll shoot!”

In sum — this is blaming an abused girlfriend for “making” her boyfriend hit her, repeatedly.

John’s execrable drivel (and the man himself) is beneath contemptible — as lies (and liars) go.

Out.

Martin Shkreli’s Second Circuit Brief Runs 250+ Pages… Reading Now.

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Feel free to read along. This is a very finely-argued bolus of first rate, high-end lawyering, to be sure. I just don’t think… it will be enough… to change the outcome in any meaningful way. Not the lawyers’ fault — that’s all on Mr. Shkreli’s pattern course of conduct. [Hinderaker is whining again about the Twitter files non-story, so we will go with this.]

Probably the only part that will matter (and be more than summarily discussed, should oral argument be granted) is the portion of the brief that argues the injunction exceeded the able Judge Denise Cote’s authority, or was too vague. [Do use wi-fi to download it, as it is huge.]

But again, on appeal, courts usually trust the trial judge who saw the evidence come in, to decide what is needed… by way of remedy — where all agree (even his appeals lawyers, apparently) that willful, pattern violations of the Sherman and Clayton Acts occurred.

One small update, after reading all of it: the cases are legion, and stretch back over two thirds of a century (but unsurprisingly are nowhere mentioned here!) that establish the SEC may ban bad actors for life from the entire securities industry.  And, a longer line of cases holds convicted felons’ First Amendment rights (regarding free association, and free expressions) may also be cut off, for life. Consider the lifetime bans on internet communications with any underage person, imposed on convicted child sexual predators. Nowhere are such cases addressed.

Again, not bad lawyering — just very bad facts, here on Shkreli’s side. You may count on the FTC to point all this out, in reply. After stealing from state governments, and individual people for years — with a blatantly unlawful monopoly, it is not unusual to see permanent bans across entire vertical industries. In fact, there is a well-known “pay-day lender” case holding just that — on federal law. End, updated portion.

I will have more, if anything astonishing leaps out at me, but I still firmly expect Mr. Shkreli will end up banned for life, from pharma (broadly defined). And there is no challenge to his life-time ban from the securities industry. So that too… is… telling.

Travel well; but travel light. The winds are… howlin’ now.

It’s A Snowy Thursday, On The Western Great Lakes… But Warm Here, As Merck Inks A Biggish BioBucks Deal, With Kelun…

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It should be noted that Merck will, in addition, make a “terms withheld” (as immaterial to Merck) equity investment in Kelun.

This is quite a deal — if the idea of antibiotic drug conjugates / candidates for oncology pans out.

And smartly, it means Mr. Davis pays only nominal amounts if the programs flame out. This is deal number three, between the companies, on these topics. Here’s the latest, from FierceBiotech:

…The exclusive licensing deal, announced Thursday, marks the third antibody-drug conjugate agreement between the two companies. Under the latest arrangement, the two companies will develop seven ADCs for cancer. Merck snagged the right to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize the ADCs and placed a hold on future candidates with an exclusive opt-in agreement. Kelun-Biotech, a subsidiary of Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical, will hang on to rights in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

The small upfront fee stands in stark contrast to the multibillion total offering should all go well with the ADCs. The $9.3 billion will be distributed based on future development, regulatory and sales milestones if Kelan-Biotech does not retain the China, Hong Kong and Macau rights and if all candidates achieve approval. That’s a pretty big if; the likelihood that all seven now-preclinical therapies will make it to the market is slim….

Now you know… on to a quiet mountain bike riding Thursday… at least, until my skiers arrive from Aspen, into the cacti, tonight. Woot!

नमस्ते

In Which Hinderaker STILL Cannot Read Labor Graphs (Honestly)…

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Once again (albeit more politely, since he knows his conclusions the other night… were simply riddled with false conjectures, on his part), John claims US labor stats are being manipulated to favor Democratic narratives. Uh-huh.

This morning, he says he doesn’t “mean” to impugn federal employees’ integrity, but then does… just that.

In a fit of pique, Hinderaker closes his litany of complaints with a purported “Trump labor economy” graph showing steady gains. The problem (as mine at right makes plain) is that he cuts Tangerine’s final two years out.

He leaves half of his time in office… on the cutting room floor.

He doesn’t offer any explanation. Covid played a role there, but he does nothing to defend the Trumpian deficit explosion, three million losing health care coverage, the tax burden shifting more oppressively to the lower middle class or Trump’s attempts to defund blue states.

So… whom, exactly… manipulates labor stats, for political points, Johnnie?!

Hilarious.

Seems Candace Owens Forgot That Trump Was Ordered NOT To Pervert VoA…

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Oddly (or perhaps not so!), Candace Owens seems to think Twitter (or any other private ad-selling / non-journalists’ company) helping promote US interests in the Middle East… is a huge (if wholly un-explained) scandal.

It is not. For at least 80 years, the US has used “Voice of America” radio to promote its interest around the globe. Especially, to US military forces serving in far flung theaters. So — how might Candace distinguish VoA radio… from Twitter? Right. She cannot.

But let’s not stop there, at the doorstep — let us instead “peel her (illogical) onion” back, by just a few more layers, here.

She never once complained when Trump tried to have a major donor, named Michael Pack… convert VoA into a 24/7 Trump political action radiocast.

Not US military messaging — just Trump’s various preposterous grievances about (at the time) the coming Mueller report. It all failed; fell flat on its face (like so many other Tangerine cons) — he lost in federal district court, in DC.

VoA remained properly a voice of the government — not the loony Tangerine perma-candidate.

Candace’s utter silence during those four long years on this score tells us all we need to know. She just spouts whatever the moron Kirk tells her to.

And not a lick of it makes any logical sense.

Now you know. Out.