[Tangent] Ancient Teotihuacan Glyphs, In What Is Now Mexico: A New Crack, At A “Time Out Of Mind” Puzzle…

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Having seen these glyphs, with my own two eyes (and heard the tale) — yet possessing none of these potentially piercing insights — just over two decades ago. . . this mystery has long-fascinated me: Who were they? — and what were they saying to each other long before the Aztecs arose? And why did they essentially… vanish, under the hot Sun?

Here’s a new approach, to unraveling all that, and a bit of it — from the NYT:

…It was a metropolis of the ancient Americas, a city where as many as 125,000 people lived at its peak and where the Aztecs, centuries later, stood in wonder at the titanic pyramids they found in ruins.

But for all they have learned about the city of Teotihuacan, archaeologists have also stood in wonder, especially when it comes to the glyphs on its murals and pottery. The symbols have long confounded archaeologists, even as they have deciphered the writings of other cultures, leaving generations of scientists to debate puzzle pieces — signs and languages separated by hundreds of years — that never quite seemed to line up.

“There was always this kind of sense that, ‘well, this looks like the best match,’ but the readings that were suggested always had some problems,” said Christophe Helmke, an archaeologist at the University of Copenhagen….

“Each article on Teotihuacan writing is a good step forward, because each attracts a generation of new linguists who bring their insights,” Joyce Marcus, an archaeologist at the University of Michigan, said in an email. “The major problem has always been the tiny corpus of hieroglyphs from Teotihuacan; there are still so few examples of each hieroglyph….”

And, so — under the words (whatever these may be)… a river runs through it. A river, from the basement of time… [as it rains there] and some of those words are mine, to you. Smile.

नमस्ते

Tangerine 2.0 Tariffs Story: Intentionally SMASH A Ming Dynasty Vase — Then Use Rubber Cement To Glue It Together (Sloppily) — DECLARE IT A “YUGE VICTORY!” For MAGA

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Yes. Yes. “A Deal” with Japan, too (again!) — but this is really just making sense of what little Trump un-did… or didn’t… undid. [To use his own world salad idioms, here.] Yikes.

Most of all, it is crystal clear that all Trump has done — is return to the status quo ante — in/with China. He’s simply agreeing to mitigate the damage (cutting off US access to China-sourced rare-earth minerals, no less!) HE HIMSELF chose to inflict on American tech industries. Damnation. The NYT said it best, on Sunday, last — do go read it all:

…The Trump administration is hailing a potential deal that may return the U.S.-China relationship to where it was before the president began a trade war against Beijing….

Trump administration officials have hailed the makings of a potential trade deal that could have China buy American soybeans and pause the introduction of its new licensing system on rare earth minerals, while the United States pauses or removes some of its tariffs.

It remains to be seen what might be agreed when President Trump meets the Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week. But those and the other measures that U.S. officials have mentioned appear to largely restore the relationship to a status quo from earlier this year, before Mr. Trump began his latest trade war with Beijing.

The United States and China have shown their willingness to repeatedly escalate trade tensions and hurt companies that do business across the Pacific, before walking back measures and striking a truce. But the truces have quickly crumbled, calling into question how durable a new agreement would be….

What a putz this jamoke is. Damn. Just… damn. On this score, St. Ronnie was and is… right: Trump is a malignant dunce on the world trade stage.

नमस्ते

Okay — “Say A Lil’ Prayer”… Again — And, Be Ready To Send Aid: Jamaica, Cuba And Haiti Editions (Melissa Strikes ’25)

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The gif at right tells the whole story.

Except… for all the people we can’t see from space (most of whom had very little to begin with) — now without shelter of any kind — wiped off the map. Do get ready to send aid — dollars, mostly, through the Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders. Please.

There will now pretty rapidly be the need for emergent medical interventions — and food-drops, and temporary shelter (large scale tents, most likely) — then, longer term, cholera and other tropical disease vectors will become a real concern — with all the standing water, in the low-lying areas. Here is latest, then:

…Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba this morning as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

It made landfall near the city of Chivirico in the Cuban province of Santiago de Cuba with sustained winds of 120 mph.

Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane around 1 p.m. ET yesterday as the strongest hurricane in the island’s history.

  Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the country a disaster area, with St. Elizabeth Parish reported to be “underwater.”

The storm was the most powerful of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest hurricanes to make landfall in the Atlantic basin….

Now you know. Please send dollars — if you are able — to Doctors Without Borders. They will be on the ground shortly — on all three islands. Onward.

नमस्ते

Mirengoff Fears Saying The Obvious: Trump Violates The Law.

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To be clear: Paul simply lies when he says that any prior President threatened Big Law — telling high end lawyers it would come down on them — if they represented even “hard right” causes.

That never happened. What did happen was that Big Law correctly assessed the marketplace in America — and realized that representing racist causes would hurt their brand. That reputable businesses (their other clients) would not want to be associated with a law firm that represented… racism. That stood for, and defended, the violence of the Proud Boys, or Stuart Rhodes.

So Paul lies. Then, he lacks the spine to say the obvious: Trump almost daily violates our Constitution.

Here is his, in context:

…I think lawyers should be able to represent the clients of their choice without the weight of the federal government coming down on them. I think clients challenging administration policy should have access to top lawyers who would like to represent them.

So no, the Trump administration should not try through intimidation to prevent these things from happening…

What a spineless panty-waist. Out.

Rift Valley Fever, Rising Again — In Senegal. Damnation.

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At our last update — there were 17 dead.

Today there are 26 dead. This is mostly horrific, because the bulk of the deaths were clearly… preventible — here’s a bit:

…Senegal has now recorded 302 confirmed cases, including 26 deaths, in its growing Rift Valley fever outbreak.

In total, 227 patients have recovered, the Ministry of Health said in its most recent update.

The outbreak has now spread to eight regions in the country, most recently Thies.

Last week, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the outbreak’s case-fatality rate as 7.9%. Rift Valley fever usually affects livestock but can spread to people via contact with the body fluids of infected animals or through mosquito bites. . . .

Now you know — and obviously, the cuts to USAID are exacerbating these affliciton/fatality totals. Disgusting.

नमस्ते

Yep — USDC Judge Waverly Crenshaw Is Going To Dump The Noemites, In Nashville, Next Week. You Heard It Here, First.

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I’ve said it repeatedly, here — Sean Hecker and his team… are the most able immigration private plaintiffs’ counsel… I’ve ever seen. [And I’ve seen… a lot of them, in my two decades of regular pro bono practice, here in Chicago.]

So do read this — as it is a master-class, in a terse eight pager — just filed:

…What is most significant about the government’s opposition to Mr. Abrego’s motion to suppress is what it concedes. It concedes that Trooper Brawner falsely stated that the speed limit was 65 miles per hour when it was actually 70. It concedes, too, that there is no evidence of any techniques Trooper Brawner used to measure Mr. Abrego’s speed—no radar, no vehicle data, no contemporaneous or subsequent report of Trooper Brawner’s stop of Mr. Abrego. Instead, the government offers justifications for the stop with no basis in the case law: That it was reasonable for a Tennessee Highway Patrolman to misread (or misrepresent) a posted speed limit; that it was reasonable to misapprehend Mr. Abrego’s speed when pulling him over for speeding; or that Trooper Brawner’s account of the stop will be credible merely because he bears no personal animus toward Mr. Abrego….

So the question is simple: did Trooper Brawner employ the standard — accurate, testable — law enforcement tools to assess Mr. Abrego’s speed? If so, the omission of that evidence from the government’s brief is unusual; if not, then there was nothing “reasonable,” nor lawful, about this stop….

Because officers’ authority to conduct pretextual stops is broad, it is “the responsibility of the courts to make sure that police officers act appropriately and not abuse the power legally afforded to them by, among other things, carefully scrutinizing” the justification for the initial stop. Hill, 195 F.3d at 267. The government must be held to its burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that this stop was “supported by specific and articulable facts.” (Dkt. 175 at 4 (quoting United States v. Blair, 524 F.3d 740, 750 (6th Cir. 2008))). The government offers no such facts.

For the foregoing reasons, Mr. Abrego respectfully requests that the Court suppress the traffic stop and all evidence deriving from it….

Get ’em, Mr. Hecker! I love it. This whole house of cards is likely to fall in on itself, next week — in Music City — on the Fifth of November (after all the evidence is in, on the Fourth). See you there!

नमस्ते

[U: Court Has Concluded.] Bovino Grilling: Live Blog From The City Of Big Shoulders!

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And so — this is exactly how we right the ship.

The ship of lawful due process — and democracy:

We are underway… “All rise!”.

➣ Judge Ellis is explaining that she (and Bovino) took oaths to uphold the Constitution….

➣ Judge Ellis says “based on the videos I’ve reviewed, it is hard to imagine how the force you used… was necessary. There was no immediate threat to your officers.” This violates my TRO.

➣ “This includes shooting people in the neck with rubber bullets, and officers throwing women who are not resisting to the pavement — and sitting on them.”

➣ “Your officers must give loud clear warnings, before using gas or rubber bullets.”

➣ “Your agents must wear ID clearly visible in at least two places on their body, during any crowd control operations — and if they have helmets on, one place must be on their helmets.”

➣ All operations must faithfully follow the detailed regulations I am incorporating into this order. This includes keeping body cams operating at all times, she orders.

➣ Bovino says he will start wearing a body cam “by Friday.” Geez!

➣ Bovino keeps saying he “can’t tell what happened”… but much of the video is OF HIM!….

➣ By close of business on Friday, Bovino must provide all agent reports with body cams, and within 24 hours of any incident….

➣ Every day (starting tomorrow), Bovino must personally appear here in court at 6 pm — and report under oath, on all “incidents” of the day!

We are adjourned, for lunch — back at 1:30 pm CDT.

ACTUAL ORDER, AS ENTERED | MINUTE entry before the Honorable Sara L. Ellis:

Court hearing held. The Court enters and continues Plaintiffs’ motion to modify the TRO [142] to the date of the preliminary injunction hearing on 11/5/2025. The Court orders Defendants to have all Federal Agents operating in Operation Midway Blitz to place an identifier conspicuously on their uniform where one can easily view it and the Agent’s equipment does not obscure it.

Customs and Border Protection will strive to ensure that all CBP agents working in Operation Midway Blitz have body−worn cameras. Additionally, Defendant Bovino has agreed to have a body−worn camera assigned to him by 10/31/2025 and have completed BWC training.

The Court orders Defendants to provide to the Court, under seal, all CBP use of force reports relating to Operation Midway Blitz from 9/2/2025 through 10/25/2025, by close of business 10/31/2025. The Court further orders Defendants to provide to the Court, under seal, all BWC video corresponding to the use of force reports from 9/2/2025 through 10/25/2025 filed with the Court by COB 10/31/2025. The Court orders Defendants to provide to the Court, under seal, all additional CBP use of force reports and corresponding BWC video within 24 hours of finalization of the CBP reports.

The Court orders Defendant Bovino to appear in court, in person, week days at 5:45 PM (modifying the Court’s oral order during the hearing to account for the security needs of the Dirksen Courthouse) in courtroom 1403 to report on the use of force activities for each day.

Finally, the Court orders Defendants to provide to the Court, under seal, by close of business on 10/31/2025 a chart containing the names, dates of arrest or detention, charges or citations, and resolution of the arrest or detention (e.g., released with charging, charged with misdemeanor, charged with felony, given summons, or given citation) for all individuals detained or arrested by CBP from 9/2/2025 through 10/29/2025 that is not directly related to an immigration enforcement violation, such as a failure to appear for an immigration appointment or an outstanding order of removal.

The Court denies Defendants’ oral motion to stay this order. The Court denies Defendants’ oral motion to stay Defendant Bovino’s deposition.

Emailed notice….

So do keep hitting refresh on your browsers. Onward.

नमस्ते

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

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That’s all there is to say, about Mirengoff’s latest BS on ICE.

He claims to know things he cannot possibly know (he clearly hasn’t reviewed the actual court filings).

He doubts other things… with zero evidence, to allow for such doubt.

He defends the indefensible — which is backed by very solid contra-evidence — most of that, is in fact… on video.

And now most of it is… on file in the Chicago federal district courthouse, before USDC Judge Sara Ellis — who will tomorrow possibly jail the BP/ICE Commander named Bovino — for repeatedly and wilfully violating her TRO.

And he (thankfully — helpfully!) puts it all behind his paywall… (so, about 11 people will ever read it — and five of those are likely just relatives!) because it simply beclowns any claim by him that he believes in any rule of law, any longer.

Trump’s “might makes right” is all that matters tonight for Paul.

What a putz.

USDC Judge Crenshaw Orders Noemites To Hand Him The Vindictiveness Documents, For A “His Eyes Only” Review…

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Excellent. This is what checks and balances look like.

And… Sean Hecker wins… again.

Here’s the latest, out of Judge Crenshaw, down in Nashville:

…ORDER as to Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia:

For the reasons stated in the contemporaneously filed Memorandum Opinion, Abregos Motion to Compel (Doc. No. [159]) is GRANTED to the extent that the Court will conduct a preliminary in camera review of the discovery and decide whether a production to Abrego is necessary. To that end, the Government shall produce the following documents to the Court no later than noon on Wednesday, 10/29/2025. The Government shall deliver responsive documents under seal to this Court in care of Chief Deputy Clerk Vicki Kinkade. . . .

[T]he Government shall produce the following documents to the Court no later than noon on Wednesday, October 29, 2025: (1) all documents that reflect individuals who directed the Government’s change in position from “deport but not prosecute” to “prosecute and then deport”; (2) all documents that reflect the circumstances that motivated that change in position; (3) any emails between the Deputy Attorney General’s Office and the Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee between March 24, 2025 and June 6, 2025, that the Government has apparently already identified, (Doc. No. 178 at 5); (4) emails or any other documents drafted by Ben Schraeder about the Abrego case that the Government has apparently already identified, (id. at 7); and (5) all documents received or sent by HIS Baltimore Agent John VanWie between March 24, 2025 and June 6, 2025, that the Government has apparently already identified, (id. at 6). Specifically, the Government shall deliver responsive documents under seal to this Court in care of Chief Deputy Clerk Vicki Kinkade….

Signed by District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr on 10/27/2025….

Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

At 9:45 AM Tomorrow — On The 14th Floor Of Dirksen Bldg. — More Than Commander Bovino BP/ICE To Be Grilled, And Held In Contempt?! I’ll Be There.

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As we said last week,the supremely able USDC Judge Sara L. Ellis will question Commander Bovino (a Noemite), under oath. But now summonses for at least a dozen others have gone out. I don’t think Noem herself, or Miller — will be hauled into court tomorrow… but stranger things have happened when a Chicago federal judge’s TRO orders are wilfully and wantonly violated (as here). Over, and over… again.

Doubly so, when peaceful marchers are exercising their Constitutional right to protest — and help protect, their fellow good neighbors… from warrantless arrests, searches and seizures — on private property. These feds must respect local law. And the local law in Chicago… is we have a welcoming ordinance, and we are a sanctuary city. These laws have been blessed by the Supremes in Trump 1.0. So nothing has really changed.

Be ready for a banger of a live blog tomorrow. Damn. Read the supplemented / updated motion, here (detailing Friday’s violations — with video, again!):

…Most of the protestors were slowly walking in pace with the SUVs as they moved through the neighborhood. See, e.g., Exhibit 90. The protestors were non-violent and, though strongly opposed to the presence of the agents, were filming, blowing whistles, and expressing their desire that the agents leave their neighborhood. Id.; see also Exhibit 93 at 0:00-38….

Without any verbal warning, and without any threat to the officers, an agent in the SUV going backwards threw a tear gas canister out of the window of the car directly at a group of people. See Exhibit 93 at 0:39-41. Almost immediately after, what appears to be the same agent threw a second tear gas canister out of the vehicle window at the same group of residents in the street. Id. at 0:41-1:00. As before, no warning was given before the second canister was deployed….

Do stay tuned. We the people… are… unafraid. These are OUR streets. “This is what democracy looks like!”

नमस्ते