Updated / Monday Tangent: Peter L. Brandt Is A Trading Legend -- Since The 1980s... And He's Right -- About Bitcoin Spot Price-Trends.

A year and a half ago -- in Spring '24, he pointed out that the parabolic upswings in Bitcoin spot prices. . . were over.

He makes the case more on chart psychology than on pure economics. But the point he makes is valid -- because in any capital market, a decent portion of the demand vs. supply curves, which drive all price points. . . is due to traders' collective psychology.

Do they think there are more suckers, waiting in the wings, with cash to burn?

Or do they think that it is going to be a hard-scrabble Xmas (again)?

The latter seems clearly correct -- with Tangerine 2.0's chaos everywhere.

So he posits that once the parabola breaks -- not bends -- a 80% draw-down (to spot pricing around $25,000) will come. Maybe by mid-2026.

Here's CoinDesk on it all, on this dourly-chilly mid-December Monday morning:

. . .Veteran trader and chart analyst Peter Brandt has warned that bitcoin's signature growth parabola has fractured, opening the door to a brutal slide potentially down to $25,000.

Brandt's call hinges on exponential decay in bitcoin's bull cycles.

The cryptocurrency has historically rallied hard in 12-18 months after halving and subsequently slipped into a bear market, characterized by 70% to 80% pullback from record highs. . . .

However, each bull cycle has seen diminishing returns. For instance, following the first halving on Nov. 28, 2012, BTC chalked out a 100-fold rise to $1,240 by December 2013. The 2016 halving produced a 74-fold rise and the 2020 halving brought an eight-fold rise.

The latest post-halving cycle, which kicked off following the quadrennial event in April 2024, saw prices double to a record high of $126,000 by October this year. Since then, prices have pulled back to well-under $90,000, slicing through the parabola curve that has marked massive price uptrends during each prior cycle. . . .

I can first hand verify that Mr. Brandt was making multi-millions, on his charting -- of CFTC regulated commodities pools, back in the mid-1980s -- when I was just a neophyte junior associate attorney at a big Chicago lawfirm, one that was writing his disclosure documents.

Yep, I spent a lot of late nights, at a financial printer (what an old school world that was, with steaks delivered at 1 am, from Gene & Goergetti's -- then back at my desk on the 69^th floor facing north by 7:30 am, shaved and showered, in another double breasted Italian designer suit -- the same morning! Whoah!) all while reading over his theories on markets (proofing them, actually).

And so, I can vouch for his now 45 year history of... far more good calls than bad ones.

And so, Riot Platforms will tank -- perhaps to below $10 -- and maybe back toward. . . $4, before it is all over. Onward, grinning.

Now you know.

नमस्ते

NASA Sees Two Of Its Vehicles Named [By Time] As Top 25 "Groundbreaking" -- Here, In The Young New Millennium. Sweet.

It must be said: even with all the Tangerine 2.0 caused-chaos, this agency continues to. . . shine.

Since the mid- to late-1950s. . . "the best and brightest" have uniformly, and spectacularly. . . applied themselves, at NASA. The Barsoomian rover, NASA’s rolling science lab -- has spent more than a decade uncovering clues that Mars once could have supported life (in exactly the forms as we understand that term) -- transforming our understanding of our planetary neighbor. Truly, these discoveries could not have happened, without the hardy lil' rover.

And despite the initial naming controversy -- there is now no room for doubt: JWST is (far and away) the finest telescope [of any kind!] in all of human history. The stunning images -- and resulting discoveries -- arrive almost daily, now. It sits out at L2, the Lagrange Point, where it floats in gravitational equilibrium, under its mylar shades (in very nearly absolute zero temps).

Here's the story from the mavens at NASA:

. . .Two icons of discovery, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope [JWST] and NASA’s Curiosity rover, have earned places in TIME’s “Best Inventions Hall of Fame,” which recognizes the 25 groundbreaking inventions of the past quarter century that have had the most global impact, since TIME began its annual Best Inventions list in 2000. The inventions are celebrated in TIME’s December print issue.

“NASA does the impossible every day, and it starts with the visionary science that propels humanity farther than ever before,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Congratulations to the teams who made the world’s great engineering feats, the JWST and the Mars Curiosity Rover, a reality. Through their work, distant galaxies feel closer, and the red sands of Mars are more familiar, as they expanded and redefined the bounds of human achievement in the cosmos -- for the benefit of all. . . .”

Excellent -- now you know. And here's to hoping that we soon hear a ping-back from the orbiting MAVEN, around Barsoom, having operated for some 11 years, almost flawlessly -- but now having fallen silent. . . with each passing day, the probability fades, that we will ever hear from it again. And so, I'm smiling a rather sad smile, tonight. But as ever, tomorrow is. . . a new day.

नमस्ते

UPDATE: Abrego Garcia Remains Safe, At Home -- With His Family -- Until At Least Mid-January 2026.

Yawn. No surprise. The able USDC Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland agrees that we don't run star chambers, where fake ICE employees claiming to be "judges" may completely re-write, and then "enter" orders on six year old cases, to make someone lawfully here. . . immediately removable -- without any notice, or opportunity to be heard in opposition (violating due process).

That is antithetical to our system of ordered liberty. But it is just. . . Thursday, to the Noemites, and Tangeriners 2.0. Here's the order, and a bit:

. . .See 8 U.S.C. § 1231 (a)(1)(A) (“when an alien is ordered removed, the Attorney General shall remove the alien from the United States within a period of 90 days.”). Respondents also have detained Abrego Garcia for the six-month presumptive period articulated in Zadvydas, when conservatively considering the time spent in ICE detention since 2019, combined with the time spent in detention in El Salvador, and in ICE custody after securing his release in the Tennessee Criminal Matter. Nor had Respondents done anything to secure Abrego Garcia’s third-country removal between 2019 and August 2025. Cf. Zavvar v. Scott, Civ. No. TDC-25-2104, 2025 WL 2592543 at *4 (D. Md. Sept. 8, 2025). Thus, for the reasons previously articulated in ECF No. 110 and in this Order, Abrego Garcia is likely to succeed on the merits of any further Zadvydas claim. . . .

[T]he public retains keen interest in ensuring that government agencies comply with court orders, especially those necessary to protect individual liberties. In this respect, the Court reminds Respondents that . . . [f]or the public to have any faith in the orderly administration of justice, the Court’s narrowly crafted remedy cannot be so quickly and easily upended without further briefing and consideration. . . .

Onward, resolutely -- to a matinee later today, of the "Nutcracker on Ice" -- little kids' edition! Wind-chills are now between minus 14 and minus 25. . . so, "on ice" -- quite literally!

नमस्ते

What The Nancy Grace Roman 'Scope Will See / Map... In About A Year. Amazing!

To be certain, in most of the sciences (despite the odd examples we report on here), the dank darkness -- of ignorance. . . is being pushed backward, into the background, day by day -- and illuminated, by excellent -- and more than occasionally. . . female genius scientists.

And Nancy Grace Roman clearly fits all those bills.

We've spoken of her before -- and of the coming 2026 mission. . . but now we have. . . video, to explain what she's looking for: a map of our Milky Way galaxy, edge on. . . across its whole breadth. That is nearly a million light years across. Wow. Here is all that, from NASA | JPL:

. . .This visualization begins with a view of the Homunculus Nebula, which houses the massive binary star Eta Carinae, as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. The view pulls back to reveal the wider Carina Nebula — a giant, relatively nearby star-forming region in the southern sky. A single Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope pointing will cover more than the Hubble image, which was built from multiple pointings. Roman will view more of the Carina Nebula repeatedly over time with six pointings, allowing astronomers to observe any changes that take place.

The entire nebula as well as its surroundings, including a 10,000 light-year-long swath of the spiral arm it resides in, are included in the overall Roman Galactic Plane Survey. The full survey will cover 691 square degrees and is to be completed over the course of two years. The observations will offer an unparalleled opportunity to watch how stars grow, interact, and sculpt their environments, and it’s just one of many thousands of highlights astronomers are looking forward to from this Roman survey. . . .

“The Galactic Plane Survey will revolutionize our understanding of the Milky Way,” said Julie McEnery, Roman’s senior project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We’ll be able to explore the mysterious far side of our galaxy and its star-studded heart. Because of the survey’s breadth and depth, it will be a scientific mother lode.”



The Galactic Plane Survey is Roman’s first selected general astrophysics survey — one of many observation programs Roman will do in addition to its three core surveys and Coronagraph technology demonstration. At least 25% of Roman’s five-year primary mission is reserved for astronomers worldwide to propose more surveys beyond the core programs, fully leveraging Roman’s capabilities to conduct groundbreaking science. Roman is slated to launch by May 2027, but the team is on track for launch as early as fall 2026. . . .

Now you know -- grinning -- what an amazing time to be alive, and in possession of the ability to learn. . . all the sciences!

नमस्ते

A Goofy / Corrupt[?] Admin. Immig. Judge Claims A "Right" To Modify, Sua Sponte -- An Order Undisturbed Since 2019?! WTAH?! Abrego Case In Maryland...

As ever, when Tangerine / Miller / Noem / Rubio are confronted with a loss -- because they plainly violated our laws, and our Constitution [here, in Abrego Garcia's case -- repeatedly]. . . they simply try to rewrite the history of the case, in a fraudulent fashion. It will not work.

Here, six years later -- and after being repeatedly warned by the courts that the government's OWN record plainly indicated that Abrego was here LAWFULLY -- these jamokes claim he is deportable, as they vainly try to reach back six years to "correct" what they disingenuously call a "scriveners' error" -- and enter an entirely NEW order. That is simply. . . insane -- and a banana dictator's move, unbecoming a nation of limited governemental authority over her peoples. Here's the deal, from this evening:

. . .[Last night, at] approximately 7:01 p.m., an immigration judge issued a document with the heading “Order of the Immigration Judge,” and the subheading “Immigration Court’s Sua Sponte Order Correcting Scrivener’s Error.” Ex. B. This sua sponte order states that, in the October 10, 2019, order granting Petitioner withholding of removal, “the order of removal to El Salvador, which should have preceded the order granting him withholding of removal to El Salvador, was erroneously omitted.” Id. at 4.

It then goes on to state: “The Immigration Court now corrects that scrivener’s error and amends the written decision in this case by adding the following: The Respondent is ordered removed to El Salvador based on the charge contained in the Notice to Appear, but the Respondent’s application for withholding of removal to El Salvador pursuant to INA § 241(b)(3) is granted.”

The Order further states that “These corrections are hereby issued nunc pro tunc to the Immigration Court’s written decision and order of October 10, 2019. . . .”

The Government’s attempt to manufacture a removal order sua sponte through an ex parte proceeding, without notice to Petitioner and without any opportunity to be heard, violates the INA and due process. See 8 U.S.C. § 1229a. The opportunity to be heard is essential to due process. Sagastizado v. Noem, 2025 WL 2957003, at *2 (S.D. Tex. Sept. 10, 2025) (“Noncitizens have a right to meaningful notice and opportunity to be heard before being deported to a third country.”); see also ECF No. 110 at 30 (citing Nguyen v. Scott, --- F. Supp. 3d ---, 2025 WL 2419288 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 21, 2025) (granting immediate release and enjoining removal absent meaningful opportunity to be heard in reopened removal proceedings).

The Government had six years to identify and correct any alleged “scrivener’s error,” and Petitioner has repeatedly pointed out the lack of an Order throughout these proceedings. See ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 54, 68–69; ECF No. 32 at 3, 9, 10, 20; ECF No. 87 at 11, 18. The Government chose to pursue this path only after losing on habeas and only through a process that denied Petitioner any opportunity to be heard. . . .

Detention is also inconsistent with Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001). Yesterday, this Court held that Petitioner’s removal could not be considered “reasonably foreseeable, imminent, or consistent with due process” because the government lacked statutory authority to remove him absent a final order of removal. . . .

Tangerine 2.0 mostly runs. . . a crime syndicate -- not a. . . government, under any recognized principles. This gambit will of course. . . fail. And Abrego is safe at home, tonight -- he will remain there. Bank on it. Out.

नमस्ते

This Year's Lown Institute "Shkreli Award" Grand Prize Winner... Is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. -- Quite Richly-Deserved!

Well, it is by no means a surprise. And he certainly is. . . the worst US influence in the delivery of evidence based health care -- in many decades.

In many ways, Shkreli was too small-time -- for this level of system wide corruption of science. The people at Lown might consider renaming it the "Kennedy Malfeasance" Award. . . as Martin's 15 minutes [ref. Andy Warhol] evaporated about seven years ago. Here's MedPage Today, on it all, though:

. . .Lown Institute president Vikas Saini, MD, told MedPage Today the purpose of the awards is to call out "systemic problems" in which healthcare organizations and clinicians "chase money and greed to the point where they cut corners. . . with devastating results to patient care. . . ."

Kennedy, Jr. garnered the lion's share of judges' votes for his baseless claims about causes of autism that have baffled the public and angered medical experts.

"Citing studies that showed correlation but no causal evidence, and despite clinicians, toxicologists, and major medical organizations having looked at the research and rejected the claim, he asserted a link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism," the Lown judges said.

Kennedy then suggested infants undergoing circumcision have higher rates of autism because they likely received acetaminophen for pain, yet his evidence was an unreviewed and unpublished preprint, judges said.

"While this spectacle of erratic scientific leadership around autism is supposedly tied to Making America Healthy Again, many are now asking not what Kennedy can do for his country, but how his country can undo what he has already done," the judges wrote. . . .

[He] may be asking reasonable questions, like what is causing autism. The problem is that he then "makes brash announcements ... and trumpets them like the Second Coming, saying, 'We're going to just fix all this,' which is playing fast and loose with the facts, and really undermines confidence in decision making and leadership."

Onward, resolutely -- what a. . . feckless putz.

नमस्ते

The "Mechanics" Order: Habeas Release -- By 5 PM EST Today -- For Abrego...

As of 3 PM EST, Noem has filed no appeal. Seems he will be able to head to an undisclosed location inside Maryland, tonight, accompanied by pre-trial services, to set up his "at home" monitoring. Excellent. [Of course, for his -- and his family's -- security, we will not disclose the moment of his release, nor that location.]

Here it all is -- pretty plainly laid out, by USDC Judge Paula Xinis:

. . .1. Petitioner Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia’s Petition for habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 at ECF No. 1 is hereby GRANTED;

2. Respondents SHALL release Abrego Garcia from ICE custody immediately;

3. Respondents SHALL notify Abrego Garcia’s counsel of the exact time and location of his release no fewer than four hours prior to releasing him, and notify the Court of the status of Abrego Garcia’s release by email to chambers no later than 5:00 p.m. today, Thursday, December 11, 2025;

4. A representative of the United States Pretrial Services Office for this District SHALL separately contact Abrego Garcia’s criminal counsel with further instruction for installation on the release conditions previously imposed in. . . United States v. Abrego Garcia, No. 3:25-CR-00115-1 (M.D. Tenn.);

5. Respondents SHALL immediately transmit this Order and the accompanying Memorandum Opinion to all relevant officers, agents, and employees under their control and who are involved in this matter and [in]. . . United States v. Abrego Garcia, No. 3:25-CR-00115-1 (M.D. Tenn.). . . .

6. Within a week of the date of this Order, by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 18, 2025, the parties SHALL submit a joint status report as to the parties’ position regarding resolution of Respondents’ pending motion to dissolve at ECF No. 72 [the motion by Noem to dissolve the injunction, and continue with detention / deportation mechanics]; and

7. The Clerk is DIRECTED to transmit a copy of this Order to all counsel of record.

December 11, 2025: /s/ Paula Xinis,
United States District Judge

Excellent. . . just. . . excellent.

नमस्ते

[U: Full Opinion Now, Linked.] Breaking: USDC Judge Xinis in Maryland Orders Abrego’s Immediate Release!

Certainly, the Noemites will appeal more in a few minutes. It comes as a 31 page opinion.

He still must wear an ankle monitor and remain at home under the Nashville orders, from this past Summer -- but I don't think Noem can lawfully keep him in Pennsylvania away from his Maryland family, any longer, after tonight. Here's that Judge Xinis banger:

. . .But nothing suggests [his 2019 administrative proceedings judge] ordered Abrego Garcia removed to El Salvador. In fact, the withholding decision twice erroneously suggested that the stated country of removal from which Abrego Garcia sought relief was Guatemala. Id. at 9 (“DHS has failed to carry their burden to show that there are changed circumstances in Guatemala that would result in the Respondent’s life not being threatened. . . .”); id. at 14 (“DHS has not shown there are changed circumstances in Guatemala that would result in the Respondent’s life not being threatened, or that internal relocation is possible and reasonable under the circumstances.”). The withholding decision also included a separate “order” that did not command Abrego Garcia’s removal to El Salvador or anywhere else. . . .

For the next six years, Abrego Garcia lived and worked in Maryland subject to an ICE order of supervision. Abrego Garcia I, ECF No. 1-3. See also ECF No. 32-10 (employment authorization identification card); ECF No. 33 (order of supervision). But on March 12, 2025, while driving with his son in the car, ICE agents pulled over Abrego Garcia and arrested him. Abrego I, ECF No. 31 at 4. Three days later, Respondents forcibly expelled him, along with 252 Venezuelan and Salvadoran nationals, to El Salvador where they were detained in the Terrorism Confinement Center (“CECOT”). . . .

In response, on March 24, 2025, Abrego Garcia filed suit in this Court and separately moved for an injunction directing Respondents to secure his immediate release from CECOT and his return to the United States. Abrego I, ECF Nos. 1 & 2. On April 4, 2025, the Court granted such relief, ordering Respondents to “facilitate and effectuate” his return to the United States. . . .

[O]n June 6, 2025, Respondents paroled Abrego Garcia to the United States after securing a federal indictment in the Middle District of Tennessee, a matter that is itself under scrutiny for vindictive and selective prosecution. . . .

Meanwhile, during plea negotiations in the criminal case, Costa Rica offered to grant Abrego Garcia residency as a refugee. ECF No. 1-3; ECF No. 1-7; Tennessee Criminal Matter, ECF No. 114-1. Official correspondence dated August 21, 2025, from Costa Rica’s Minister of Public Security Mario E. Zamora Cordero (“Zamora Cordero”), confirmed [this]. . . .

At the hearing on November 20, it became evident that once again, Respondents defied this Court’s orders. . . . They simply refused to prepare and produce a witness with knowledge to testify in any meaningful way. Cantú candidly admitted, for example, that he had no prior involvement in Abrego Garcia’s case and spent approximately five minutes preparing to testify. See ECF No. 107 at 33:3–4, 39:5–9. Cantú also shared that none of Respondents’ attorneys had discussed this Court’s order with him or showed him its contents. See id. at 42:1–24. Nor did Cantú understand the purpose of his testimony. . . .

Despite this tortured history, Abrego Garcia’s arguments in favor of release are quite simple. He contends that his detention is without lawful authority because Respondents have no final order of removal authorizing as much under the third-country removal statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1231. Thus, says Abrego Garcia, his release is compelled. [This court agrees.]

Abrego Garcia’s case demands judicial intervention to ensure that Respondents choose constitutionally permissible means of implementing the INA. Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 695. Because Abrego Garcia has been held in ICE detention to effectuate third-country removal absent a lawful removal order, his requested relief is proper. Separately, Respondents’ conduct over the past months belie that his detention has been for the basic purpose of effectuating removal, lending further support that Abrego Garcia should be held no longer. . . .

The Court orders Respondents to release Abrego Garcia from ICE custody immediately. Thereafter, he will receive instruction from the United States Pretrial Services Office as to installation on the release conditions previously imposed in his [Nashville] case. . . .

Sanity makes a comeback!

नमस्ते

In Abrego Garcia's Case, The Document-Disclosure Log-Jam... Is Breaking-Up -- In Nashville... Thanks To USDC Judge Waverly Crenshaw!

It still is likely to be into the third week of January 2026, before we see an evidentiary hearing, proper now.

But make no mistake -- this is headed toward an outright dismissal order, in favor of Abrego Garcia. Here's the latest order to issue out from yesterday's sealed ex-parte hearing [text only]:

. . .ORDER as to Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia:

Having considered the Government's Motion for Partial Reconsideration of the Order entered 12/3/2025 (Doc. No. [245]) and having reviewed six documents with bate numbers 000007 through 000012, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART the motion.

The Court has redacted the six documents, identified during the hearing as Collective Exhibit A, that shall be produced immediately to Defendant.

On or before 12/17/2025, the parties shall file their position with a supporting memorandum of law on whether the Memorandum Opinion and Order (Doc. No. [241]) should remain under seal.

Signed by District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr on 12/10/2025. . . .

Now you know. When it ultimately happens down in Music City, in mid-January 2026, you may trust that I will be live in Courtroom 3D, to blog it all.

And as irony might have it, that might turn out to be the day of, or after King Day 2026 (Q.: do the Nashville courts observe the federal MLK holiday, and stay closed? We will find out.) Smile -- onward.

नमस्ते

[U] So... I Will Likely Forward A Copy Of This Post To USDC Judge Cote's Chambers... And To The FTC's Offices In Manhattan...

UPDATED: 12.13.2025 AM -- The stock of Q/C Technologies, which was at $7.93 a few days before Martin signed on as a strategic advisor. . . is now at $4.77, on the NASDAQ -- it has nearly been cut in half in the three days since he joined the team. Charming. End, updated portion.

I admit that I went down a bit of a rabbit hole, trying to figure out what -- exactly it is -- that the '34 Act reporting company calling itself QC Technologies actually. . . does.

It sent out splashy press releases a few weeks ago saying it was now focusing on the development of "quantum class" computing solutions that would rely on photonic / speed of light technology (whatever that might mean!) the company had licensed in. . . from. . . somewhere. Fine.

BUT. . . TNF Pharmaceuticals (which was only a name change -- not a dissolution, or divestiture) still maintains an active website, promoting the drugs-in-development at left.

Martin is being paid $150,000 a year (in cash) to act as a strategic advisor to this company -- and getting warrants and restricted stock, vesting over time.

So, as far as I can tell -- and I did some looking -- I looked in the official SEC filings, as well. . . the company has nowhere said it has divested the pharmaceuticals R&D businesses, nor that it has ceased all work on those "med pot/CBD" projects. [The TNF website still makes health claims for them, too.]

My point? The final orders the FTC won before USDC Judge Cote in 2021-22, in Manhattan (and subsequently affirmed by the US Supreme Court) expressly prohibit Martin from acting in any paid form, for any company in the pharmaceuticals businesses.

He cannot simply change the company's name -- as say they are "de-emphasizing" the medical pot development biz. . . in order to take cash for helping to sell on or close out these pharmaceutical clinical trial projects. This is exactly what his USDC final injunctions / FTC banning-orders forbid him from doing.

Look -- I get it: just last week, his supposed portfolio of pharma related and computing related stock investments (and shorts) -- one he was crowing about, daily on his YouTube live-streams... utterly imploded. Went to zero (on a stupidly specific short he put on, against a drug development co.), and he was outright liquidated -- for margin calls. [Just like in 2014-15, right?!]

He is flat out of cash flow runway. So, he needs to feed his baby, and pay his rent, in New York. AND so. . . he signs on to a serial failure of a public company. For cash. But he cannot violate his lifetime banning order, in doing so.

Onward, resolutely.

See ya' in the funny papers, man.

नमस्ते

Ahh... It Was Well-Past Its NASA-Rated Engineering Life-Span, At Mars... But Would Be An Important Loss (If Permanent)...

Some truly regular readers may recall that about eight years ago, the team at NASA | JPL burned the engines for a bit, to lift Maven to an orbit that would be safely above the tiny moon Phobos' orbital path. . . and that went quite smoothly. The craft. . . sailed onward.

It is (I suppose) possible that it was struck by an entirely new space rock (too small to see, from 40 million miles off), whilst traversing the dark side (relative to our radio signals) of Mars, in early December of 2025. NASA engineers were never able to re-acquire a signal [after it peeked out from sailing behind Barsoom, this last time]. Maybe the circuits just succumbed to space radiation. We may never know. But here's to hopin' this twisty lil' guy wakes up, and dials home, again:

. . .NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft, in orbit around Mars, experienced a loss of signal with ground stations on Earth on Dec. 6. Telemetry from MAVEN had showed all subsystems working normally before it orbited behind the Red Planet. After the spacecraft emerged from behind Mars, NASA’s Deep Space Network did not observe a signal.

The spacecraft and operations teams are investigating the anomaly to address the situation. More information will be shared once it becomes available.

The MAVEN spacecraft launched in November 2013 and entered Mars’ orbit in September 2014. The mission’s goal is to explore the planet’s upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and interactions with the Sun and solar wind to explore the loss of the Martian atmosphere to space. Understanding atmospheric loss gives scientists insight into the history of the Red Planet’s atmosphere and climate, liquid water, and planetary habitability. The spacecraft also serves as a communications relay station for rovers on the Martian surface. Last year, MAVEN celebrated its 10th anniversary in orbit at Mars. . . .

We do use three other spacecraft for relay of comms, from Mars -- so this is/was a redundant capability -- but it still will be missed, as it reduces the data speeds and increases latency, for commands, at various points in the orbital path -- of Barsoom. Keep a good thought, will you?

नमस्ते

This Is Not Just A Win For Gov. Newsom -- This Is A Win For The Notion Of... Limited Federal Powers, As Framed By The Founders Of Our Nation.

This clearly-correct precedent will (of course) be appealed by Tangerine 2.0 -- but the troops are once again solely under the control of the California CoC, one Gavin Newsom.

There will be no staying this injunction. And this precedent will effectively end the Illinois litigation, while setting the Supremes on a course to have to address a likely split in the Circuits, between 7 and 9, among others on the one hand, and the Fifth on the other. Here's USDC Senior Judge Breyer's excellent opinion, just handed down:

. . .The Founders designed our government to be a system of checks and balances. . . .

Defendants, however, make clear that the only check they want is a blank one. Six months after they first federalized the California National Guard, Defendants still retain control of approximately 300 Guardsmen, despite no evidence that execution of federal law is impeded in any way -- let alone significantly. What’s more, Defendants have sent California Guardsmen into other states, effectively creating a national police force made up of state troops. In response to Plaintiffs’ motion to enjoin this conduct, Defendants take the position that, after a valid initial federalization, all subsequent re-federalizations are completely, and forever, unreviewable by the courts. Defendants’ position is contrary to law.

Accordingly, the Court ENJOINS Defendants’ federalization of California National Guard troops. . . .

Section 12406 “authorizes federalization only when one of its factual predicates is presently satisfied.” Reply at 1 (emphasis in original) (citing Portland FOFCOL at 37). Accordingly, each affirmative order authorizing federalization -- whether a subsequent, distinct federalization or what Defendants call an extension -- must comply with Section 12406’s exigency requirements at the time it is effectuated. . . . [and that -- the Noemites / Trumpians / Millerites and Feds have not done.]

Excellent news. Onward resolutely -- the Illinois version remains pending at the Supremes, for a decision, at any time. Grin.

नमस्ते

Some European Space Agency News: A Super-Speedy, And Gargantuan Blast -- From The Black Hole At The Center Of Spiral Galaxy NGC 3783, 130 Million Light Years Off...

Last night, I re-watched an episode of the PBS series called Nova, on black hole detection (originally aired in 2018). . . and as luck would have it, the European Space Agency has a great new bit of interstellar science -- about the so-called super-massives [weighing in at over 70 million times the mass of our Sun!], and their ability to generate vast jets, travelling at one-fifth the speed of light.

This discovery was made by XRISM's Resolve instrument -- and indicates that such blasts can form in under a few hours, and dissipate, just as rapidly.

[Of course, since the vast x-ray emissions from it are just reaching us today, this cataclysmic event occurred about 130 million years ago -- not more than eye-blink though, on the cosmic time-scales.] Here's the latest from ESA -- on all that:

. . .Leading X-ray space telescopes XMM-Newton and XRISM have spotted an extraordinary blast from a supermassive black hole. In a matter of hours, the gravitational monster whipped up powerful winds, flinging material out into space at eye-watering speeds of 60,000 km per second.

The gigantic black hole lurks within NGC 3783, a beautiful spiral galaxy imaged recently by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Astronomers spotted a bright X-ray flare erupt from the black hole before swiftly fading away. As it faded, fast winds emerged, raging at one-fifth of the speed of light. . . .

“We’ve not watched a black hole create winds this speedily before,” says lead researcher Liyi Gu at Space Research Organisation Netherlands (SRON). “For the first time, we’ve seen how a rapid burst of X-ray light from a black hole immediately triggers ultra-fast winds, with these winds forming in just a single day. . . .”

Now you know. . . what an infinitesimal, fragile, and ethereal beauty our sparkling blue life-raft is. . . in all of this, right? Amazing!

Do take good care of one another, as it may turn out that this and now, is all we will ever be, or have. I seriously doubt we are unique in all the Universe, but a single blast like this would wipe out potentially hundreds of millions of civilizations (were they out there -- anywhere near NGC 3783, some 130 million years ago). We are so very. . . lucky, indeed.



नमस्ते

[UPDATE: Now Down ~28% @ Lunchtime!] QCLC Stock Down Almost 20%, Since Shkreli Was Named As A "Strategic" Advisor... Grin.

Here on Wednesday morning -- the stock has fallen another nearly 5%, after losing ~13% in yesterday's session.

The day before the announcement, it had traded as high as $7.93 on the NASDAQ, and it now sits at $6.28, as I write this at 9:45 am Eastern. I guess savvy capitalists realize Martin Shkreli's "advice" may (once again) include felonious behavior -- and that rarely works out well, for the company involved. Here's the financial rag's story, from yesterday:

. . .Shares of Q/C Technologies, Inc. (QCLS) crashed over 13% in volatile trading on Tuesday, after the company appointed Martin Shkreli as a strategic advisor.

Earlier in the session, QCLS had climbed more than 11%. However, trading was twice halted within the first 15 minutes of the market opening. . . .

Yep -- do be careful out there. It all comes with a sincere H/T, to my SEC visitors as of 8:30 am Eastern. Do take a look folks!

And we will evaporate, for the Saguaro cacti, in about nine days now -- for over a month. Can't wait! Onward, grinning.

नमस्ते

In The "Fascinating Subterfuges" Dept.: Dr. Tidmarsh Expressly Wrote On X-itter That His Aurinia Comments Were His "Personal Views" -- Not Related To His FDA Role -- Then He Deleted Them.

And only now, now that he realizes. . . his statements were wildly inappropriate (at a minimum) -- and perhaps, evidence of his arguable and allegedly unlawful graymail schemes, he claims these statements (at right) were made in furtherance of his official duties at FDA.

The gambit here is to recast them, as immunized by the so-called Westfall Act, at 28 USC §2679, (as well as under the Federal Tort Claims Act). See the below; but this promises to be highly entertaining -- if not particularly enlightening:

. . .Aurinia claims that Dr. Tidmarsh’s public statements expressing such concern defamed them and their voclosporin drug. . . .

Because Dr. Tidmarsh made the alleged defamatory statements in furtherance of his duties as Director of the CDER and within the scope of his employment, Dr. Tidmarsh is entitled to have the United States substituted as the defendant in his stead pursuant to the Westfall Act and the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”). See 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671, 2679. The Departments of Justice (“DOJ”) and Health and Human Services (“HHS”) are currently evaluating Dr. Tidmarsh’s request for substitution under the Westfall Act and FTCA, and have indicated that an additional 30 day extension to respond to the Complaint, until January 15, 2026, should afford the DOJ and HHS sufficient time to evaluate and make their determination as to Dr. Tidmarsh’s request for substitution. . . .

Dr. Tidmarsh’s response to the Complaint is currently due December 16, 2025, by agreement of the parties. Doc. No. 29. Dr. Tidmarsh respectfully requests that this Court grant him an extension until January 16, 2026, to respond to the Complaint, to afford the DOJ and HHS sufficient time to determine whether the United States will substitute itself for Dr. Tidmarsh as the defendant in this action, pursuant to the Westfall Act and the FTCA. . . .

Do stay tuned. Onward, resolutely -- and just one of several of my backgrounders on this may be found, here. Grin.

नमस्ते

Once Again, Noem And Stephen Miller Are Appealing An Order To Treat CHILDREN Humanely. They Cannot Be Held In Adult Jails For Over 72 Hours, Ever -- Especially When ICE / BP Sees So Few Of Them.

Let that sink in. Just as in Tangerine 1.0, when Trump contended in the Ninth Cir. that children did not need toothbrushes, soap or water(!?) -- now he is appealing an order to move kids to more "school like" facilities within 72 hours at the outside, and in any event, as soon as possibile -- out of windowless CPB adult jail cells.

Who are these. . . truly horrible. . . human beings? What is wrong with them?! These are kids -- many not even 11 years old yet. Jesus. See this latest pleading, with attached sworn declarations, in the now 40 years old Flores class action litigation, in the able USDC Judge Dolly Gee's courtroom in LA:

. . .[The Noemite/Miller/Tangerine] Defendants attempt to minimize the import of its no-release policy by presenting it as a percentage of the whole, 4.87% represents a staggering 154 children detained in squalid CBP conditions for over 72 hours in September alone, with the highest time in custody reaching over a month. Kahn Decl. ¶ 3. This is despite continued low numbers of border encounters. The JC CBP Report indicates that only approximately 105 children crossed the border each day of September, on average. Id.

October data is just as troubling, with 115 children detained in CBP custody over 72 hours. Kahn Decl. ¶ 4. As detailed in the table below, the longest detention in October was 29 days. Id. Based on this data, at least one child spent nearly a month in the barren, jail-like conditions of CBP. Thirty-six children were detained for over five days, eighteen of whom were detained over a week, five of whom were detained for over ten days, and three of whom were detained for over two weeks. Given the low numbers of children crossing the border, Defendants provide no reasonable justification for forcing any child to stay detained in the harsh conditions of a windowless CBP cell for weeks or a month. . . .

This is a central failure of what was [at least in the JFK / Camelot 1962 mythology] that "shining beacon on a hill" nation: how we treat the least of our brothers and sisters. Damn. Out.

नमस्ते

Martin Shkreli: The Proverbial "Bad Penny" That Won't Go... Away.

MARTIN SIGNS UP TO COLLECT STOCK PURCHASE WARRANTS AND RESTRICTED STOCK, FROM A ’34 ACT REPORTING COMPANY… IN ARGUABLE VIOLATION OF HIS CRIMINAL CONVICTION ORDERS(?). WILD.

So... after he "lost" 100% of his (likely mythical) trading portfolio in a single day -- betting stupidly on a short that blew upward by 360% (also in a single day, liquidating his position on a supposed margin call). . . he says he's back as a "consultant" and connector -- to a optical computing R&D company.

Which would be fine. . . if Q/C Technologies, Inc. was a private company.

But it is a '34 Act reporting company -- it is a PUBLIC company, traded on the NASDAQ. Moreover, it has been working on commercialization of two therapeutic platforms based on well-defined targets: Isomyosamine and Supera-CBD.

It sum, it is a life-sciences focused (potentially FDA regulated) medical pot / drug discovery company [until just about two months ago, that is]. That reads directly on his FTC lifetime banning order, affirmed by the US Supreme Court in 2024.

In addition to being paid $150,000 cash a year, he will earn stock purchase warrants, and restricted stock.

Moreover, as I understand his FTC banning order's resolution (including accepting a agreed settlement of the over $12 million he owed in fines and penalties and expense reimbursement to the FTC, SEC and the US Attorneys offices in Brooklyn), he agreed never to accept a role, for pay -- at any public company doing pharma work. . . and, at least NOT payable in the securities of a public company. Ever.

I'll be back with some more specific citations (to his court ordered terms), but this is just. . . Stoopid, with two "Os".

Even if the company does actually "FLIP" -- to solely an optical computing developer, it still is closing out a. . . pharma biz. He cannot be around for that, for any type of pay.

[Meanwhile, he is still paying Dr. Koestler's lawyers month by month to continue to try to chase him for the now-nearly $8 million he owes under federal court judgments, to the Estate of Koestler (Deceased).]

Damn. Out.

नमस्ते

Touchdown! — Jonny Kim, Back On Terra Firma…

Jonny Kim is now sitting comfortably, bundled under a thermal blanket, on the steppes of remote Kazakhstan.

A light snow was falling, from thickly overcast skies, at 11:03:33 PM Central time (10:03:33 AM in Kazakhstan) as he landed.

One of the two Russian Cosmonauts was taken directly to the medical tent, but the Mission Commander sat out in the cold weather with Jonny Kim -- and chatted amiably, with Russian reporters.

There you have it. Onward.

नमस्ते

No, Prof. Loeb -- 3I/ATLAS Is No More Than A Large Interstellar Ball Of Primordial Ices... And, Yet Our Last Great Chance To View It, Arrives Soon...

This is just a shortish late evening squib -- to make plain that Harvard's Prof. Avi Loeb is. . . not very credible, in his push to argue that the ice ball shows "signs of being the product of intelligent design".

But come mid-December, it will have moved far enough away from the Sun that the JWST will get a very good set of eyes on it -- the JWST has by far the best eyes human=kind has ever launched. And its infrared images -- at very high resolution, too -- of the supposed twin tails 3I/ATLAS now spouts. . . will be the definitive word on the subject.

No other telescope (on Earth, or in space) will have nearly as fine imagery of it. So do stay tuned, so we might definitively put this stuff to bed, with JWST data -- in a couple more months:

. . .NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reobserved interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS Nov. 30, with its Wide Field Camera 3 instrument. At the time, the comet was about 178 million miles (286 million kilometers) from Earth. Hubble tracked the comet as it moved across the sky. As a result, background stars appear as streaks of light.

Hubble previously observed 3I/ATLAS in July, shortly after its discovery, and a number of NASA missions have since studied the comet as well. Observations are expected to continue for several more months as 3I/ATLAS heads out of the solar system. . . .

Onward, smiling just the same. . . as Prof. Loeb does challenge us to think out of the box, to be sure.

नमस्ते

Noemites Move -- In Secret, In Tennessee -- To REVISIT Rulings Against Them, In The Abrego Case. Yawn. None Of It Will Matter.

It may well turn out that the "mini-trial" postponed last week (but originally due to occur today and tomorrow) -- will now simply be. . . "the full trial" on the merits, come the week of January 20, 2026. [The able judge could easily take it as a dismissal motion, at the open -- or at the close of the prosecution's case in chief.] He has previously entered orders asking for motions the week before that trial date, on various matters ostensibly filed solely for the "mini-trial".

In that regard, the able Judge Crenshaw has tonight indicated he will hold a sealed hearing this Wednesday, to address a "do-over" the government is seeking -- on some of its proffered "evidence". That "evidence" is in air-quotes because it is irrelevant, falsely manufactured and / or wildly prejudicial, and thus not helpful to any finder of fact. In addition, the government has moved to prevent Mr. Hecker from even mentioning that the government kidnapped Mr. Abrego Garcia to El Salvador -- in violation of black letter law.

The able judge will never stand for that, since both the mini-trial -- and the main on the merits one -- advance the truthful claim by Mr. Hecker that Abrego Garcia was indicted in May 2025, for felonies -- in Nashville (on a three year old traffic stop, for which no tickets were issued at the time!) in retaliation for asserting his rights, to be freed from the kidnapping, since he possessed a lawful order of non-removeablity -- issued to him in Maryland some years ago -- and it was in full force, at the moment that Noem chose to abduct him, without any due process of law.

And so, we are at a moment where the government all but knows it is going to bounced out, at trial by the able federal judge, and now seeks to change his prior rulings -- hoping that xenophobic prejudice will save them from the loss -- and embarrassment. To do so though, the judge must again review and discuss sealed papers filed by the Noemites, so the whole thing is for "his eyes only".

Not even the government will be present. That is what "ex parte" means. And it is possible (if not highly likely) that Judge Waverly Crenshaw will simply dismiss the indictment -- as the product of unlawful and vindictive animus -- at the end of his private hearing. We shall see -- but at a minimum he is likely to tell the Noemites that his prior rulings, excluding the inadmissable matters. . . will remain the law of the case:

. . .The Court will have a sealed, ex parte hearing on the Government’s Motion for Partial Reconsideration (Doc. No. 245) on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. . . .

IT IS SO ORDERED. . . .

Now you know -- and I suspect this coming loss is in large part why Trump is said to be thinking of cashiering. . . Noem, before year end 2025. Yep -- I. Am. Here. For. It! Onward.

नमस्ते