Larry Ellison Plays It "Small -- On The Big Stage". He "Gypped" Much Of His Tech Help Out Of -- In Many Cases -- More Than $1 Million Each, In RSU/Equity Pay...

Technically, the law does allow the moves he's made. He didn't pay them WARN Act (extra 30 days of cash), saying they were remote workers. Okay -- sharp practice -- but I get the argument.

HOWEVER, in the case of his (higher paid) core tech workers, much of their actual pay comes in the form of RSUs, or restricted stock units -- that are fully vested only well-after the year end numbers are hit, and you need to stay on -- as a form of "retention bonus / golden handcuffs" -- in order to see the units in your paystub. Well over a thousand of those laid off would have each been paid an added $200,000 to even low seven figures, had they not been laid off, just weeks before full vesting. That is. . . a very small-minded disrespect -- of his likely best, but now mostly out-moded long term help.

Yes, he's a gazzillionaire, but we all know. . . "what goes around. . . really. . . goes around."

That is, he should worry (at least a bit) that some of the brightest (and most hot-headed) of them are yet able to (through remaining back doors -- they themselves left?) slip in undetected, and mess with his offerings, in nefarious, embarrassing but largely long term non-harmful ways. In front of partners -- and large customers. [AI movies / images of him in various states of undress, on a commode, anyone? (Much like we've all seen of Tangerine -- but propagated across the corporate web presence?)] Karma, indeed, that would be.

Here is the whole story, from this past March:

. . .In exchange for signing a release waiving their right to sue, employees received four weeks of pay for the first year, plus one additional week per year of service, capped at 26 weeks. The company was also paying for one month of COBRA insurance.

The catch: Although stock compensation often makes up a good chunk of a tech worker’s pay, particularly at Oracle, the company did not accelerate soon-to-vest RSUs. Any shares that hadn’t vested by the termination date were forfeited.

That held true even for stock granted as retention incentives or in place of salary increases tied to promotions. One long-tenured employee lost $1 million in stock that was just four months from vesting; RSUs made up about 70% of his compensation. . . .

What a rat, he is. [He even resembles one, albeit only slightly -- but to say that does nothing more than insult. . . all rodents.]

This is the item I hinted at this morning. Not sure if I'll make an ongoing project of Oracle and Ellison, as I have of Musk, Tesla, Bezos and Amazon. We shall see. Onward, to the morrow. Out.

नमस्ते

This Friday, Psyche will "Sling-Shot" Around Barsoom, To Gather Additional Speed -- And Then Onward, To Reach Its Asteroid / Destination, In 2029...

To be clear, this is a mission primarily to observe a far-off asteroid, but it offers a nice close-up view of Mars, in crescent formation, as we catch a gravity boost, by slingshotting past. . . Barsoom. [My much earlier 2023 backgrounder, here.]

Here is the latest from NASA, and a bit of it:

. . .NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will get a boost from Mars on Friday, May 15, passing just 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) from the planet’s surface at some 12,333 mph (19,848 kph). The spacecraft will harness the planet’s gravitational pull to speed up and adjust its trajectory toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche, one of the more unusual objects in our solar system. . . .

Mars won’t initially look like the illuminated reddish disk seen in so many photos of the planet. “We are approaching Mars at a very high phase angle, which means we are catching up with the planet from its night side with only a sliver of sunlight creating a thin crescent,” said Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University in Tempe. “The thin crescent on approach and the nearly ‘full Mars’ view after we fly past create opportunities for the imaging team for both great calibration observations as well as just plain beautiful photos.”

It’s possible that Mars may possess a faint dusty ring, or torus — the result of micrometeorites striking the surfaces of the planet’s two moons, Phobos and Deimos, and ejecting dust particles into space. The Sun’s alignment with Psyche and Mars may cause dusty material to scatter sunlight, making it visible in the processed observations.

The imager will also capture “satellite search” observations of the space surrounding the planet — a practice run for when the team will be searching for any moonlets around the asteroid Psyche. There could be an opportunity to learn more about Mars as well. The spacecraft’s magnetometer will likely detect the planet’s magnetic field redirecting charged particles from the Sun, and the gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer will monitor how the flux of cosmic rays (highly energetic subatomic particles from interstellar space) changes during the flyby.

“Ultimately, though, the only reason for this flyby is to get a little help from Mars to speed us up and tilt our trajectory in the direction of the asteroid Psyche,” said Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator for Psyche at the University of California, Berkeley. “But if all our instruments are powered up, and we can do important testing and calibration of the science instruments, that would be the icing on the cake. . . .”

And, now the about three minute video explainer:



नमस्ते

And Yes, Moderna's Stock Is On The Rise, Since It Is The Leader -- In Getting An mRNA Vaccine, For Hantavirus -- To Market, Now...

Perhaps some may see it as a bit unseemly, that I might mention this financial turn of fortune -- in part, from dire circumstances, onboard that stricken liner. That is not my intent -- at all.

As a point of five year fact, do recall that Moderna traded up to $340-ish, during the teeth of the COVID pandemic.

Then, in my view, Wall Street foolishly abandoned the company, after the emergency waned. It fell to the low $20s -- and, in my mind -- that was a screaming buy. [So this (mine) is about a sober, long term view.] Here's a bit of the latest -- and, in any event it is over $53 as I write this:

. . .Moderna is the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company that perfected messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic. Following the announcement that Moderna was developing a hantavirus vaccine using this same technology, the drugmaker's stock rose from $49 on May 7 to $55 the next day. But it is important to note that Moderna did not begin work on immunization in the wake of the outbreak at MV Hondius. In fact, the drugmaker undertook this collaborative project with VIC-K in 2023. . . .

It has come in a bit -- but this is why I see it as a long term must have, in a life-science portfolio. As I've long said -- this is (very conservatively). . . an $85 plus dollar stock, right now -- even without an approved mRNA hanta- vaccine.

Much more, once approved -- so. . . perhaps a ~$100 stock, once again, by next year(?). We shall see. Onward.

नमस्ते

Hantavirus "Positives" -- From The Ship -- Are Now Appearing In The USA, and France. Where, Next?

Well, this is discouraging. Recall that the newer (mRNA) vaccine candidate for hantavirus. . . is not approved yet, anywhere in the Western world. And the last-gen version [inactivated / killed virus approach] is only approved in. . . China.

That Chinese one has been pretty safe and effective in mainland China, but seems to only work well on Asian strains of hantavirus. So, having even one case in France, on the ground -- or in the US interior. . . is disconcerting, given the relatively-highly lethal nature of it.

That said, both of these "positives" are showing only the mildest of symptoms, are isolated, and are getting tip top care. So it is unlikely to escape these very robust containment measures. Here's the latest, from the Beeb:

. . .An American and a French national who have returned to their home countries having left a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of hantavirus have tested positive, authorities say.

In total seven cases of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius have been confirmed, with two other cases suspected, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

The US health department said a second American national on the repatriation flight had also shown mild symptoms, adding that both passengers had travelled back in "biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution. . . ."

Do be very vigilant -- and if people are coughing on your international flights. . . do break out an n95 mask -- and use it. Grin -- it may not be 100% effective, but it cannot hurt. Onward.

नमस्ते

Our New Series: A First Look, At How Oracle's Lobby Spend Compares To Amazon's -- And US Pharma, Generally...

Mostly on a whim, we decided this morning to look at what Ellison's Oracle lobbies about, and how much the company throws at the Congress. [We will shortly have a follow-up item, about how it has treated the 10,000 to 15,000 employees it chose to lay off this year.]

And since -- of late -- Oracle has been more brutish with its workforce moves than even ugly Amazon. . . I thought we'd look at how it continues -- like Amazon -- to try to remove worker protections from the long standing federal law. Damn. Here's what Larry's company jaw-boned about in Q1 2026 (compared to Amazon, and in the bottom graphic, to mid-tier -- or mega -- pharma):

. . .[On Budgeting:] Issues related to Defense Appropriations, specifically IT modernization and oversight at the Department of War; Issues related to government-wide IT modernization and cloud adoption, including issues related to modernization of Department of War business systems; Issues related to government certification and cybersecurity standards for Cloud Service Providers; Issues and provisions related to Appropriations for electronic health records systems and implementation of Department of Veterans Affairs and Indian Health Service electronic health record systems. . . .

[US House & Senate:] E.O. 14306 - Sustaining Select Efforts to Strengthen the Nation's Cybersecurity and Amending Executive Order 13694 and Executive Order 14144; E.O. 14320 - Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack; E.O. 14318 - Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure; E.O. 14363 - Launching the Genesis Mission; H.R. 5885/S. 3150 - Guaranteeing Access and Innovation for National Artificial Intelligence Act of 2025 (GAIN AI Act of 2025); H.R. 2683 - Remote Access Security Act; H.R. 6875 - AI Overwatch; Issues related to IT modernization, procurement, services, trade, licensing and security and cybersecurity standards in the software development and hardware industry; Issues related to Artificial Intelligence Action Plan; Issues related to global competitiveness and the roles of government agencies in these issues; Issues related to cloud computing and cloud security, adoption, and migration; Issues related to data centers; Issues related to government cloud security standards; Issues related to technology platforms, including consumer data privacy and protection, data transfer, interoperability, portability, and data valuation; Issues related to data governance; Issues relating to telecommunications and network security; Issues relating to supply chain security, privacy, and the Internet of Things; Issues related to Artificial Intelligence and machine learning innovation policy, research, development, and related export controls; Issues related to government procurement and standards for multi-cloud acquisition; Issues related to Rare Earths supply chain. . . .

[US Defense:] Issues relating to IT procurement, modernization, acquisition, oversight and transparency; Issues related to cloud adoption; Issues related to Artificial Intelligence Action Plan; Issues related to defense, information systems, information security, and government cybersecurity regulations; Issues related to Department of War and veteran health facilities; Issues related to Department of War adoption of electronic health records, veteran's health and population health; Issues related to supply chain security and semiconductors; Issues related to Artificial Intelligence and machine learning innovation policy, research, and development; Issues related to Airspace Management. . . .

[At 1600 Penn.:] E.O. 14306 - Sustaining Select Efforts to Strengthen the Nation's Cybersecurity and Amending Executive Order 13694 and Executive Order 14144; E.O. 14179 - Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence; Issues related to government IT modernization, procurement, and workforce; Issues related to policy, cybersecurity, and security standards related to IT and cloud services procurement by government agencies; Issues related to government software development and licensing; Issues related to Artificial Intelligence Action Plan; Issues relating to Artificial Intelligence and machine learning innovation policy, research, development, and related export controls. . . .

[At Homeland Security:] Issues related to IT modernization, software development, procurement, cloud adoption, and security;

Issues related to global competitiveness in IT software, hardware, services, and other online services and the roles of government agencies and industry in these issues; Issues related to Artificial Intelligence and machine learning innovation policy, research, and development; Issues related to Airspace Management. . . .

[At US Dept. of State:] Issues relating to government cloud procurement and adoption, IT and data center modernization, software assurance, artificial intelligence, and IT supply chain security; Issues relating to Artificial Intelligence and machine learning innovation policy, research, development, and related export controls. . . .

[On Foreign Trade Policy:] E.O. 14320 - Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack; Issues related to trade relations, including digital trade, data governance, tariffs, and intellectual property policy in trade agreements; Issues relating to Artificial Intelligence and related export controls. . . .

[On Veterans' Affairs:] H.R. 7280 - Veteran Data Accountability for Third-party Actors Act (Veteran DATA Act); Issues related to Department of Veterans Affairs adoption and oversight of Electronic Health Records; Issues related to Electronic Health Record modernization and implementation; Issues related to IT and supply chain modernization. . . .

[At US Dept. of Justice:] Issues related to Indian Health Services modernization of [nationwide offender] electronic health records systems. . . .

[At Dept. of Education:] Issues related to the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. . . .

[At The EPA:] Issues related to Artificial Intelligence data centers; Issues related to Artificial Intelligence Action Plan. . . .

As you can readily see -- Oracle has its hands all over the federal government machinery -- bending the same to its will. Dammit. Onward, resolutely, just the same -- on a sunny crisp Spring Monday -- lakeside bike riding next!

नमस्ते

The Specious Fitton Suit, Filed Against Reparations, In Evanston -- Is A Dead Letter. The City Has Answered Whilst I Was In The Rockies...

Earlier in March, the Chicago USDC Judge Kness ruled that these Fitton affiliated jokers could be subject to discovery, about where they live -- to prove they have no standing to even reach the courthouse door, to bring this suit, and thus the court will dump them.

Now that -- as of Friday past, the city's Answer-at-Law has been filed -- the city may order up depositions of each named plaintiff, and force them to answer under oath whether they ever lived in the city. If they were aware that the city, until 1969 had a "red-lining" ordinance that prohibited selling homes to people of color, in certain neighborhoods in that city. [In '69, my mother in law passed an ordinance outlawing this reprehensible practice -- but it was enforced prior thereto by law. Thus proof of discrimination on race was embedded in the municipal code, and enforced by the revocation of brokerage licenses -- in the case of attempted transgressions. Deeds would not be recorded, for completed sales. These are all facts of the historical record here.] And Fitton, and his jokers -- think that they may erase these actual facts -- with lies, and play the whyte victims, while living in god-knows-where / Florida, and elsewhere. [What a laughable handful of hapless "crisis actors".] The idea that these odious, immoral strangers should have any say, here (without paying real estate taxes, or even living here and paying sales taxes) in what we -- and our civic leaders -- have voted to do here, is. . . preposterous.

So. . . most of all, the sworn depos will prove these morons cannot even suggest they ever would be eligible -- since none of their ancestors would have been harmed by the pre-1969 laws. Because none of them lived here, and none were. . . Black. Or Brown. Or Yellow.

So this whole nonsense "whyte entitlement federal suit" is completely. . . upside down. It will be gone, and just as soon as these people are put under oath. Then each of them will be jointly and severally liable to pay my city's out of pocket legal fees and expenses, due to their bad faith abuse of the the federal court system -- for racist / political talking points. Thus -- the conclusion of the Answer, as filed:

. . .Defendant City of Evanston respectfully requests that this Court:

1. Deny class certification;

2. Enter judgment in favor of Evanston on all claims;

3. Deny all relief requested by Plaintiffs, including declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and damages;

4. Award Evanston its costs and attorney’s fees; and

5. Grant such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

Dated: May 8, 2026. . . .

All the best, to all the mothers -- far and wide. . . smile.

नमस्ते

RAMSES -- A Collabo Between JAXA -- Watching 2029 Apophis Close Flyby -- From Space!

We will (as a global planetary science community) learn much -- both about the asteroid itself, which poses no collision threat to Earth -- and about planetary defense, here -- come 2029.

Heres' the ESA.int update, on this 2029 mission:

. . .Apophis, a 375-metre-wide asteroid, will safely pass Earth at a distance of less than 32 000 kilometres. For a few hours, Apophis will be closer than satellites in geostationary orbit and visible to the naked eye from Europe and Africa.

Space agencies have sent a number of spacecraft to asteroids, but we have never had a mission at an asteroid as it sweeps past a planet. This grand natural experiment offers a unique opportunity to study in real time how an asteroid responds to a strong external force – and the European Space Agency aims to have a front-row seat.

To this end, ESA’s Space Safety Programme has proposed the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses). If approved, Ramses would launch a year ahead of the Apophis flyby, travelling through space to rendezvous with the asteroid months before its encounter with Earth.

Ramses would use a suite of scientific instruments to measure Apophis’s size, shape, composition, rotation and trajectory as it is pulled and stretched by Earth’s gravity. It would also deploy two smaller spacecraft at the asteroid to study Apophis up-close.

Apophis poses no danger to Earth during the flyby, but an asteroid of this size passes this close to our planet only once every roughly seven thousand years. By seizing this exceptionally rare opportunity to study an asteroid before, during, and after a planetary encounter, Ramses would help us prepare for the day that we may need to deflect a hazardous object on a collision course with Earth. . . .

Go now,and be kind to your mother -- the Earth:



नमस्ते

17 US Hondius/Hantavirus Ship Passengers To Isolate In… Omaha, Nebraska.

I think we now have an archive of about seven stories on this narrative -- in just the past two weeks. The rapidly unfolding viral outbreak -- coupled to the lethality of it all -- has made for a tragic and compelling throughline here, all in one.

Here is the latest from the Wa Po:

. . .Public health officials in the U.S. outlined their plans to transport and monitor the 17 American passengers set to disembark from a cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak, indicating on Saturday that the goal is to send them home to self-isolate after an initial assessment at a federal quarantine facility in Nebraska.

Three cruise passengers who were aboard the polar expedition ship Hondius have died in recent weeks. As of Saturday, eight cases of the hantavirus linked to the ship are suspected, with five cases confirmed by testing. The ship is on its way to dock in Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands. . . .

Now you know -- back in the Chi's warmth, and a happy Mother's Day, to all. . . smile.

नमस्ते

No Cases In US Yet, But Additional Air Passenger In Spain Now Has Hantavirus, After Being Seated Near Another Case...

Anyone who was seated withing three rows of the Hantivirus passenger who flew to Joberg, SA -- and then died. . . needs to be contacted, and tested. . . and possibly isolated.

So far -- no one in the three US states of Arizona, California and Georgia (where all US passengers landed into) have shown symptoms -- but they too are being monitored by health authorities. Here's the latest:

. . .More details have emerged about the latest suspected case of hantavirus, announced by the Spanish health minister on Friday afternoon.

According to Reuters, Spain’s Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla told reporters that the woman was a passenger on the same flight as a patient who died in Johannesburg after traveling on the cruise ship and contracting the virus.

Padilla said the pair were seated two rows apart and that contact between them was brief.

The woman’s symptoms were described as coughing and fatigue. Padilla said that she was now isolating in a hospital and authorities were tracking down people she had come into contact with. . . .

“The Dutch flight attendant on the flight, who had reported symptoms and was tested, has tested negative for hantavirus,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said at a briefing Friday. “So that’s very good news. . . .”

Now you know -- flying back out of the high mountains mid-morning tomorrow. Grin. . . do be careful in your Summer / Fall European jet travels. Onward.

नमस्ते

The Saudis Have Denied US Airspace Access — Due To Tangerine’s Endless Gaffes, And Flip-Flops…

Today, a far right frother wondered aloud how we’d ever know what really might be the deal, in Iran.

A few days earlier, another frother wondered “what Trump was thinking”.

It turns out. . . he wasn’t.

Thinking, that is.

And it is plain he hasn’t a single competent foreign policy advisor — or equally probable, he’s not listening to anyone who is competent.

Exhibit A for this proposition is. . . that our most steadfast ally in the region aside from Israel — the Saudis — have now denied US war planes access to Saudi airspace. This effectively makes relatively safe operations over Iran nearly impossible. It becomes nearly impossible to safely support longer range bombers — with the more agile, but shorter range jet fighters — unless we have access to Saudi airspace.

It takes a colossal amount of stupidity to ruin a relationship in the Gulf of this magnitude.

So thanks again, Donald Trump.

And I’ll note again, that none of these hard right frothy liars will call him out for what he’s done and doing, here: he is actively turning the entire region into a quagmire.

Purely as a result of malign idiocy.

“Heck of a job, there Brownie.”

Out.

नमस्ते

Keytruda® Is Global Dollar Revenue King, No More -- It Is Now The Lilly GLP-1 Weight-Loss Franchises... [Power Alley]

Welp. It seemed inevitable, as there are far more people (with money) who need to lose weight, than there are people with serious cancers (also with means), in the world.

To be sure, Merck will still rake in over $22 billion a year -- for many years, yet -- from the immuno-oncology franchises.

Congrats, Eli Lilly. Even so, I wonder about the long term effects of being on the GLP-1 franchises, for weight loss -- and what happens when someone on them for a decade or so. . . stops taking them. Here's a bit:

. . .Mounjaro^®: $8.66 billion in quarterly revenue, up 125%, fueled by international expansion, including the addition to China's National Reimbursed Drug List. . . .

Zepbound^®: $4.16 billion in U.S. revenue, up 80%. . . .

Volume across the business climbed 65%, even as realized prices fell 13% on rebates and access deals. . . .

[So. . .] Keytruda^® is King, no more. . . .

Onward -- smiling on a sparkling Rocky Mountain morning. . . as the "breakfast club" dropped by again this AM.

नमस्ते

Several MV Hondius Cruise Ship Passengers Being Monitored In Three States — For Hantavirus.

This is a prime example / case study -- as to why realistic, and evidence-based, viral/epidemic bioscience must be at the forefront of all public health decisions.

Overnight, The New York Times is reporting that people in California, Arizona and Georgia are being monitored, after they disembarked from the Dutch cruise ship -- and flew home. Here's that story -- and a bit of it:

. . .American officials said on Wednesday that residents in three states were being monitored for potential hantavirus infections after being aboard a Dutch cruise ship where there was a deadly outbreak of the virus. None of the people being monitored have shown signs of illness, the officials said.

Since April 11, three passengers who were aboard the MV Hondius have died and five other people have been sickened after showing symptoms of the hantavirus, a rare family of viruses carried by rodents. . . .

In the United States, at least three states are monitoring residents who were aboard the ship but have since returned home. . . .

The C.D.C. tracks hantavirus cases in the United States. There were 26 cases in 2023, the most recent year with available data. The center has tracked cases since 1993 and has counted a total of 890 in the country since then. . . .

Now you know -- and the single reason there is no data after 2023 here in the US. . . is due to Donald Trump 2.0.

He has essentially suppressed the reporting out of the federal government on all public health/pandemic issues. Dammit.

In better news, my baby girl (flying out of Mexico City!) -- up, into the mountains with me, by tonight. Woot!

Clear skies and the melting of ~16 inches of snow, up next! Excellent.

नमस्ते

More "Auditing" Underway, In Chicago -- Of Whether ICE/DHS Is Complying With 2018 Consent Decree -- On Protected Immigrants...

Here's the latest overnight update, from Judge Cumming's docket in Chicago.

Bovino is long gone -- but the damage he did is still being documented. He essentially "kidnapped" people who already had USDC Court ordered-protections, agreed to by Trump 1.0. That's deplorable -- and the "auditing" of ongoing compliance is now being conducted, here:

. . .MINUTE entry before the Honorable Jeffrey I Cummings:

In light of [Tangerine 2.0] defendants' agreement to conduct a randomized sampling of the arrest records of the individuals whose arrests were designated as "targeted" and to "accept plaintiffs' suggestion to select every third A−number from a descending list," [387], plaintiffs' motion to clarify [386] is terminated as withdrawn. . . .

Now you know -- and, about a foot down already here -- and still coming down -- but moderating. Grin -- time to break out the shovel. . . .

नमस्ते

Spain Will Screen The ~150 Passengers -- At The Canary Islands, But Now A Dozen Or So Are Considered Exposed...

This is, indeed, the only humane course of action -- the passengers must be checked and released.

And the Canary Islands provide a nice, and natural hard limit -- on how far any "contacts" infection might be spread. Good epidemic abatement bio-science.

Kudos to the Spanish government, for stepping up. The Hondius will now make port at Spain's Canary Islands. . . and there the passengers will be screened, as they disembark. Here's the latest from CBS:

. . .Spain has agreed to welcome the cruise ship at the center of a rare hantavirus outbreak, with three people now dead after coming down with the illness, according to the World Health Organization.

[A] Dutch woman, whose husband died onboard two weeks earlier, got off the boat with "gastrointestinal symptoms" on April 24 and died two days later, after her condition "deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg," the WHO said. "Contact tracing for passengers on the flight has been initiated," it added.

On Tuesday, the WHO's epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director, Maria Van Kerkhove, told journalists Spanish authorities "have said that they will welcome the ship to do a full investigation, a full epidemiologic investigation, full disinfection of the ship and of course. . . assess the risk of the passengers that are actually on board. . . ."

The agency said Tuesday that it's current plan is to evacuate two sick passengers to the Netherlands, then for the ship to continue on to Spain's Canary Islands. . . .

This is nice progress -- and backed by solid bio-science. Onward. Eighteen inches of new snow expected here by midday tomorrow -- Woot! [Though often these Late Spring Rockies Blizzards Die out, and turn to rain -- so we shall see. But we are. . . ready -- either way. Smile.]

नमस्ते

UPDATED: Cape Verde Harbor Master Has Barred MV Hondius From Docking There, Due To Hantavirus Outbreak Aboard Ship...

This (as an update to our story of last evening) is probably the right public health decision -- at least until the ship is very thoroughly disinfected, while still in open water, by company crews, with very strong chemical agents (ammonia / bleach and lots of scrubbing). I assume the other cruise passengers will be ferried to shore, and tested in isolation. We shall see.

But the ship itself, wisely, will remain a good distance from port -- until further notice.

[Housekeeping note: the local blogging forecast is for intermittent outages -- as the Rockies may well get six inches or more of new snow. . . after I land there, in about ten hours. Onward, for a quiet, contemplative mountain week ahead, it seems -- but good to be with my 91 year old mom, as she sinks more deeply into Alzheimer's.]

In any event, here is the UK Guardian's reporting on it all, this morning:

. . .Officials in Cape Verde have said they will not allow a cruise ship believed to be harbouring an outbreak of a rare respiratory virus to dock in its ports, after the deaths of three passengers onboard.

The statement on Monday came hours after global health officials said they were scrambling to investigate the suspected outbreak of hantavirus, a disease primarily found in rodents, on the cruise ship in the Atlantic.

The hantavirus is suspected of killing three people, including a married couple from the Netherlands, sickening at least two others on the ship and sending a 69-year-old British tourist to intensive care in South Africa.

Cape Verde health authorities said they had been monitoring the situation of the ship anchored off its coast and would not authorise its docking “with the aim of protecting national public health. . . .”

Do be careful out there -- and I might mention in passing that it is suspected that what killed Gene Hackman and his wife of many years, at their isolated New Mexico compound. . . was also hantavirus -- from rodent droppings, likely aerosolized, by sweeping up these dried feces, with all other house dust. As I say -- be careful. Especially in the Southwestern rural deserts.

नमस्ते

Six Fall Ill, On Atlantic Cruise, From Hantavirus -- There's A Vaccine, But Three Have Died, Already -- One Still In Intensive Care.

I am not a huge fan of unapproved vaccines, but this one is made from an inactivated (dead) hanta- strain of the virus, and has been in wide use in China for years. The mRNA / next-gen version is not yet in broad clinical trials.

So, unless you must sail this line, it might be best to claim on your travel insurance policy -- and skip this ride (especially if you are immuno-compromised). Here's the latest:

. . .Three people have died on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, the WHO said Sunday, one a confirmed case of hantavirus -- an illness usually transmitted to humans from rodents.

The outbreak occurred on the MV Hondius, travelling from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde.

"To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed, and there are five additional suspected cases," the World Health Organization told AFP.

"Of the six affected individuals, three have died and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa. . . ."

This may mean that if you absolutely must sail -- and are going to sail only on this cruise line -- you ought to get the vaccine (at the moment, only approved by the Chinese version of the FDA) -- and get it well before you board. Onward.

नमस्ते

A Potential New Path, For An Epstein-Barr Virus Eradication / Therapy, In Humans?

Only about one-in-ten adults do not carry Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in their systems. For most, it remains silent, their entire lives -- but for the unlucky few. . . it can lead to a host of cancers, Multiple Sclerosis and other life long debilitating diseases, most commonly appearing in later life.

So -- we're in the power alley, this morning -- and, we are happy to report on new research from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Washington. The teams have developed antibodies that target two proteins on the surface of EBV particles. In a mouse model, this was an extremely effective path to eradicating the viral loads. Here's that -- from ScienceAlert:

. . .When [monoclonal mice] were exposed to the two EBV proteins, gp350 and gp42, mouse cells triggered the precise immune response the researchers were looking for, thereby enabling precisely targeted antibodies.

Ultimately, the researchers isolated 10 new antibodies in the lab – two targeting gp350 and eight targeting gp42 – and, when tested in living mice, one of these antibodies showed particularly promising protection against EBV.

"Not only did we identify important antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus, but we also validated an innovative new approach for discovering protective antibodies against other pathogens," says pathobiologist Crystal Chhan. . . .

Without doubt, we are still a very long way from a working, FDA approved therapy for humans -- but this is a nice step forward -- for real bio-science. Onward, smiling -- that was a thrilling run for the roses, last evening. . . even though no tickets were cashed!

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[U: No Winners.] Derby Trivia! Run For Roses No. 152…

Here are my guesses -- and that is what these. . . be.

A full three hours before post:

. . .And truly, just for Derby prediction fun. . . .

My bets on the Derby are four horses to come in two places in either order (First or Second) -- Commandment, Renegade, Chief Wallabee and. . . Further Ado.

These are silk numbers -- the 1 horse, the 18 horse, the 6 horse and the 12. . .

You heard it here first!

And I still do have lots of cash in this app to spend so if you look -- and think you see a winner, just leave me a holler. . . in the comments (HAH!)

No juleps, just root beer for me -- woo hoo!. . .

Updated: it was an unexpected race, indeed. Great White threw his jockey to the turf — before even reaching the post and was a scratch — as they couldn’t settle him back down.

That delayed the start as all the mounts were then backed out of their slots, and given a moment to walk around and settle down. . . Once reloaded, a longshot broke from the very last place to win it all.

Ortiz did a masterful job of guiding an otherwise average horse — Golden Tempo —through the traffic, weaving, and dodging trouble. . . staying patient — and leaving himself in position out of the final turn, to make a dead ahead bolt, from eight wide. That gamble worked, and he won the roses. Great race!

There you have it -- and that photo is from 2014, when California Chrome did it all, above right. Full race now on YouTube:



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Close Out: End Of Series On Q1 2026 Lobby Spend -- Amazon's "Big Gorilla / Big Brother" Edition...

This closes the run of five posts -- but this time, in view of our immediately prior post, we will detail all the ways Bezos' company is lobbying the government -- for protections, as he clearly is snooping on all of us, and sharing that with. . . ICE, among others.

He wants the government to indemnify him, if any of us sue him, for filching our private data -- if we use his services, at AWS. Damn. See below:

. . .Issues related to broadband access and affordability, satellite communications, space safety, device accessibility, Section 230 reform, content moderation, online video, and the Universal Service Fund (USF). . . .

Issues related to intellectual property, including the NO FAKES Act (S. 1367), counterfeits, music licensing, and issues related to patent reform, International Trade Commission patent investigations, intermediary liability, and patent reform, including the RESTORE Patents Act (H.R. 1574 / S. 708), the Patent Eligibility Restoration (PERA) Act (H.R. 3152 / S. 1546), and the Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act (H.R. 3160 / S. 1553). . . .

Issues related to taxes, digital goods and services, renewable energy tax credits, and international and corporate taxation, including H.R. 1 - To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14. (P.L. 119-21), the United States-Taiwan Expedited Double Tax Relief Act (H.R. 33 / S. 199), and implementation of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (P.L. 115-97). . . .

Issues related to data protection, encryption, data retention, data breach notification, data security, cross border data flows, privacy, law enforcement access, fraud prevention, product safety related to the sale of counterfeit and/or stolen products, including the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (S. 1404 / H.R. 2853), and cloud computing. Issues related to artificial intelligence safety and research and development, including the CREATE AI Act (H.R. 2385). . . .

Issues related to cybersecurity, including critical infrastructure protection, payments security, cloud security, authentication, government procurement, cybersecurity incident reporting, and artificial intelligence, including implementation of the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 119-60), and the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (P.L. 118-159). . . .

Issues related to immigration, high-skilled immigration, and non-immigrant visas, including issues related to employment-based visas, green card backlog, and the STEM visa exemption provision. . . .

Issues related to US trade policy, including USMCA, the World Trade Organization, the World Customs Organization, China, country of origin labeling, US customs policy and procedures, US tariffs, foreign direct investment, issues related to domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research, export controls, sanctions, and supply chain, and other trade practices, including the COOL Online Act (S.294), and the ENFORCE Act (draft bill - no numbers). . . .

Issues related to IT systems improvements and cloud computing technology, including the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for Fiscal Year 2027 (draft bill - no numbers) and implementation of the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 119-60). . . .

Issues related to drones and air cargo, including implementation of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2024 (P.L. 118-63). . . .

Issues related to payment processing, corporate governance, debit reforms, financial innovation and technology, lending, gift cards, money transmission licensing, fraud prevention, payment authentication, data security, the CFPB open banking rule, the Credit Card Competition Act (draft bill - no numbers), implementation of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2026 (P.L. 119-75), and financial inclusion. . . .

Issues related to USDA SNAP online purchasing, including reauthorization of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-334), Electronic Benefit Transfer, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and food safety. . . .

Issues related to health information technology, Medicare, healthcare, pharmacy policy, and telehealth, the CONNECT for Health Act (S. 1261), and the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 5081 / S. 2709). . . .

Issues related to Amazon's Climate Pledge, including development of carbon-free energy sources, renewable energy deployment, grid infrastructure, stability, and storage; energy efficient standards; and the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act (SPEED Act) (H.R. 4776). . . .

There you have it -- Mr. Bezos wants to be able to use AWS to snoop (and is already in fact snooping, without a specific immunization / indemnification package, from Congress!) on Americans -- no doubt -- and then share his findings with DHS and ICE. He is a very bad. . . man.

Dammit. Onward.

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First Of Two, Today -- On Amazon: Labor Protests Amazon's Cooperation With ICE, In New York...

Our second installment will detail what Amazon lobbying efforts were about in Q1 of 2026. But first, got May Day '26, we offer a look at the labor protests it faces -- for cooperating with ICE.

AWS is helping power AI infused -- and due process violating -- summary deportations, often of the wrong humans -- and often, of people who are here lawfully, with papers. . . or are citizens, outright. Here's that story:

. . .Matt Multari has been driving for Amazon—and organizing with the Teamsters—for about a year and a half. His days are mostly spent delivering packages. But he thinks of his role as a worker-organizer as something much more historically significant than just maximizing delivery efficiency.

“After the Assyrians lost their state, they survived in their homeland of Iraq for thousands of years. After facing a genocide that forced them to flee that homeland, they went to Russia, and then to Iran, and then some of them went to New York. Now I’m here,” he said. “And I’d like to tell Amazon: f#ck you!”

. . .Amazon’s Web Services cloud-computing platform is more profitable than all the company’s retail operations combined. And AWS sells cloud-computing services to clients throughout the American government, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement: According to Forbes reporting, ICE spent at least $25 million on AWS during the second Trump administration. Amazon Web Services also holds contracts with Palantir, the surveillance-tech company behind much of ICE’s deportation operation. (And Amazon has served as an inspiration for ICE, too: acting ICE director Todd Lyons has said he wants deportations in the US to run “like Amazon Prime for human beings”). . . .

Indeed -- that's deplorable, Mr. Bezos. Now, onward to lobby spend, then.

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