Switzerland reduces F-35 buy after $610 million price hike

What are the Swiss people doing with F-35 supersonic stealth strike fighters? They have come a long way since the famous Wilhelm Tell crossbow! 😊

The Swiss people are known for being penny pinchers (but in a good way)!

Switzerland is such a tiny land locked country! Once the F-35 is in the air it is almost an air space violation to another country!

Caution: irony!

Switzerland reduces F-35 buy after $610 million price hike - Breaking Defense ""Due to foreseeable additional costs, it is not financially viable to maintain the originally planned number" of aircraft, said a Swiss statement."

33 Times More Deaths from Falls in One Year than in 24 Years of Mass Shootings in the US

Food for thought! What perspective to apply to mass shootings?

I did not double check the numbers. However, this might be in the correct ballpark!

Yes, every shooting death and and injury is terrible! The price of freedom is high (Second Amendment). However, we also have the freedom and responsibility to do everything humanly possible to prevent mass shootings as best as possible without infringing on the Second Amendment!

33 Times More Deaths from Falls in One Year than in 24 Years of Mass Shootings "FBI stats show 1,432 people were killed in “active shooter incidents” from 2000-2024, and the National Safety Council reported 47,026 people were killed in falls in 2023 alone."

Gavin Newsom ridicules Elon Musk over his trans-identifying godson — and Musk responds

Recommendable! Keep in mind this is about Musk's godson!

"'I assume you're referring to my son, Xavier, who has a tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus you push.'"

Gavin Newsom ridicules Elon Musk over his trans-identifying son — and Musk responds | Blaze Media "Musk blames an 'evil woke mind virus' for his soured relationship with his trans-identifying son."

Yale University: The massive, hidden burden of neurological disorders: More than half of Americans have a neurological disorder. Really!

Is this a solicitation for more business for doctors by the Yale School of Medicine? It has the appearance!

Or is this alarmism and hysteria? Quite possibly!

Junk science? You bet! E.g. they use dubious measurements like disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs)!

This article seems to mix willy nilly all kinds of things! Like throw all ingredients in the pot, stir it and see what comes out! A Mixtum compositum (hodge podge)!

The first author John Ney shows only a lifetime citation count of 3405 according to Google Scholar. This is very little for an author, who started publishing around 2003 and has published about 180 papers or more! 

From the keypoints and abstract:

"Key Points

Question  What is the US burden of disorders affecting the nervous system?

Findings  This cross-sectional study of the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study data found that, among the US population of 332.7 million, disorders affecting nervous system health impacted 180.3 million US individuals and were the top cause of disability, with 16.6 million disability-adjusted life-years. Conditions with the greatest collective disability were stroke, Alzheimer disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, and migraine.

Meaning  Given the high prevalence of disorders affecting the nervous system, the United States should prioritize efforts to combat these conditions with new prevention strategies, therapeutics, and focused rehabilitation.

Abstract

Importance

Nervous system health is a major contributor to population health, which is directly affected by neurological conditions and other disorders where nervous system damage occurs.

Objective

To quantify aggregated health loss from diseases affecting the nervous system, including neurological disorders; neurodevelopmental disorders; congenital, neonatal, and systemic illnesses; and infectious diseases in the United States.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This is a cross-sectional study of the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study data for nervous system health loss confined to the United States from 1990 through 2021 among the entire US population. Data analysis was performed from December 2021 to January 2025.

Exposure  Thirty-six unique conditions that cause harm to the nervous system.

Main Outcomes and Measures  Totals and age-standardized estimates with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), total attributable deaths (where applicable), and prevalence.

Results

In 2021, of the US population of 332.7 million, disorders affecting nervous system health impacted 180.3 million (95% UI, 170.7 million to 190.4 million) US individuals and were the top cause of disability, with 16.6 million (95% UI, 12.9 million to 20.9 million) DALYs.

The most prevalent conditions were tension-type headache [???] (121.9 million; 95% UI, 109.4 million to 135.1 million), migraine [???] (57.7 million; 95% UI, 50.1 million to 66.1 million), and diabetic neuropathy (17.1 million; 95% UI, 14.4 million to 19.9 million).

Conditions with the greatest collective disability were stroke (3.9 million DALYs; 95% UI, 3.5 million to 4.2 million DALYs), Alzheimer disease and other dementias (3.3 million DALYs; 95% UI, 1.6 million to 6.9 million DALYs), diabetic neuropathy (2.2 million DALYs; 95% UI, 1.5 million to 3.0 million DALYs), and migraine (2.1 million DALYs; 95% UI, 0.4 million to 4.6 million DALYs).

Compared with age-standardized metrics in 1990, the prevalence of disorders affecting the nervous system was nearly identical (−0.2%; 95% UI, −1.5% to 1.9%), with decreased attributable deaths (−14.6%; 95% UI, −18.3% to −11.3%) but increased YLDs (9.8%; 95% UI, 4.6% to 16.6%).

By state, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana had the largest age-standardized DALY rates, while New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey had the smallest.

Conclusions and Relevance

Disorders affecting the nervous system are highly prevalent and cause disability for millions of US individuals, with reduced mortality leading to more YLDS. The United States should prioritize efforts to combat these conditions with development and implementation of new and effective prevention strategies, therapeutics, and focused rehabilitation."

The massive, hidden burden of neurological disorders | Yale News "A new Yale study finds that more than half of Americans have a neurological disorder — and many don’t realize it. In a Q&A, study author John Ney explains why these disorders are so common and the risks they pose."

US Burden of Disorders Affecting the Nervous System From the Global Burden of Disease 2021 Study (open access)

First author of study John Ney. What neurological disorders may he have and how often did he "blow off warning signs"? 😊

American Science, Shattered by President Trump: Special report on research funding cuts. Really!

This seems to be one of the latest favorite themes of leftist demagogues!

The Trump Derangement Syndrome is rapidly getting worse and there are still three years left in his second term. Unhinged and hilarious!

"The Trump administration has, with shocking speed [???], ripped up the longstanding social contract [???] that existed between scientists and the federal government. For nearly all U.S. researchers, the last 10 months have revealed that the research enterprise that catapulted the country to the technological fore was much more brittle than expected. This multipart series explores how the administration's actions in 2025 have disrupted labs, upended lives, and delayed discoveries."

American Science, Shattered: Special report on research funding cuts "An eight-decade partnership between universities and the federal government made U.S. science preeminent. It took Trump less than a year to shred that crucial alliance."

Will the Thai Canal finally be built? How eager is China? Will Japan support it?

I must admit either I forgot or I never heard of this major civil engineering project that could well compete with the Panama Canal or Suez Canal!

"The Thai Canal .. also known as the Kra Canal ... or the Kra Isthmus Canal ..., is any of several proposals for a canal that would connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea across the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand. Such a canal is suggested to significantly reduce travel times through heavily-navigated trade routes.

The canal would provide an alternative to transit through the Strait of Malacca and shorten transit for shipments of oil to Japan and China by 1,200 km. China refers to it as part of its 21st century maritime Silk Road. Proposals, as of 2015, measure 102 kilometres long, 400 meters wide and 25 meters deep. ...

A canal through the Kra Isthmus, which would shorten shipping times around Asia, was suggested as early as 1677. Thai King Narai asked the French engineer de Lamar to survey the possibility of building a waterway to connect Songkhla with Marid (now Myanmar), but the idea was discarded as impractical with the technology of that time. ..."

Thai Canal - Wikipedia

Credits: Thailands Jahrhundertentscheidung

Source

God, forgive them for they know not what they do

The famous last words of Jesus on the cross (except the Bible reads Father instead of God)!

These wise words have ever impressed me since my childhood!

My late parents also used to quote these wise words occasionally when a situation arose.

I am not an expert in world religions, but I (mistakenly?) believe these words also distinguish Christianity from some other religions.

How Euthanasia Gained Foothold in Hospice Care. Really!

Food for thought! What about the Hippocratic Oath?

Is term euthanasia or assisted suicide (may depend on your ideological preference)? Are they both interchangeable or equivalent?
According to Google: "The main difference is who performs the final act: euthanasia involves a doctor or another person administering a lethal dose of medication (active, direct act by another). Physician-assisted suicide (or medical aid-in-dying) involves a doctor prescribing the lethal medication, but the patient must self-administer it."

Do individuals have the freedom or are they allowed to end their life when choose to do so, because of old age or suffering?

Should hospice care strictly separated from euthanasia? Or to what extent?

What safeguards are needed or in place to e.g. prevent bad actors from killing hospice patients?

I recently blogged here that e.g. the Kessler Twins both committed assisted suicide together in 2025 at age 89. The list of prominent individuals who chose euthanasia is getting longer (caveat: I did not double check every name).

Caveat: I did not read the article.

"There has been a dangerous shift in medicine over the years. Priorities have moved from curing disease to managing death. Those of us of a certain age can well remember watching television shows and movies depicting doctors and nurses doing everything possible to save lives. Until relatively recent times, this is how the medical profession was seen.  ..."

How Euthanasia Gained Foothold in Hospice Care | National Review "The concept of hospice was originally sold to the public as a better way to treat patients with terminal disease. The mission has been hijacked and turned on its head."

On Kimi Linear: An Expressive, Efficient Attention Architecture

Recommendable! Mostly well written! Contains e.g. some nice tables! The latest from the Chinese company Moonshot AI!

From the abstract:

"We introduce Kimi Linear, a hybrid linear attention architecture that, for the first time, outperforms full attention under fair comparisons across various scenarios -- including short-context, long-context, and reinforcement learning (RL) scaling regimes.

At its core lies Kimi Delta Attention (KDA), an expressive linear attention module that extends Gated DeltaNet with a finer-grained gating mechanism, enabling more effective use of limited finite-state RNN memory. Our bespoke chunkwise algorithm achieves high hardware efficiency through a specialized variant of the Diagonal-Plus-Low-Rank (DPLR) transition matrices, which substantially reduces computation compared to the general DPLR formulation while remaining more consistent with the classical delta rule.

We pretrain a Kimi Linear model with 3B activated parameters and 48B total parameters, based on a layerwise hybrid of KDA and Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA). Our experiments show that with an identical training recipe, Kimi Linear outperforms full MLA with a sizeable margin across all evaluated tasks, while reducing KV cache usage by up to 75% and achieving up to 6 times decoding throughput for a 1M context. These results demonstrate that Kimi Linear can be a drop-in replacement for full attention architectures with superior performance and efficiency, including tasks with longer input and output lengths.

To support further research, we open-source the KDA kernel and vLLM implementations, and release the pre-trained and instruction-tuned model checkpoints."

[2510.26692] Kimi Linear: An Expressive, Efficient Attention Architecture

Linux Foundation Announces the Formation of the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF)

Good news! Linux is an excellent open and free operating system that has evolved and improved for decades!

"With founding contributions from Anthropic, Block, and OpenAI, the AAIF unites cutting-edge technology and open source governance to shape the future of open and accessible AI

Summary

• The Linux Foundation announced the formation of the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) with founding contributions of leading technical projects including Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), Block’s goose, and OpenAI’s AGENTS.md.
• The AAIF provides a neutral, open foundation to ensure agentic AI evolves transparently and collaboratively.
• MCP is the universal standard protocol for connecting AI models to tools, data and applications; goose is an open source, local-first AI agent framework that combines language models, extensible tools, and standardized MCP-based integration; AGENTS.md is a simple, universal standard that gives AI coding agents a consistent source of project-specific guidance needed to operate reliably across different repositories and toolchains.
• Platinum members include Amazon Web Services, Anthropic, Block, Bloomberg, Cloudflare, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI.

...

 The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the formation of the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF), and founding contributions of three leading projects driving innovation in open source AI; Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), Block’s goose, and OpenAI’s AGENTS.md."

Linux Foundation Announces the Formation of the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF), Anchored by New Project Contributions Including Model Context Protocol (MCP), goose and AGENTS.md – Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF)

Credits: Data Points newsletter

Microsoft buys 3.6M metric tons of carbon removal from bioenergy plant. Really!

What a waste of money! Plant some more trees!

"Microsoft announced Thursday it would buy 3.6 million carbon removal credits from a biofuels plant in Louisiana owned by C2X. The plant, which is slated to begin operating in 2029, will process forestry waste into methanol, which can be used to power ships and planes and as a raw material for chemical manufacturing. Altogether, the facility will produce more than 500,000 metric tons of methanol. About 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide will be captured and stored, likely underground. ..."

Microsoft buys 3.6M metric tons of carbon removal from bioenergy plant | TechCrunch

Sperm donor with a cancer-causing mutation fathered nearly 200 children, some of the children have already died

Serious stuff! Food for thought! Apparently, this particular genetic mutation was known since 2023!

Were the would be parents informed about how many children were fathered by the same donor? Would this information be provided if a would be parent asks about it?

How good is the screening of donor semen and donor health?

Had I learnt that the same donor has already fathered dozens or even more than 100 children, I would have had some second thoughts as a would be parent.

"In an alarming case that researchers say should spark regulatory changes, a sperm donor who unknowingly carried a cancer-causing genetic mutation has fathered at least 197 children across Europe. According to an investigation published earlier this week by a group of 14 European news organizations, some children have already died.

The donor is reportedly healthy, but before he was born, some of his cells mutated, damaging a gene known as TP53. This gene encodes what’s known as a tumor suppressor protein, which regulates how quickly cells grow and divide. People missing a functional version of that gene are at risk of Li-Fraumeni syndrome, an inherited disorder that greatly increases the risk of developing cancer, particularly during childhood. ...

The new investigation builds on work by cancer geneticist Edwige Kasper, who learned in 2023 of a sperm donor with a “variant of unknown significance” in TP53. ... At the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Genetics this past May, Kasper announced that the donor had fathered at least 67 children, some of whom had already developed leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. ..."

ScienceAdviser

National Review: Trump’s China Chip Deal & Sale of American National Security. Really!

This article is the editor's pick for today of the National Review!

Well, the chips (H200 AI chip) now allowed to be sold to China are not the latest and best chips ((H100/H200, B200 GPU)!

Trump’s China Chip Deal & Sale of American National Security | National Review "If letting China buy precious tech is detrimental to U.S. interests, that threat is not mitigated by allowing the Treasury to grab a quarter of the income."

Minnesota's new theme

 Source

Humiliated Putin is MUTED in disastrous speech to world leaders leaving tyrant fumbling

What a pathetic megalomaniac and war criminal!

Seema Anand: Rewriting India’s conversation on sex and intimacy

Recommendable! She is an expert on Kamasutra and is an acknowledged authority on Eastern Erotology. She does not seem to have a Wikipedia page. I think, the interviewer was not too great!

Art Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (Live)

Enjoy! I think live this song does not sound so good! Or is it the singer's age (about 54 at the time)? Apparently, Paul Simon is missing.

Would you donate your body to science?

Food for thought! Generally, not a bad idea! However, there are some ethical questions. What about organ harvesting! What about having you die instead of treating your, because your are a body donor?

Why Moldova May Reintegrate Transnistria Soon

Very recommendable! We will Putin the Terrible react? The Russian minority represents about 30% of the total population of Transnistria. Transnistria borders on the Ukraine. 

China Uses Fake Pornography to silence/discredit several Chinese female dissidents including refugees living in Western countries

Serious stuff! How nasty can the Communist Party of China be?

U.S. Army Hosts First Drone Warfighter Competition involving several countries in Germany Amid Modernization Push

NATO is catching up!

US House Speaker Johnson Joins Laura Ingraham

Recommendable! Among other things, Johnson gives some examples of the massive fraud going on with Obama Unaffordable Care act!

Iran arrests female Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2023 Narges Mohammadi

Bad news!

Gen Z Protests Force Bulgaria’s Government to Resign With Palki Sharma

Why are the Russian people not forcing the resignation of the megalomaniac and war criminal Putin the Terrible!

Immortality Race by entrepreneurs with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! What are dictators most worried about?

This is a reminder to humanity when dictators like Putin the Terrible, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un clamor for immortality (as mentioned in this video), then achieving near immortality allows also bad actors to live on.

At-Home Device to Treat Depression: Is This the Future of Mental Health? with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable! At least it is fairly harmless and if it helps some individuals the better! What else might be treatable in this way?

I have blogged here earlier today about this device.

Pakistan Calls Bangladesh's Founder Sheikh Mujib a "Traitor" with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! What a mess!

Germany summons Russian ambassador, accusing Moscow of repeated, systematic sabotage, cyberattacks, and interference since at least 2024

Serious stuff! Sanctions against Russian and German individuals pending.

Ist die Aufhebung des Verbrennerverbots 2025 durch die EU nur ein großer Schwindel?

NIUS berichtet genau das!

"... Ein klassisches Beispiel dafür, wie sich der Hauptstadtjournalismus zum willigen Erfüllungsgehilfen der Polit-Propaganda macht, ist die gestrige Berichterstattung zum Verbrenner-Aus-Wirrwarr aus Brüssel.

Natürlich hat die EU nicht das „Aus fürs Verbrenner-Aus beschlossen!“ Beschlossen wurde eine Regelung, die fast noch absurder ist als das totale Verbrenner-Verbot und die man Trabi-Regel nennen könnte.

Der CO2-Ausstoß muss nicht um 100 Prozent, sondern um 90 Prozent reduziert werden.

Bedeutet: Nur noch ein sehr kleiner Teil der Autos darf CO2 ausstoßen. Autos, die noch einen ordentlichen Verbrenner haben, werden künstlich brutal verknappt und dadurch sagenhaft teuer.

Wer ab 2035 noch ein richtiges Auto kaufen will, muss sich in einer Warteliste eintragen. Nach ein paar Jahren (wenn man es sich leisten kann) hat man vielleicht Glück und bekommt ein Auto zugeteilt.

Die EU tut wirklich alles dafür, den Kontinent in eine sozialistische Zone zu verwandeln – und die Medien begleiten es wohlwollend. Vielleicht müssen die zwangsverknappten Verbrenner zum Ausgleich ja mit dem subventionierten und trotzdem vollkommen überteuerten „grünen Stahl“ gebaut werden. ..."

Die größten Reformen (aber nur in des Kanzlers Kopf)

President Trump risks making a fool out of himself regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War

I am not following the current peace/cease fire agreement negotiations very closely or in great detail, but my impression so far is that President Trump is failing on this issue as the leader of the free world and as a peacemaker.

Putin the Terrible is a megalomaniac warmonger and war criminal. He should be indicted like the Nuremberg Trials!

Make no mistake, the Russo-Ukrainian War is already World War III for a long time by any other name given how many countries are involved on both sides.

It is good that President Trump is pushing the European countries and their militaries to take on more responsibility to contain and deter Putin the Terrible! But this is hardly enough!

Russia should be forced to give up all occupied territories of the Ukraine including Crimea (occupied since 2014). This is a sine qua non!

It should be only a matter of time that the Russian people will finally get rid of Putin the Terrible! Western countries should increase the pressure on Russia. Russian war casualties are estimated as a minimum of 500,000 and upwards of one million or more! What were these young Russian men dying or maimed for?

The Russo-Ukrainian War is World War III by any other name given how many countries are involved on both sides!

The Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons at the end of the Cold War for territorial integrity and security. Putin the Terrible, a former KGB agent, does not care!

Half of people arrested in London may have undiagnosed ADHD, study finds. Really!

Food for thought! Sounds like a serious case of overdiagnosis! How was ADHD defined? Call me skeptical!

Good news for defense attorneys!

Good news for criminals to plead not guilty for reasons of neurodevelopmental disorder!

Caveat: I did not read the entire article.

Half of people arrested in London may have undiagnosed ADHD, study finds | University of Cambridge "Offering screening for neurodivergence to people detained by the police could help ensure access to appropriate support and fairer treatment in the criminal justice system, say Cambridge researchers. A study from the team suggests that one in two individuals arrested and detained in London may have undiagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and one in 20 may have undiagnosed autism."

Limited government or limited and small government?

With President Trump in his second term this question has garnered new relevance!

As a classical liberal I am all for limited and small government with term limits for all elected representatives!

Unfortunately, since World War II Western democracies have shown a strong tendencies to overregulate, to pass too many laws (and rarely if ever remove obsolete laws), and to concentrated too much power with the central government.

Unfortunately, term limits for elected representatives in Western democracies is a taboo. Only the US President is term limited (there might be some other exceptions).

Devolution of power in Western countries from central to lower levels of government is also long overdue reform!

Why Blogger.com sucks!

I have been blogging for many years on Blogger.com. Sure it free to use, but I would not mind to pay for it to have better service and features. In the past, I have submitted some suggestions for improvement, but they were ignored. 

Reasons:

1. You can not configure your default font! It means for every blog post I have to manually change from the default font, I don't like to Arial. Very annoying! This should be a configuration setting for your blog!
2. You can not configure the default behavior of hyperlinks (I prefer to open it in a separate window/tab of the browser)! So every time I insert a hyperlink, I have to manually change the default behavior from opening the link in the same browser tab to open it in a new tab. Very annoying! This should be a configuration setting for your blog!
3. There is no label manager available. Manually managing the labels is tedious, error prone etc. Very annoying!
4. Several months ago or so Blogger.com completely changed how you can backup your blog. There is no option e.g. to choose only text! The new feature is awful it generates several two gigabyte large ZIP files. Previously it was much easier and straightforward! 

Humans rank between meerkats and beavers in monogamy ‘league table’ while chimpanzees are not very monogamous

Amazing stuff!

"Humans are far closer to meerkats and beavers for levels of exclusive mating than we are to most of our primate cousins, according to a new University of Cambridge study that includes a table ranking monogamy rates in various species of mammal. ...

The study ... has humans at an overall 66% rate for full siblings, placing us seventh of eleven species in the study considered socially monogamous and preferring long-term pair bonds.

Meerkats come in at a 60% full-sibling rate, while beavers just beat humans for monogamy with a 73% rate. ...

Mountain gorillas manage a 6% full sibling rate, while chimpanzees come in at just 4% – on a par with dolphins. ..."

From the abstract:

"Monogamy has been argued to have played an important role in human evolution and, across animals more generally, evolutionary transitions to highly cooperative societies have been far more likely to occur in monogamous species, raising the possibility that this may have also been the case for humans.

However, the extent to which we can consider monogamy to be the typical human mating system is subject to debate.

Here, I provide comparative context on human mating behaviour by comparing the distribution of sibling types (full siblings versus half-siblings) across more than 100 human societies with equivalent data from 34 non-human mammal species. While cross-culturally variable, rates of full siblings in humans cluster closely with rates seen among socially monogamous mammals and fall consistently above the range seen in non-monogamous mammals.

Although the human data is demonstrative of considerable cross-cultural diversity in marriage and mating practices, the overall high frequency of full siblings is consistent with the characterization of monogamy as the modal mating system for humans."

Humans rank between meerkats and beavers in monogamy ‘league table’ "The first study to analyse rates of full vs half siblings in a range of mammals provides new evidence for monogamous behaviour in humans compared to other animals."

Human monogamy in mammalian context (open access)

Hundreds of Porsche owners across Russia reported that their luxury vehicles suddenly refused to start

Was this a sabotage act by the Ukrainian intelligence service?

When will the lethargic, apathetic Russian Slav(e)s/Serfs finally get rid of their last tsar, the megalomaniac, warmonger and war criminal Putin the Terrible! Please Russian people make the world a better, more peaceful place again!

"Hundreds of Porsche owners in Russia reported that their luxury vehicles suddenly refused to start after something severed the connection between the cars’ vehicle tracking systems and satellites, activating engine immobilizers. No hacker group has claimed responsibility yet."

"Hundreds of Porsche vehicles across Russia have been rendered undriveable after a failure in their factory-installed satellite security system, according to reports from owners and dealerships.

Drivers in Moscow, Krasnodar and other cities began reporting sudden engine shutdowns and fuel-delivery blockages last week, effectively immobilizing their vehicles. ..."

Friday, December 12, 2025 - Join The Flyover

Hundreds of Porsche Owners in Russia Unable to Start Cars After System Failure (Moscow Times)

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first at-home brain stimulation headset for depression made by a Swedish company

Good news! Apparently, this device has been around for at least two years, but only approved now!

"... delivering gentle electrical currents to regulate mood as an alternative to antidepressants with side effects. ..."

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Flow Neuroscience's at-home brain stimulation device to treat depression, offering an alternative to typical antidepressants that can cause side effects with long-term use, the company said on Thursday. ...

Flow's FL-100 delivers a gentle electrical current to the part of the brain that regulates mood and is designed for home use under remote supervision. It is the first such device to be approved in the U.S.

The device is cleared to treat moderate to severe major depressive disorders in adults aged 18 and older, as a standalone treatment or alongside other treatments, who are not considered resistant to medication.

Flow plans to launch the device in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2026 as a prescription-only treatment.

The company's CEO Erin Lee told Reuters the company is targeting a U.S. retail price between $500 and $800. ..."

Friday, December 12, 2025 - Join The Flyover

US FDA approves first at-home device for depression

Source

Professor goes viral in TikTok challenge video. Really!

His eyes are not covered! He probably should have been in a separate room, where can only listen to the music and nothing else!

Peabody professor Amit Peled goes viral in TikTok challenge video | Hub "With 2.1 million views on Instagram and 1.3 million views on TikTok, Peled's ability to recognize his cello students by sound alone has impressed the Internet"

SEC's Commissioner Crenshaw (D) Warns on Markets Turning into Casinos during a speech at The Brookings Institution. Really!

Serious stuff! Headline of the day!

Is she trying to trigger a stock market crash?

How President Trump might respond to that? He may have to fire her!

"Caroline Crenshaw, commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, spoke about the future of financial regulation at The Brookings Institution in Washington, DC on 11 December 2025. She is the only commissioner who is a Democrat and said her voice has become one of “ubiquitous dissent.”

“It’s been unsettling to see how precipitously one commission is willing to undo the work of the commission that came before, all without a single notice and comment rule making to date,” she said. “The commission has also been shrouding its policy making in darkness shunning public comment, and instead relying on hidden voices to drive its agenda in a mad dash to implement its policy preferences.”

She described the regulator’s approach as treating investors like “silly children to be ignored” rather than fully formed persons with ideas and concerns worth hearing.

The fundamental precepts upon which U.S  markets are built are being eroded and that the core the country’s intricate market structure is under attack, according to Crenshaw. ...

“Instead of safeguarding our markets for investors to fund their retirements in safe and sustainable ways, we are moving in a direction where markets start to look like casinos,” she said. “The problem with casinos is that in the long run, the house always wins.” ..."

SEC's Crenshaw Warns on Markets Turning into Casinos - Markets Media

Caroline Crenshaw (Source)

Heat-seeking beetles drawn to plants that glow in infrared

Amazing stuff!

Unfortunately, Google and Bing did not find any image of the antennae of these beetles! Very disappointing in the age of AI! I have also looked at least at half a dozen different articles about this subject, but none of the articles had any such images.

"To attract their pollinators, plants have long produced vivid flowers—but the [plants were not] always so colorful. Long before flowers arose and the first bees and butterflies flitted about, palmlike plants called cycads offered a different kind of lure to insects: cones that heat up to act as thermal beacons to their beetle pollinators.

Now, scientists have discovered that beetles detect these beacons with tiny infrared sensors in their antennae. ... that infrared radiation attracts these beetle pollinators.

Plants have evolved the ability to produce heat about a dozen times, always in their reproductive structures. The heat can be considerable. To attract pollinators in late winter, the eastern skunk cabbage raises its temperature by more than 30°C. Naomi Pierce, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University, recalls seeing cycads at night for the first time with an infrared camera.  ..."

From the editor's summary and abstract:

"Editor’s summary

Plants have evolved an astonishing repertoire of signals to lure pollinators. Although color and scent are well-established pollination signals, some plants also produce heat. Valencia-Montoya et al. discovered that plant-produced heat is an early pollination signal and describe the molecular basis of both heat generation in cycads and heat sensing in beetle antennae (see the Perspective by Glover and Webb). By integrating detailed molecular analysis with field documentation of pollination, this study reveals an ancient sensory channel in plant-pollinator communication and contributes to elucidating the early evolution of pollination. ...

Abstract

Color and scent are well-known pollinator cues. Some plants also produce heat, but its role remains unclear.

Here, we report that plant-generated thermal infrared radiation serves as a pollination signal and describe the underlying mechanisms of heat production and infrared detection.

Mitochondrial adaptations heat plant reproductive structures in a circadian pattern, radiating infrared that is sufficient to attract beetle pollinators.

Beetle antennae contain infrared-activated neurons with thermosensitive ion channels that are structurally tuned to match host plant thermogenesis. Comparative analyses revealed that infrared is among the earliest pollination signals, and indicate a deep-time transition from infrared-based to color-dominated signaling in flowering plants.

Our findings uncover an ancient sensory modality shaping the early evolution of pollination, one of the world’s most vital processes linking plants and animals."

Heat-seeking beetles drawn to plants that glow in infrared | Science | AAAS "Pollinators’ antennae act like thermal cameras to spot self-heating plants"

Infrared radiation is an ancient pollination signal (no public access)

A thermal image of two male cones of the cycad Zamia furfuracea. The cones heat up during pollen release. Some areas of the cones can heat differentially, and these patterns serve as pollination guides. (Source)

Study explains myocarditis link with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines

Since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has become the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services there have been many debates about the pros and cons of vaccination! There is often an almost religious fervor involved in these debates. However, questioning vaccines or vaccinations is healthy!

Fact is vaccines and vaccinations are not per se harmless irrespective of the great benefits from vaccinations! It depends on the circumstances, risk factors, the individual etc. I just blogged e.g. here about Hepatitis B vaccinations for babies.

Let's not forget vaccines are big business! Some of the proponents of vaccines/vaccinations may have vested interests or ulterior motives!

"In brief

• Stanford researchers identified CXCL10 and IFN-gamma as immune proteins linked to myocarditis caused by mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
• Myocarditis risk from COVID-19 infection is significantly higher than from mRNA vaccines, highlighting the vaccines' overall benefits.
• The dietary supplement genistein may help mitigate vaccine-induced heart inflammation, warranting further research into its protective potential.

..."

Study explains myocarditis link with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines | Stanford Report "New research identifies two substances secreted by immune cells as contributors to myocarditis among mRNA COVID-19 vaccine recipients – and suggests a strategy for mitigating this effect."

Some 60% of the over 200 journalists/media workers killed in Gaza were part of terrorist organizations, 47 of them were members of Hamas military wing

I bet this is roughly correct! What better cover to have for coward mass killers!

"A comprehensive study released Thursday finds that about 60% of individuals identified as journalists killed during the war in Gaza were members of or affiliated with terrorist organizations, primarily Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The findings contradict claims by Hamas and various NGOs that 220–256 journalists were killed over two years of fighting.

The research, conducted by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, examined 266 media workers reported killed between October 7, 2023, and November 30, 2025. Of these, 157 - roughly 60% - were either members of terrorist groups or worked for outlets affiliated with them. At least 47 belonged to Hamas’s military wing and 45 were linked to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including 18 confirmed operatives. ..."

Gaza journalist deaths linked to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, study finds | The Jerusalem Post "“The issue of Hamas’s propaganda is a high priority, and it uses a lot of media outlets abroad to talk about it,” said Shlomo Mofaz."

More than half of the Palestinian journalists killed in the Gaza Strip during Operation Iron Swords were affiliated with terrorist organizations (Full version) (original news release)

Israel agrees to fund Gaza reconstruction 'for time being' at US demand

Good or bad news?

"Israel has agreed to fund the reconstruction of Gaza "for the time being" in response to mounting pressure from the United States, Ynet reported on Thursday, citing a senior diplomatic source.

The US has reportedly been pushing Israel to pay for repairing the destruction across Gaza caused by the past two years of fighting, according to Ynet, with the cost estimated to be in the billions.

This follows Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani saying that Qatar would not "write the check” to rebuild Gaza at The Doha Forum earlier this week.  ..."

Israel agrees to fund Gaza repairs | The Jerusalem Post

You can send live video to 911 from your Android phone in seconds now

Amazing stuff! How to become a life crime or event reporter in real time!

"ZDNET's key takeaways

• Android users can now share live video with 911 operators.
• The telecommunicator initiates the request.
• The feature is available on devices with Android 8 or higher.
• Calling 911 can be stressful, and effectively communicating details can be tough. A new Android feature aims to fix that problem.

Starting today, Android users can share live video with 911 telecommunicators, who can then better assess a situation, offer help, or give step-by-step guidance. If you're calling about a tree that's fallen across a road, for example, you can show exactly where the tree is. Or, 911 workers might be able to walk someone through CPR until emergency services arrive. ...

AT&T debuted a version of this same feature earlier this year, but it was limited to certain states. Apple debuted its own version for iPhones, Emergency SOS Live Video, last year. ...

For now, it's available in the US and parts of Germany and Mexico, but Google says it's working to bring it to other regions. ..."

You can send live video to 911 from your Android phone in seconds now - here's how | ZDNET "If 911 needs eyes on your situation, they'll send a prompt for you to share live video instantly."

Iranian women defy motorcycle ban

Go ladies! Drive the mullahs nuts! 😊 Women ride without a license!

She is a tattoo artist in Tehran!

She is a motorcycle racer in competitions around the world! 

Mexico to raise tariffs on India and key Asian economies from 2026

President Sheinbaum is learning fast from President Trump! 😊 President Trump responds she is just my kind of lady! Caution: satire!

The Pointer Sisters • Jump • 1984 [Reelin' In The Years Archive]

Enjoy!

SED Kanzlerin Angela Merkels Werk ist die Zerstörung Deutschlands und das Ende Europas, findet Gerald Grosz

Sehr empfehlenswert! Deutliche Worte! Hier ist mein kritischer blog post zur SED Kanzlerin Merkel.

Hinweis: Ich habe mir nicht das ganze Video angesehen.

Most Corrupt Series: Chuck Schumer and the Cost of the Government Shutdown

Very recommendable! Chuck Schumer is indeed a very controversial and dubious lifelong politician (term limits would have stopped him). I am glad the video also mentions that Chuck Schumer threatened violence in public on two sitting US Supreme Court Justices while protesting in front the the court.

In recent years, Chuck Schumer has become senile not unlike the 46th President. The Dimocratic Party would be well advised to immediately demote this guy and relegate him to the back benches for the rest of his term!

Trump Unveils Gold Card Visa for $1 Million to obtain residency and/or special visa With Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Seems controversial!

US Approves $686 Million Package for Pakistan's F-16 With Palki Sharma

I don't think this was a smart move by President Trump!

Are We Overdiagnosing Mental Illness? Here's what Doctors Say with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable! Palki says e.g. don't confuse momentary emotions with mental illness.

I have also for decades argued that mental illness is most likely overdiagnosed in Western countries.

It is good business for the medical profession! Individuals with diagnosed mental illness get more attention and treatment, excuses are easier and other benefits.

Nobel Peace Prize Politicised to Boost Western Interests? with Palki Sharma

A critical review of the current and several past Nobel Peace Prize winners.

Why Tech Giants Are Racing to Put AI in Orbit with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Nice overview! I am not convinced this works. In addition, I bet in about 5-10 years humanity will have solved the large energy consumption problem involved with AI.

Heisenberg Made a Discovery in 1925. We Still Can't Explain It with Matt O'Dowd

Very recommendable!

Deutsche Eurofighter und deutsche Luftwaffe Piloten schützen NATO-Luftraum Polens und Rumäniens

Sehr empfehlenswert! Wieviele russische Dronen sind bereits im NATO Raum hinein geflogen oder sogar gelandet/abgestürzt?

Sehr gut, dass die deutsche Luftwaffe in Rumänien und Poland tätig ist!

Wann werden die Russen endlich den Putin der Schreckliche loswerden!

Regulating the world's oldest profession: The evolution of prostitution laws in France

What brothels are not legal in France since 1946, but prostitution (self employment) is legal? Paying for sex is illegal??? Blame was shifted on clients in 2016! Apparently, these dubious measures are aimed at human trafficking and sexual violence against women, but why so indirect?

This worse than Saudi Arabia! What happened to savoir vivre?

90% of the estimated about 30,000 prostitutes in France are foreigners.

Elon Musk makes stunning rare admission about faith in God

Elon Musk said very little, only that he believes in a Creator (of the universe)! Yes, who or what created the universe and all the life in it?

Israel's President Herzog Hosts West African Muslim Leaders to Promote Israel-Africa Cooperation

Good news! Not all Muslims are terrorists, but too many are!

"President Isaac Herzog welcomed a delegation of senior Muslim religious leaders from five West African countries to Jerusalem on Monday, using the visit to foster interfaith cooperation and highlight Israel’s growing partnerships across Africa.

The delegation, organized by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, included imams and community leaders from Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Togo. Their mission, described as both spiritual and practical, aims to promote closer ties between Muslim communities in Africa and the State of Israel. ..."

Herzog Hosts West African Muslim Leaders to Promote Israel-Africa Cooperation

Chinese BYD’s Engine Flexes Between Ethanol, Gasoline, and Electricity in Brazil. Really!

Sounds like overkill to me! What kind of experiment is this?

"The world’s first mass-produced ethanol car, the Fiat 147, motored onto Brazilian roads in 1979. The vehicle crowned decades of experimentation in the country with sugar-cane (and later, corn-based and second-generation sugar-cane waste) ethanol as a homegrown fuel.

When Chinese automaker BYD introduced a plug-in hybrid designed for Brazil in October, equipped with a flex-fuel engine that lets drivers choose to run on any ratio of gasoline and ethanol or access plug-in electric power, the move felt like the latest chapter in a long national story.

The new engine, designed for the company’s best-selling compact SUV, the Song Pro, is the first plug-in hybrid engine dedicated to biofuel, according to Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s founder and CEO. ..."

BYD's Ethanol Hybrid EV Is an Innovation for Brazil - IEEE Spectrum "The automaker is rolling it out for the Brazilian market"

BYD’s Song Pro can run not only on electricity, but on any ratio of gasoline and ethanol as well.

Ukraine childbirths Under Siege, maternal deaths spiked, sharp increase in complications, maternity hospitals damaged or destroyed and so on

Bad news! Putin the Terrible is a baby killer!

Google search: "In 2023, the U.S. maternal mortality rate was 18.6 deaths per 100,000 live births".

"Childbirth in Ukraine has grown increasingly perilous, as relentless bombardments and displacement fuel a maternal mortality crisis and contribute to plunging birth rates that threaten the country’s future.  

 

Dangerous delivery: 

Maternal deaths in Ukraine spiked 37% between 2023 and 2024, reaching 25.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, reports France24.

Doctors report a sharp increase in complications, including more premature births, a 44% rise in uterine ruptures, and dangerous spikes in C-section rates—up to 46% in frontline regions like Kherson. 

Compromised care: 80+ maternity centers across Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed since Russia’s 2022 invasion, putting pregnant women and newborns at severe risk and forcing hundreds of births to occur in underground shelters, warns the UN Population Fund.  

Last week, a maternity hospital in Kherson was attacked, further compromising severely strained medical services, per the WHO. 

Power outages and supply shortages further contribute to rising risks.  

Demographic disaster: Ukraine now has the highest death rates and lowest birth rates in the world, measuring three deaths for every birth, reports Reuters.  

That has led to fears of population collapse, with the country’s population plummeting from 42 million in 2022 to a projected 25 million by 2051."

Global Health NOW: Ukraine Births Under Siege; and Slovenia’s Preventive Care Pays Off

Wie Österreich seinen Wirtschaftsstandort ruiniert

Empfehlenswert! Ähnliches trifft wohl auch auf den Nachbarn  Österreichs. die Bananenrepublik D zu!

Hinweis, Ich habe nicht den ganze Artikel gelesen!

"Österreichs Wirtschaft befindet sich im Sinkflug: Im aktuellen IMD-Wettbewerbsranking sind wir auf Platz 26 (von 69) abgerutscht, die Arbeitslosigkeit hat die Schwelle von 400.000 überschritten, ein großer Teil der Unternehmen schreibt nach exorbitanten Kostensteigerungen Verluste, Investitionen bleiben aus oder finden nur noch jenseits der Staatsgrenzen statt. Eine Besserung ist nicht in Sicht. Uns stehen Jahre der ökonomischen Stagnation bevor, während Staatsschulden, Preise und Bürokratiebelastung weiter steigen. ...

Der österreichische Ökonom Joseph Schumpeter erkannte einst hinter der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung den Prozess der „schöpferischen Zerstörung“: Neues entsteht, indem Altes verschwindet. Österreich verhindert diesen Prozess jedoch systematisch und klammert sich am Alten beharrlich fest. So wurden Unternehmen in Krisen übermäßig gestützt, Insolvenzen künstlich niedrig gehalten, Neugründungen blieben angesichts des Arbeitskräftemangels, der hohen Abgabenbelastung und des drohenden Bürokratieinfarkts unattraktiv. Ergebnis: Die geringste Unternehmensfluktuation in der gesamten EU. Jetzt fällt uns unsere Mentalität auf die Füße. Das IMD führt Österreich bei „Attitudes & Values“ auf einem haarsträubenden 53. Platz, zwischen Nigeria und der Mongolei. ...

Österreich verliert an Attraktivität für Investoren, weil hohe Defizite, steigende Staatsausgaben und fehlende Einsparungen das Vertrauen in die Politik untergraben. Jeder Investor weiß: Das Defizit von heute ist die Steuererhöhung von morgen. ..."

Wie Österreich seinen Wirtschaftsstandort kaputtrepariert

Wie Österreich seinen Standort kaputtrepariert und was jetzt passieren muss. (policy brief) "Damit die österreichische Wirtschaft wieder wachsen kann, ist Veränderung nötig. Das Stichwort lautet: schöpferische Zerstörung."

Ukraine Launches War’s Most Massive Drone-Missile Strikes against Russia, Russian Energy Targeted

Good news! Bravo! Hit Putin the Terrible where it hurts most! Sleepless nights for Putin the Terrible!

Apparently, the air defense system of Russia is of surprisingly low quality! Russia is a paper bear! 😊

When will the lethargic, apathetic Russian Slav(e)s/Serfs finally get rid of their last tsar, the megalomaniac, warmonger and war criminal Putin the Terrible! Please Russian people make the world a better, more peaceful place again!

"Overnight, Moscow residents got a rare taste of what life has looked like in Ukraine for almost four years, with air-raid sirens blaring for more than seven hours and major airports shutting down. Even Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s flight was forced to divert. But despite the spectacle in the capital, Moscow was likely not the main target: Oil infrastructure across Russia was struck the same night, in what appears to be one of the largest coordinated attacks of the war from Kyiv."

"... Overnight, nearly 300 drones of various types, along with cruise missiles, struck targets across western and central Russia – a stretch of some 2,000 km (1,243 miles) including Moscow, according to Russian and Ukrainian sources reviewed by Kyiv Post. Consistent with Ukraine’s increasingly effective bombardment campaign of Russia’s fossil fuel industry that Kyiv kicked off in July, the Ukrainian main effort for the night appeared focused primarily on five Russian energy production facilities, igniting fires at all of them. Secondary attacks hit four military airfields. ...

About one-fifth of the Ukrainian kamikaze aircraft, in a possible distraction tactic, flew to Moscow and circled above the Russian capital, triggering a furious, night-long effort by local air defense forces to shoot them down."

Ukraine Launches War’s Most Massive Drone-Missile Strikes, Russian Energy Targeted

Romans used hot mixing for self-healing concrete unravelled in Pompeii

Amazing stuff! Pompeii keeps on giving!

"Construction material uncovered by archaeologists in Pompeii has revealed that the Romans used ‘hot mixing’ to make concrete, new chemical analyses suggest.1 The building materials and tools were discovered abandoned in rooms that were under construction when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD, destroying the city. ...

now reporting that concrete production at Pompei involved transporting quicklime and volcanic ash separately to a construction site, mixing the two dry powders and then adding water last to trigger an exothermic reaction that heated the mortar. ...

The MIT group previously [in 2023] analysed clumps of lime in ancient Roman mortars and proposed that they were the result of such hot mixing, which created hot spots in the forming concrete that could exceed 200°C. The researchers concluded that these clumps wouldn’t form if slaked lime was used and that this pointed to hot mixing as the method used to make these mortars. They came to this conclusion after chemically mapping the lime clasts and surrounding matrix and observing the microstructure of Roman mortars. ..."

From the abstract:

"Recent excavations at Pompeii’s Regio IX have uncovered an intact ancient construction site, offering insights into Roman building techniques at the time of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.

Microstructural and chemical analysis of materials collected from previously constructed walls, walls under construction, and adjacent dry, raw material piles show unequivocally how quicklime was pre-mixed with dry pozzolan before adding water in the creation of Roman concrete.

This construction method, also known as hot mixing, results in an exothermic reaction within the mortar and the formation of lime clasts, key contributors to the self-healing and post-pozzolanic reactivity of hydraulic mortars. The analysis of reaction rims around volcanic aggregates demonstrate aggregate/matrix interfacial remodeling, where calcium ions originating from the dissolution of lime clasts diffuse and remineralize, producing amorphous phases and various polymorphs of calcium carbonate (including calcite and aragonite).

Furthermore, the parallel discovery of masonry materials and tools permits elucidation of the entire construction workflow, including the steps required to process binding mortars and larger aggregates (caementa).

These findings advance our understanding of ancient Roman construction and long-term material evolution, providing a scientific basis for developing more durable and sustainable concretes and restoration materials inspired by ancient practices."

Romans’ hot recipe for self-healing concrete unravelled in Pompeii | Research | Chemistry World

An unfinished Pompeian construction site reveals ancient Roman building technology (open access)

Fig. 1: Pompeii Archeological Park site map, with Regio IX denoted in light blue (upper, middle) and Domus IX 10, 1 shown in additional detail, with color-coded piles of raw construction materials (right): purple: debris; green: piles of dry pre-mixed materials; blue: piles of tuff blocks.

Fig. 7: Schematic summary of the ancient production of Roman concrete.

Each step in the schematic captures a specific part of the preparation and building process, highlighting both the materials and the tools used.

A Preparing the dry mortar mix: This process begins with a dry, pre-mixed pile of pozzolan and quicklime.

B Adding cocciopesto: To enhance the mortar’s water resistance and durability, Romans often added cocciopesto, a mix containing ground terracotta or pottery fragments.

C Hydrating the mortar: The dry mortar mixture is then hydrated, where workers would carefully add water to initiate a chemical reaction with the quicklime.

D Slaking lime: slaking, or hydration of quicklime to produce slaked lime before being added to the mortar mix, often took place in smaller vessels. This step was not included in the preparation of Roman concrete and was generally used in the preparation of finishing and repairing mortars and fresco decorations.

E Transporting mortar in broken amphorae: Broken amphorae, or pottery vessels, served as practical containers for moving mortar. These vessels were readily available on Roman construction sites and were a sustainable choice, repurposing broken pottery that would otherwise be discarded.

F Applying the mortar with a trowel: The mortar was then moved to the wall and applied with a trowel, carefully layering it between caementa and stones or bricks.

G Ensuring geometric and structural integrity with a plumb line: As construction progressed, workers used a plumb line to verify vertical alignment. This simple yet effective tool helped maintain precision during the construction process, which was essential for stability, especially in tall or expansive structures.

H Shaping aggregate with an ax: To create aggregate, an essential component of Roman concrete, workers used axs to break larger stones into smaller pieces.