As always, it is useful to begin these stories by noting what Michael Osterholm, senior Covid advisor to President Biden, and expert in infectious diseases, is not saying in the clip below. He is not saying that all facemasks are useless. Nor is he saying that we should all stop wearing them. What he is […]
A new investigation has questioned the Covid-19 origin story as it was presented by China and retailed by most of the world’s scientific, media and state authorities. Its publication comes as reports from China point to another apparent wave of infections from the Delta variant. The report released by the ranking Republican member of the […]
The American Medical Association is not some sort of pound-shop outfit. If you have never heard of it, then know this: It is the largest association of doctors and medical practitioners in the United States. It has almost a quarter of a million members, and annual revenue of about $350million. For decades, it has been […]
Fascinating, and interesting, on a number of levels, this story: Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton suffered from dizziness after the Hungarian Grand Prix and said “everything got a bit blurry on the podium”. The seven-time world champion said he was “just so exhausted afterwards” and said it was “one of the weirdest experiences I’ve […]
Foreign observers might have the impression that it is always open season for euthanasia in the Netherlands. Not so. While the guidelines are elastic and subject to interpretation, they do exist and people violating them risk prosecution. A recent story on euthanasia in the Netherlands illustrates this. A pillar of Dutch policy is that only […]
Suppose you went to a party with a group of friends, one of whom is a rather outspoken person we’ll call Ms A. After an hour or so, someone you never met before comes up to you and says, “I couldn’t help noticing that you came here with Ms A. Aren’t you concerned that her […]
The introduction of vaccine certification in this country and elsewhere, apart from leading to instinctive revulsion among those not yet inured to greatly increased state curtailments of basic freedoms, has led to comparisons with other systems of control. The requirement for proof of vaccination has been likened to the internal passport system that was in […]
In his newest book, Charles Camosy, the award-winning author of Resisting Throwaway Culture, provides a timely and thoughtful release on the urgent need to defend human dignity. There is perhaps no more important value than fundamental human equality. And yet, despite large percentages of people affirming the value, the resources available to explain and defend the basis […]
The Wuhan pneumonia, more commonly referred to as COVID-19, has now been raging for more than a year and a half, and even today there are new variants of the virus emerging, including Alpha, initially detected in the United Kingdom, Beta in South Africa, Delta in India, and Gamma in Brazil. And a year and […]
Like many children of the 70s, I came of age watching Olympians like Mary Lou Retton, Greg Louganis, Scott Hamilton, and Carl Lewis. They were like young gods; the world held its breath as they gracefully broke the rules of gravity, time, distance, force and speed. The laws of nature appeared to bow to their […]
“Death free” is obviously an exaggeration, since yes, some people are still dying. But take a good look at this chart. The red line is deaths, the grey line is cases. In every previous wave, deaths surged about two weeks after cases surged. This time? Not happening: COVID deaths lag confirmed COVID cases by 2 […]
No doubt you have heard of “advance directives” – guidelines for your carers, guardians or doctors on what do to in the event that you are not competent to instruct them. Right-to-die associations often promote them as a way of avoiding life with dementia. But what if the people with the power to “pull the plug” refuse? […]