Our friend Alex Berenson announces he's next up as a reporter on the Twitter Files, investigating suppression of Covid critics. Of the four Twitter Files reporters, he and Michael Shellenberger have been guests for TrendMacro client Zoom calls. We're proud to be associated with these controversial but responsible representatives of divergent views. And we can't wait to see what Alex comes up with.
Also in "Recommended Reading," a great evil has been lifted from the land. The Department of Health and Human Services has finally lifted its requirement that all children above the age of two in the Head Start Program be masked at all times. This has always been one of the most harmful, least scientifically justified and internationally out-of-pattern Covid protocols, and good riddance to it. We can only mourn the developmental harms it has permanently visited upon a generation of American youngsters.
Covid-2019
Covid-2019
Saturday, January 7, 2023
In "Recommended Reading," China the immitator and China the innovator. Authorities suspend or cancel over 1,000 social media accounts that criticized "experts" in questioning official Covid policy (we did that more than two years ago). But savvy young people in China have a truly new breakthrough -- deliberate self-infection to personally manage the timing of quarantines to minimize interference with holidays and other plans (implying that they don't think it's really all that dangerous -- just annoying).
Covid-2019
Friday, January 6, 2023
Johns Hopkins, our primary source for global case and fatality data, has finally restarted live updates across China's provinces -- after a three-week black-out while reporting was transferred to the Chinese CDC. Now we can see that over the last three weeks, while the official statistics show almost no case growth in Hubei (the province that contains Wuhan), cases in Guangdong (where the big Apple factory is) have soared, and now set the record for most cumulative cases.
Covid-2019
Thursday, January 5, 2023
In "Recommended Reading," the craziness about Covid in China just keeps making new highs. Now it's hand-wringing about "celebrity deaths," and a Chinese "on the run" in South Korea after escaping a "quarantine facility." Meanwhile, the World Health Organization breaks ranks with its long-time benefactor and idol by accusing China of minimizing its reported infections. And life goes on.
Covid-2019
Wednesday, January 4, 2023
In "Recommended Reading," more debate and underlying research on the question of whether Damar Hamlin might have been made more vulnerable to a heart attack thanks to a reaction to the Covid vaccine. We are sensitive that this tragedy is potentially being exploited by people pushing a point of view -- but medical science moves forward by examining cases and debating them.
Covid-2019
Tuesday, January 3, 2023
In "Recommended Reading," it's either the story of the year (just two days in) or a perfect and absurd example of confirmation bias -- but Steve Kirsch, a crusader against the Covid vaccines, is blaming them for Damar Hamlin's tragic injury.
And in other news -- "Chinese Covid Fatalities Tripled in Lethal New Wave!" Uh, yeah. Daily new deaths went from one to three.
Covid-2019
Monday, January 2, 2023
As we enter the New Year, there's only one jurisdiction we track where we can say with confidence that there is exponential spread of Covid -- that's Japan. We're not seeing it in China, because our measure is based on reported deaths, and China always claims that there are just one or zero on any given day. Meanwhile in the US, it's still almost exactly 500 deaths per day, as it has been reliably since April. In its own way, that data feels as suspect as China's zero, given that neither of them ever vary. But because they don't vary, that shows spread is not growing exponentially -- it's not growing at all.
Covid-2019
Sunday, January 1, 2023
Happy New Year with the Thoughts of Chairman Xi. In a New Year's speech, the Great One acknowledged that with the draconian "Zero Covid" policy, "It has not been an easy journey for anyone." But the punishing lockdowns were "science-based," so it's worth it. Oh -- and those protests -- well, "Ours is a big country. It is only natural for different people to have different concerns or hold different views on the same issue." It's science! It's natural! As the state-controlled Global Times put it, this whole Covid thing has just been "a short period of imperfection." It's all in "Recommended Reading" today.
Covid-2019
Saturday, December 31, 2022
It's the dawn of a new year, so of course there's another Covid variant -- this time it's Omicron XBB.1.5 -- that "experts say" is especially resistant to vaccines and is spreading like wildfire. But aren't these the same experts who advise us that the vaccines are effective? You can figure it out in "Recommended Reading."
Covid-2019
Friday, December 30, 2022
As the year comes to an end, we are struggling with data from China. Official sources say the case and fatality data will be only monthly now, but the Chinese CDC is nevertheless posting it daily! Our primary global data source, Johns Hopkins, is confused -- their database for China has been stalled for over a week now. We're beginning to think nobody wants us to know what is actually going on in the worker's paradise.