FDA evidence on second COVID booster: https://www.slashgear.com/816859/why-the-fda-just-authorized-a-fourth-dose-of-the-covid-19-vaccine/ . We are told that we are still well protected against severe illness from vaccination alone. But one statistic here leaps off the page: People 60 and over are 78% less likely to die from COVID with a second booster shot. Here is the study, based on Israeli data: https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-1478439/v1/24514bba-2c9d-4add-9d8f-321f610ed199.pdf?c=1648141784 .
Shanghai lockdown moves to western half of city: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/shanghai-locks-down-western-half-as-top-expert-vows-covid-zero/ar-AAVJdO8?li=BBnb7Kz . China just refuses to admit that Zero COVID is nonsensical as a long-term policy. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/shanghais-other-half-enters-lockdown-as-reported-covid-cases-edge-down-11648787331 . Still more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/shanghai-battles-covid-19-outbreaks-in-another-elderly-care-hospital-11648840098 . Hmm, underreporting data? China takes a page from the DeMentis playbook.
Amazon Staten Island workers vote to unionize: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-nyc-workers-win-first-us-union-in-companys-history-161629069.html . This is a huge victory for the union movement, which has been in decline for decades. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-workers-in-new-york-vote-to-form-tech-giants-first-u-s-union-11648831151 .
March payrolls rise by 431,000: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/march-2022-jobs-report-labor-department-unemployment-usa-210149591.html . This is the fifteenth consecutive month of expansion. Biden has been in office for 14 months. Again, he should be getting considerable credit for this, but frankly that seems unlikely. The US has had the worst performance of the pandemic in protecting its population. It is remarkable that we are emerging with the strongest economy.
WSJ: On the other side, strong jobs report reinforces the need for interest rates to rise: https://www.wsj.com/articles/march-jobs-report-keeps-fed-on-track-for-larger-rate-rise-in-may-11648819176 . More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/march-jobs-report-unemployment-rate-2022-11648766857 .
WSJ: “Analysis” of Russian redeployment as formula for a lengthy war of attrition: https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-strategy-in-ukraine-shifts-after-setbacks-and-a-lengthy-war-looms-11648826490 . Uh-huh. There’s nothing new in this thinking. So here’s some: Russia’s redeployment to the east makes it almost impossible for them to stop Ukrainian resupply over the Polish border. Just as US industrial might turned the tide of World War II, Russia’s relative lack of quality manufacturing spells doom against the growing flow of Western resupply.
Zelensky: Russians are leaving mines and booby traps in the territory they are abandoning: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-kyiv-business-ap-top-news-341f00b44549d1baa45486be43ac9368 .
Alert reader’s hunch gains momentum: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10675557/Putin-followed-thyroid-cancer-doctor-Specialist-spent-282-days-Russian-President.html . A reader wrote recently to suggest Putin might be seriously ill. The evidence: Putin’s face has looked rounder and puffy, suggesting steroid treatments. Also, the enormous distances between Putin and staff in his recent meetings are far more than needed for COVID, suggesting he may be immunocompromised. The reader’s theory is supported by this new evidence: He is constantly monitored by a thyroid cancer specialist. So, was the Ukrainian invasion driven by steroid rage? More: https://sports.yahoo.com/putin-bathes-deer-antler-extract-220433020.html .
EU pressures China to help stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/eu-tells-china-it-expects-help-to-persuade-russia-to-end-war/ar-AAVLcTk?li=BBnb7Kz . China cannot assume global leadership if no one trusts them. I don’t think even Putin trusts them. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-china-clash-over-ukraine-conflict-11648823532 .
WSJ: Sanctions bite in Russia: https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-manufacturing-activity-shrinks-as-sanctions-over-ukraine-bite-11648803837 . Russia’s isolation becomes more and more permanent.
House votes to decriminalize marijuana: https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-passes-bill-decriminalizing-marijuana-federal-war-on-drugs-164246275.html . But the vote was largely along party lines, and this won’t get 10 Republican votes in the Senate. But the real question is whether American democracy is just completely broken. According to the article, 68% of Americans support decriminalization. So shouldn’t that mean that this passes easily in a direct representation system?
Jen Psaki leaving White House for MSNBC: https://news.yahoo.com/psaki-leaving-white-house-for-msnbc-151447427.html . Crap. As readers know, I think Jen Psaki has been the best press secretary of all time, and the star of this administration. The pay is undoubtedly better at MSNBC, but her impact on the country and the world will decline dramatically. I wish this was just an April Fool’s prank. Sigh. WSJ: More (or less): https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-press-secretary-psaki-in-talks-to-join-msnbc-11648830297 .
The Idiot Olympics is back in full swing: https://apnews.com/article/sports-lifestyle-arizona-doug-ducey-15bb892236879e39ca63895301309d97 . When the brains were passed out, this clown refused to admit they exist. This insanity strongly suggests American democracy is on a ventilator.
WSJ: Another sign of the End Times: Sarah Palin re-enters politics: https://www.wsj.com/articles/sarah-palin-to-run-for-alaska-house-seat-in-bid-to-re-enter-politics-11648864184 . I also wish this was an April Fool’s prank. You realize that Marjorie Taylor Greene makes Sarah Palin look like a genius, which previously seemed impossible and unthinkable.
What is the importance of Taiwan’s microchips?: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/4/1/silicon-shield-why-taiwan-is-not-the-next-ukraine . I agree with the facts but not the reasoning. Taiwan Semiconductor of course realizes the enormous risk of a Chinese takeover, which is why they are working feverishly to create manufacturing in Japan and the US: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tech/Semiconductors/Construction-of-TSMC-s-U.S.-chip-plant-delayed-by-labor-crunch-COVID . So China presumably realizes they lose control of this vital economic resource when TSMC creates manufacturing abroad. That is a massive incentive for China to control it (i.e., seize Taiwan) before TSMC globalizes. In other words, take Taiwan this year.
Zero COVID policy creates brain drain in Hong Kong: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/4/2/hong-kong-faces-brain-drain-as-talent-flees-zero-covid-controls . Here is another incentive for China to absorb coveted territory.
Cunningham’s Internet Law: Post the falsehood to know the truth: https://lifehacker.com/what-cunninghams-law-really-tells-us-about-how-we-inter-1848733445 . So this is thought-provoking if not quite on point. The key comment to me is “the Internet seems to invite us to disagree about everything”. This reflects the Marshall McLuhan saying often discussed in these pages: “The medium is the message”. The Internet is now ubiquitous and it does invite comment, which often focuses on disagreement. I champion the need to teach critical analysis skills, but the Internet absolutely invites and encourages their expression.