Day: 26 August 2020

After writing my "Postcard from Brazil", I realized it would be very difficult for most of my fellow lockdown skeptics to check my numbers about the progress of CIVID-19 in Brazil, as this information is generally only available in local Portuguese language media. The western press corp of propagandists are completely obsessed with Brazil being a bubbling cauldron of death and despair, and actually doing any investigation on the issue would result in stepping outside the official narrative. Can't have that! I wanted to do my part to bring some alternative information on South America to a Western audience. I'll link to the local articles for proof, but they are in Portuguese and most are paywalled. See what you can do. The fact is, the story of Brazil and Covid is a fascinating one. I think it leads to some interesting conclusions about immunity, lockdowns, and individual freedoms. CliffsNotes: immunity is important, lockdowns don't work, and freedoms are worth dying for – but we already knew that. Recent history lesson. In Brazil, the first states affected by Covid were São Paulo, Rio De Janeiro and Amazonas. Rio and São Paulo are epicentres of tourism with multiple daily flights to Europe, and big Italian diaspora populations. They are also very dense states with multiple large cities. Amazonas is a strange one. ...

Yet Another Bloody U-Turn "No but, yeah but... What does Nicola Sturgeon say?" Boris often sings the praises of the first-class education he received at Eton and Oxford. But the most valuable lesson he ever received was when he was taught to drive. After all, that’s where he learnt how to do a U-turn. The Prime Minister has now performed so many reverse ferrets he’s in danger of swallowing his own tail. Yesterday brought news of his latest pirouette – on face masks in schools. Since he returned from his camping holiday in Scotland, Boris has been on a mission to persuade parents it’s safe to send their kids back to school. "The risk of contracting COVID-19 in school is very small and it is far more damaging for a child’s development and their health and wellbeing to be away from school any longer,” he said on Sunday. But now he’s changed his mind – apparently influenced by Nicola Sturgeon's decision to make face coverings mandatory in Scottish secondary schools. Henceforth, kids aged 11 and older will have to wear masks in local lockdown areas. Not so safe, then. Talk about mixed messages! The Prime Minister’s default response whenever he’s asked a question of vital national importance is to launch into his Vicky Pollard impression: “No but, yeah but…” Let’s be ...