Author: Peter Smith

  • Leaders too Dumb to Think Deeply

    Do you recall years back when Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s and Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s days were numbered? They should be well gone by now according to the luminaries that run or influence the western world. Since Russia’ invasion of Ukraine began, we have heard from numbers of quarters that Putin has already lost; that…

  • Time to Move On. Will they let us?

    Anyone notice the NSW department of health has changed their weekly Covid surveillance to “a new succinct weekly overview report,” which suppresses vital and embarrassing information. Knowledge is power and the apparatchiks know that, if little else. The last old-style report was issued on 3 March. It covered the period from 26 November to 12…

  • Not Pro-Russian, Pro-Life

    Saw UK foreign secretary, and one of the pretenders to Boris’s throne, Liz Truss on the tele the other day. She was explaining to the British parliament that Russia couldn’t be allowed to win. She was obviously prepared to fight to the last drop of Ukrainian’s blood. She makes you want Boris to stay. Another…

  • Cool Heads Needed

    Let’s suppose, fairly safely, that Putin is a thug, a megalomaniac even, as the Western media has it. In which case, calling him names will be water off a duck’s back. It might be cathartic but it won’t help Ukrainians. Will severe financial, commercial and trade sanctions on Russia help? Will seizing the assets of…

  • Consequences dear boy, consequences (to misquote Harold Macmillan)

    Greg Sheridan generally writes well on foreign affairs (and on Christianity) but came unstuck with Donald Trump derangement syndrome; then covid-the-perilous robbed him of sanity. That at least was my view before Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech and Russia invaded Ukraine. This morning, writing in the Australian, his reputation (with me) suffered still…

  • Yes to Santa, No to Renewable Energy

    Awful events can be salutary. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is one of those. The Russians have to move to take territory. They need fuel. The Ukrainians have to keep the heating on otherwise they’ll get very cold. Just looked, at 7 pm here, it’s 0°C in Kyiv. It’s always struck me that despite incessant…

  • Damn Lies and Covid Stats

    Never in the field of pharmaceuticals has so much been gained by so few for delivering so little. With apologies to Winston. The triple-jabbed Queen has Covid. She would have likely caught it from triple-jabbed Prince Charles or Camilla, in turn, they would have caught it from some triple-jabbed royal courtiers or hangers on. The…

  • Are the vaccines more of a dud than even we ever thought?

    Wrote a piece the other day in which I questioned whether the vaccines were effective at all. An extreme position to take perhaps. Hmm?  Let’s see. Two neighbours, one vaccinated four or five months ago, one unvaccinated, are both equally obese, have diabetes, high blood pressure and dicky tickers. Having tested positive for Covid, both…

  • The game’s up, but Aussie politicians won’t notice

    Just read the latest weekly NSW Covid Surveillance Report. Among other data covering the seven weeks to 15 January, it provides figures (table 6) for those infected who suffered a severe outcome; i.e., “ICU and/or death.” Of the 614 people concerned 467 had been either double or triple vaxxed. While it is true that 467…

  • To Boosters and Beyond

    It was reported today in NSW that thirty-two people had died with covid in the previous 24 hours. Five of those who died had received two jabs plus a booster. That’s 16 percent. Less than the 28 percent of adults who’ve received a booster in NSW. That gap seemed to instil cavalier confidence in CHO…