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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

In my previous post I quoted the Australian newspaper editorial. It’s gift that keeps on giving. I expect that it will go on giving ineptly throughout this new year. This from the last day of the old year: The tragic death of a child who was Covid-positive in South Australia is a devastating reminder of…

This morning’s editorial in the Australian: “vaccines remain Australia’s best weapon against infection. As chief medical officer Paul Kelly pointed out…two-thirds of people in ICU in NSW are unvaccinated.” There are two things amiss with this sloppy statement. First, vaccines do not prevent infection. These days most people who become infected have been vaccinated. It’s…

Freedom Day last Wednesday. Had coffee in a café for the first time in, I don’t know, five months, was it? Had lunch in a restaurant the next day. Oh joy, free at last! My club even let me in on Friday to use the gym. When will this freedom ever end? Well, it could…