Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Mahmoud Mujadalah at the Israeli newspaper Arab48 reports that Benny Gantz, the Israeli minister of defense who was set to rotate in as prime minister after Binyamin Netanyahu next year this time, made a potentially game-changing announcement Tuesday. He said that his party list, the Blue and White, will vote […]
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Epidemics
Drinking the Kool-Aid: The Rise and Collapse of Trump’s Coronavirus Death Cult
Dartmouth, Mass. (Special to Informed Comment) – In 1978 cult leader Jim Jones convinced 909 of his brainwashed followers in Jonestown, Guyana to drink cyanide-laced Kool Aid and kill themselves. Since that shocking collective suicide, the term “drinking the Kool Aid” has become a metaphor for anyone who has been brainwashed by someone else into […]
China beat the coronavirus with science and strong public health measures, not just with authoritarianism
By Elanah Uretsky | – I live in a democracy. But as Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself longing for the type of freedom I am seeing in China. People in China are able to move around freely right now. Many Americans may believe that the Chinese are able to enjoy this freedom because of China’s […]
As Daily Cases climb toward 200K, “Trump is Playing Golf” (to the same accompaniment as “Whitey on the Moon”)
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The G-20 summit, attended virtually by the leaders of the 20 countries with the largest gross domestic products, was orchestrated this year from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That is a scandal in itself, since the Saudi regime is responsible for the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and […]
Who will be vaccinated first — and in what country? The upcoming fights over COVID vaccine
( 48hills.org) – In recent days, two US pharmaceutical companies announced that their COVID-19 vaccines could be available by December. US-based Pfizer, which partnered with the German-based BioNTech, said it has a 95 percent success rate during clinical trials. Biotechnology company Moderna also reported a vaccine with a 94.5 percent efficacy rate. CDC image Neither […]
Is it the Trump-Monster or capitalist Plutocracy? With 250,000 Dead, why is the US Virus Response so Particularly Bad?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Holly Yan, Christina Maxouris and Theresa Waldrop at CNN report that the United States has passed the grim milestone of 250,000 deaths. Trump had predicted a worst case of 50,000 deaths last spring, but then Donald Trump could not find his ass with both hands. Nor is the worrisome death […]
How Your Brain Tricks You Into Taking Risks During the Pandemic
By Marshall Allen and Meg Marco | – ( ProPublica ) – It was mid-February and Maria Konnikova — a psychologist, writer and champion poker player — was on a multicity trip. From her hotel room in New Orleans, she called her sister, a doctor, to discuss the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. Konnikova saw there were […]
The Real Cancel Culture: Trump Rallies Sicken 30,000, Kill 700, and Trump Train Prevents Biden Gathering in Texas
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A talking point for the cult of Trump is the deleterious effects of “cancel culture.” What they mean by that is that they want pundits and politicians to be able to say offensive things and utter slurs against minorities and women without suffering any negative consequences for their careers. This […]
Trump’s ideal Strong man, Putin, orders Nationwide Mask Mandate, as US Flounders under weak Leadership
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump is well known for fawning all over Vladimir Putin, Russia’s autocrat who styles himself “president” from victories in phony elections. Back when he was campaigning the first time, Trump said of Mr. Putin, “I’ve already said he is very much of a leader. The man has very strong control […]