Peter Todd @pete@petertodd.org

Typical journalism: "OMG OUT OF 32,000 PEOPLE VAXED, JUST ONE GOT SEVERE COVID!"

...leaving you to imagine hundreds of unvaxed getting terribly sick and dying.

Reality: only 10 people got severe covid in the Pfizer trial, _in total_. 9 with placebos, 1 with the vaccine. For Moderna, the numbers are 11 severe cases with placebos, 0 or 1 with vax (possible false positive).

...and severe didn't even mean hospitalization! Out of 21 "severe" cases, just 8 were hospitalized. No deaths.

There's also self-described anti-fascist John Sullivan, who was arrested for leading the charge during the insurrection at the Capitol.

Good thread: https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1349865669383356419

It's almost like the real world is more complex than the neat little boxes journalists and politicians want to put you in.

https://nypost.com/2021/01/18/tx-man-busted-in-threat-to-return-to-capitol-with-weaponsd/

“Prepare our weapons, and then go get’em. Lets hunt these cowards down like the Traitors that each of them are”

The face of the <checks notes> right-wing white supremacy movement.

Birdsite blue checks never let the facts get in the way of 102k endorphin hits.

Parler has a static status page up. Not the whole site. And the page resolves to an IP address in Belize. Last I checked, that's in South America.

"I WANT TO BELIEVE!"

https://thepostmillennial.com/south-dakota-now-a-model-example-of-successful-covid-vaccine-distribution

Pretty lol how low-density "red" states with much harder distribution challenges like West Virginia, Alaska, and the Dakotas are the ones doing best at actually vaccinating people. While high-density "blue" states like New York and California are way behind, even though they have every advantage. California is in 5th last place!

It's almost like red states are actually trying to solve a problem rather than milk covid forever for political gains...

"LIVE in Toronto: Police attempt to block the path of anti-lockdown protestors, who simply walk around them" https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1350513187087638530

@verretor Looks like they weren't even trying. 😂

"AOC’s Comms Director Asks Twitter To Ban Users From Citing AOC’s Support For Violent Riots" https://thefederalist.com/2021/01/07/aocs-comms-director-asks-twitter-to-ban-users-from-citing-aocs-support-for-violent-riots/

The hilarious part is the staffer retweeted the thread in question herself: https://twitter.com/LaurenHitt/status/1346948829950705667

"uncomfortable" is a much more clear incitement to violence than the ridiculous official rational Twitter gave for banning Trump...

"Still going to the grocery store? With new virus variants spreading, it’s probably time to stop."

Don't worry Vox, I've switched to cannibalism.

Homemade split pea and ham soup for lunch...

...because the extra food I bought last February in case of apocalypse isn't going to eat itself. 😂

(though seriously, I'll have to buy some more; preparedness is good)

Signal's down.

We really need a federated/decentralized alternative to it. XMPP is alright. But doesn't do calls last I checked.

Canada Revenue Agency targets artists for possible repayment of emergency benefits - The Globe and Mail
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-canada-revenue-agency-targets-artists-for-possible-repayment-of/

tl;dr: yet another group that Revenue Canada is targeting for supposedly not making enough money to qualify for emergency benefits meant to help people deal with being forced by their government to make no money at all...

In this case, a group of people that is having to pay taxes on income that somehow isn't income.

Dear Revenue Canada: 🖕

Mastodon devs can't stop this quote retweet!

CC: @nvk

Is there anything saunas can't do?

...well, get you to run your own instance I guess. But this can help: https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/run-your-own/

Leeks are just onions that have gotten too close to a black hole and undergone spaghettification.

Curious... So the United Arab Emirates started vaccinating with the Pfizer vax on Dec 23rd¹. They're now at 2nd place w/ 16% vaxed. COVID-19 cases had been flat. But five days later they started skyrocketing _without_ a corresponding increase in testing.

Israel is also rising very fast, despite 25% getting their first dose. Though unlike UAE, cases started rising pre-vax.

Antibody dependent enhancement wasn't ruled out in the trials... hopefully not what's going on.

1) https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-emirates/dubai-to-begin-inoculations-with-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-from-wednesday-idUSKBN28X0E9

Brutal: due to 23 deaths shortly after vaccinating with Pfizer's mRNA vaccine - out of 25,000 who have received the first dose - Norwegian authorities are now recommending that the very old and frail don't get vaccinated.

Looks like the notoriously severe side effects may be bad enough to kill some people. Ugly trade-off, because COVID-19 is also quite deadly in the age group.

Depending on how this goes, might lead to mandatory vaccination for the younger population.

https://trondheim24.no/nyheter/legemiddelverket-har-sett-pa-13-dodsfall-i-etterkant-av-vaksinasjon/

I've never seen a supposed "right wing extremist" remind me so much of the insane hippie lefties I knew in art school. 😂

I'd be really curious to know if Biden is wearing a vented, or unvented, mask under that surgical mask.

If it's unvented, that's just crazy paranoia - masks aren't designed to be worn in pairs, and the extra resistance just makes them worse. If it's vented, he may have a point.

The reporting on this isn't clear, thus promoting paranoia:

https://dailywire.com/news/new-york-times-suggests-wearing-two-masks-instead-of-one

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/denmark-introducing-covid-vaccine-passport

Picture of the new Denmark vaccine passport. To think just a few weeks ago some troll on the Zcash board was vehemently arguing with me that no county would ever mandate them.