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Historians Will Look Back on Lockdowns as ‘Most Catastrophic Health Policy Mistake of All Human History’ + More
Professor: Historians Will Look Back on Lockdowns as ‘Most Catastrophic Health Policy Mistake of All Human History’
Lighthouse Economics reported:
Speaking on The London Telegraph podcast ‘Planet Normal’, Bhattacharya noted that government scientific advisors “remain attached” to the policy of lockdown in spite of the total “failure of this strategy”.
“I do think that future historians will look back on this and say this was the single biggest public health mistake, possibly of all history, in terms of the scope of the harm that it’s caused,” said Bhattacharya.
California Regulators Withdraw Controversial Work Mask Rules
California’s workplace regulators reversed themselves for the second time in a week Wednesday, withdrawing a controversial pending mask regulation while they consider a rule that more closely aligns with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promise that the state will fully reopen from the pandemic on Tuesday.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board’s revised rule, adopted last week after it was initially rejected, would have allowed workers to forego masks only if every employee in a room is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. That contrasts with the state’s broader plan to do away with virtually all masking and social distancing requirements for vaccinated people in concert with the latest recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2 Baltimore Health Systems to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines for Workers
Beckers Hospital review reported:
The University of Maryland Medical System and Johns Hopkins Medicine, both based in Baltimore, will require employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19, making them the latest health systems to do so.
“We follow the science, and the scientific evidence tells us that from a safety and efficacy standpoint, COVID-19 vaccines represent a dramatic accomplishment and a clear pathway out of this pandemic,” Mohan Suntha, MD, president and CEO of the medical system, said in a June 9 news release. “As healthcare professionals, we accept that we hold ourselves to a higher standard, and we embrace our mission to devote ourselves to the welfare of those in our care. COVID-19 vaccines are by far the best way to stop the spread of the virus, and given our ethical obligation to our patients, we must take every appropriate measure to keep our hospitals and other locations as safe as possible.”
Top U.S. Antitrust Lawmaker Targets Big Tech With New Bills — Sources
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are working on drafts of five antitrust bills, four of them aimed directly at reigning in Big Tech, and may introduce them within days, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
Reuters has read discussion drafts of five measures. Sources familiar with the process say they may be changed before they are introduced. They may be introduced this week but that may be delayed, two sources said.
Among the five bills being considered, two address the problems of platforms, like Amazon.com (AMZN.O), creating a space for businesses to sell products and then competing against those products.
How Full FDA Approval Could Pave the Way for COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
The companies behind two of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United States have applied to the Food and Drug Administration for full approval, which would allow them to market directly to consumers—and potentially boost confidence in the doses.
FDA approval could also lead more employers and schools to issue vaccine mandates.
Australia Antitrust Boss Rejects Claim Big Tech Law is a Favour for News Corp
The architect of Australia’s new law making Alphabet Inc’s Google (GOOGL.O) and Facebook Inc (FB.O) pay news outlets for content on Thursday rejected a suggestion the move was the result of lobbying by News Corp (NWSA.O), calling the claim “extremely strange.”
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chair Rod Sims, who oversaw drafting of the law, acknowledged the negotiating system was proposed by the Rupert Murdoch-controlled publisher but said all major media operators in the country supported it.
Asked at an FT conference in Britain if Australia had acted at the behest of News Corp, Sims said Google had “sent emails to all parliamentarians saying ‘don’t let big business control the internet’, and they were of course referring to News Corp.”
Facebook Is Hub of Sex Recruitment in U.S., Report Says + More
Facebook Is Hub of Sex Recruitment in U.S., Report Says
The majority of online recruitment in active sex trafficking cases in the U.S. last year took place on Facebook, according to the Human Trafficking Institute’s 2020 Federal Human Trafficking Report.
“The internet has become the dominant tool that traffickers use to recruit victims, and they often recruit them on a number of very common social networking websites,” Human Trafficking Institute CEO Victor Boutros said on CBSN Wednesday. “Facebook overwhelmingly is used by traffickers to recruit victims in active sex trafficking cases.”
Active cases include those in which defendants were charged in 2020, as well as those in which defendants were charged in previous years and charges were still pending in trial last year or the case was on appeal.
Facebook Faces Antitrust Investigations in Europe
European regulators late last week announced two separate antitrust investigations into Facebook regarding its use of advertising data.
The probes, one from the European Commission and the other from the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), come amid sustained scrutiny over the breadth and impact of the social media giant’s data collection practices.
European Commission regulators will focus on Facebook’s “advertising data gathered in particular from advertisers in order to compete with them in markets where Facebook is active such as classified ads.”
Further assessment will be given to “whether Facebook ties its online classified ads service ‘Facebook Marketplace’ to its social network, in breach of EU competition rules,” the commissions said.
‘Condition of Employment’: Hospitals in DC, Across the Nation Follow Houston Methodist in Requiring Vaccination for Workers
Most hospitals in Washington, D.C., will require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, joining a growing number of health care systems and other businesses nationwide in opting for the controversial mandate.
The hospitals will each set a date after which vaccination will be a condition of employment, the District of Columbia Hospital Association said in a statement Tuesday. The hospitals will comply with all federal and district laws regarding exemptions for medical or religious reasons, the statement said.
Canada Privacy Regulator Says Federal Police Broke Laws Using Facial Recognition Software
The Canadian federal police force broke the law when they used facial recognition software, the country’s top privacy regulator found in a report released on Thursday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in February 2020 that for four months they had been using Clearview AI, a U.S.-based facial recognition software company that cross-references photos with a database compiled from photos posted to social media. It is not clear when the RCMP stopped using the software.
Clearview AI has been barred from operating in Canada since July 2020.
Victoria Filmmaker’s Documentary Examines Sinister Side of Facial Recognition Technology
Discriminator, director Brett Gaylor’s new independent film about facial recognition software, is as close to a horror movie Hollywood has ever produced — but there’s nary a ghost, serial killer, or unexplained phenomenon anywhere in sight.
The Victoria filmmaker’s short film about how technology companies are worming their way into our lives has a doomsday quality to it, and should leave viewers an overwhelming sense of dread. Will it? Probably not, which is a scarier proposition than much of what appears in Discrimination.
Have an Amazon Device? The Tech Giant May Help Itself to Your Wi-Fi
Do you own an Amazon smart device? If so, odds are good that the company is already sharing your internet connection with your neighbors unless you’ve specifically told it not to.
On Tuesday, the company launched a program that forces users of many Echo smart speakers and Ring security cameras to automatically share a small portion of their home wireless bandwidth with neighbors. The only way to stop it is to turn it off yourself.
Amazon says the program, called Amazon Sidewalk, is a way to make sure lights, smart locks and other gadgets outside the home and out of reach of a Wi-Fi connection stay working.
But some experts warn that the technology is so new that privacy and security risks remain unclear. And almost no one seems happy that Amazon forced consumers into Amazon Sidewalk — or that many people may not know they can opt out of it.
India and Tech Companies Clash Over Censorship, Privacy and ‘Digital Colonialism’
One night last month, police crowded into the lobby of Twitter’s offices in India’s capital New Delhi. They were from an elite squad that normally investigates terrorism and organized crime, and said they were trying to deliver a notice alerting Twitter to misinformation allegedly tweeted by opposition politicians.
But they arrived at 8 p.m. And Twitter’s offices were closed anyway, under a coronavirus lockdown. It’s unclear if they ever managed to deliver their notice. They released video of their raid afterward to Indian TV channels and footage shows them negotiating with security guards in the lobby.
The May 24 police raid — which Twitter later called an “intimidation tactic” — was one of the latest salvos in a confrontation between the Indian government and social media companies over what online content gets investigated or blocked, and who gets to decide.
New York’s Vaccine Passport Could Cost Taxpayers $17 Million
New York’s Vaccine Passport Could Cost Taxpayers $17 Million
New York officials introduced the Excelsior Pass app earlier this year as the country’s first government-issued vaccine passport, designed to help jump-start the state’s economy.
But newly obtained documents show that the state may have larger plans for the app and that the cost to taxpayers may be much higher than originally stated.
The state’s three-year contract with I.B.M. — obtained by an advocacy group and shared with The New York Times — to develop and run the pass establishes the groundwork for a future where at least 10 million people in the state would have an Excelsior Pass. It would provide them with a QR code that would not only verify their vaccination status but could also include other personal details like proof of age, driver’s license and other health records.
178 Health Care Workers Suspended From Houston Methodist Hospital System For Refusing COVID-19 Vaccination
Scores of workers at a Houston hospital system have been suspended and face being fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination, a controversial company mandate that has drawn protests and an outcry from those facing termination.
Houston Methodist CEO Dr. Marc Bloom said the 178 workers represent less than 1% of almost 25,000 employees …
Bloom said 27 of the 178 suspended workers have received one dose of vaccine, and that he is hopeful they will get the second dose. All are suspended for two weeks and are set to be fired if they fail to be fully vaccinated.
Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How Bezos, Musk, Other Top Billionaires Pay Almost Zilch in Income Taxes
In 2007, Jeff Bezos, then a multibillionaire and now the world’s richest man, did not pay a penny in federal income taxes. He achieved the feat again in 2011. In 2018, Tesla founder Elon Musk, the second-richest person in the world, also paid no federal income taxes.
Michael Bloomberg managed to do the same in recent years. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn did it twice. George Soros paid no federal income tax three years in a row.
ProPublica has obtained a vast trove of Internal Revenue Service data on the tax returns of thousands of the nation’s wealthiest people, covering more than 15 years.
TOMORROW: Health Freedom Advocates to Rally Against Indiana University Vaccine Mandate
A group of Indiana University (IU) students, parents and staff will hold a “Rally for Medical Freedom” on Thursday, June 10 to demand officials immediately retract the university’s COVID vaccine mandate and drop all mask requirements and COVID mitigation testing.
The rally will take place at 1 p.m. ET during the board of trustees meeting, in front of Sample Gates on the IU-Bloomington campus.
On May 21, IU announced a new policy requiring all students, faculty and staff to get the COVID vaccine, claiming the vaccine mandate is necessary for the university to return to in-person classes.
TikTok Sued in the Netherlands for $1.7 Billion Over Collecting Children’s Data
The Amsterdam-based Market Information Research Foundation (SOMI) sued the video-sharing platform TikTok on behalf of 64,000 Dutch parents, seeking 1.4 billion euros (about $1.7 billion) for allegedly collecting data from millions of children.
Amazon Pharmacy Offers Half-Yearly Prescriptions Starting at $6
Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) said on Tuesday it was now offering six-month prescriptions starting at $6 for medications of common health issues through its pharmacy.
The company said prime members would get additional savings when paying without insurance. Customers can pay as low as $1 per month for select medications, including drugs to treat diabetes and blood pressure, and will get free two-day delivery.
The e-commerce giant launched an online pharmacy in November for delivering prescription medications in the United States and stirring up competition with drug retailers such as Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O), CVS Health (CVS.N) and Walmart (WMT.N).
Fans at England’s Euro Games to Use Vaccine Passports
Fans attending England’s opening Euro 2020 match against Croatia on Sunday will be the first at a sporting event in Britain to have the option of using coronavirus vaccine passports.
European governing body UEFA has confirmed that ticket holders based in Britain can gain entry either by providing proof of a negative lateral flow test or by showing proof of full vaccination — both doses received at least 14 days before the match.
Ticket holders based elsewhere must provide proof of a negative lateral flow test.
Biden Revokes and Replaces Trump Executive Orders That Banned TikTok
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday that sets criteria for the government to evaluate the risk of apps connected to foreign adversaries, a move with implications for Chinese-owned sites like TikTok and WeChat.
Biden revoked and replaced the three executive orders by then-President Donald Trump that sought to ban transactions with TikTok and WeChat by American businesses. One of the orders also sough to ban TikTok, resulting in a prolonged court battle. TikTok remains available and popular in the U.S.
EU Digital COVID Certificate: Everything You Need to Know
How travel will look in the near future is the question on everyone’s lips, and as Europe begins to reopen its borders to travelers from outside the continent, the European Union has announced the launch of its EU Digital Covid Certificate — set to allow freedom of movement around the bloc.
Already, nine countries are using the scheme to issue certificates, with more expected to join before the scheme officially launches on July 1. The EU’s Parliament voted overwhelmingly to approve the scheme on June 9.
U.S. Senate Approves $50bn Boost for Computer Chip and AI Technology to Counter China
The U.S. Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill to boost American semiconductor production and the development of artificial intelligence and other technology in the face of growing international competition, most notably from China.
The 68-32 vote for the bill on Tuesday demonstrates how confronting China economically is an issue that unites both parties in Congress. It is a rare unifying issue in an era of division as pressure grows on Democrats to change Senate rules to push past Republican opposition and gridlock.
Twitter Suspends Author Naomi Wolf After Vaccination Claims + More
Twitter Suspends Author Naomi Wolf After Vaccination Claims
Twitter has suspended author Naomi Wolf after she shared tweets with COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, BBC reported on Sunday.
Twitter shared in a statement to The Hill that Wolf’s account was permanently suspended for repeated violations of their COVID-19 misinformation policy.
Wolf, the acclaimed author of the feminist book “The Beauty Myth,” shared various posts of unfounded claims and theories of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Americans Split on Workplace Vaccine Mandates: Poll
Americans are narrowly divided on whether companies should be allowed to require employees to prove their vaccination status before returning to work in person, according to a new poll.
A total of 52% of Americans say they support requiring proof of vaccine status to return to places of employment, according to the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index poll published this week. Along political lines, 76% of Democrats support showing vaccine status to return to the workplace compared to less than a third, 29%, of Republicans saying the same thing.
Biometrically Accessed Digital Wallet Coming for EU Citizens
EU citizens will be able to verify their ID, access public and private services across the bloc and store digital documents in a new digital wallet, reports the Financial Times. The smartphone app will be accessed via biometric authentication such as fingerprints or iris scanning as well as other methods.
More details are expected on Wednesday, but it is understood that users will be able to store payment details and passwords and to log into local government websites in all 27 countries, with a single digital identity.
It will also allow the storage of digital ID documents such as driving licences.
Unvaccinated Cadets at West Point Forced to Live in Tent for Summer Training
Parents of Army cadets at the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) report the academy’s leadership is forcing 37 unvaccinated cadets to live in a tent designed for 20 people during the academy’s June and July Cadet Field Training program.
Cadet Field Training is a summer training requirement in which selected Firsties (seniors) and Cows (juniors) lead Yearlings (sophomores) in small-unit tactical operations.
Vaccinated cadets will live in open-bay barracks by platoons, with a small separate section for female cadets. The barracks have electricity for fans during the hot summer months in New York, and separate male and female latrines and showers.
Unvaccinated cadets now live in a mixed-rank coed tent.
Imposing Vaccine Mandates May Be Counterproductive, Our Research Suggests
Opposition to coronavirus vaccination stubbornly persists across the globe. Even in Israel — the world leader in vaccinating its population — the fraction vaccinated appears to have hit a plateau with one-third of the population unvaccinated. In the United States, some states are facing gluts of vaccine doses.
One common response to this is mandatory vaccination. The California university systems, and 1 in 10 U.S. universities and colleges, almost all in blue states, have announced that vaccination would be required for anyone attending in the fall. Even where demand for vaccination exceeds supply, vaccinations are being made mandatory. In March, the government of Galicia in Spain required vaccinations for adults, subjecting violators to substantial fines. Italy has mandated vaccinations for care workers.
Mandating vaccination may be unavoidable in some cases. But our new evidence from Germany suggests that it could hurt voluntary compliance, prolonging the pandemic and raising its social costs.
France Fines Google for Abusing Online Advertising Dominance
Google has been fined €220m (£189m) by French competition regulators for abusing its dominance in the online advertising market in a landmark settlement that could rebalance the relationship between tech giants and digital publishers.
The settlement with the French competition authority, which found that Google unfairly favoured its own tools for buying and selling adverts online over those of rivals, marks the first time the Silicon Valley company has agreed to make changes to its practices as a result of the investigation.