OTG WE 13 Apr 2025

Extinction extinction!

The cryptic headline actually makes sense, I think. In what is a world first, Bioscience research group Colossal Biosciences has created a litter of Dire Wolves. Dire Wolves became extinct at the end of the last Ice Age some 12,000 years ago. Yes, and extinct species have been resurrected. This concept was explored in the Jurassic Park series of movies, so science fiction has prepared our society for what has become science fact. It is a remarkable achievement and opens new horizons. it heralds to possibility of the resurrection of other species. I am not sure if that is an idea we should pursue without extreme caution. But the more significant opportunity is to prevent the extinction of any species. We can now record the gene sequences of any species, and if required, resurrect them. 

The process is interesting, but perhaps a bit more technical than intended for my readers. But of course, there is a promotional video by the very proud team who have achieved this result.

Vaccine negative immunity

What is negative vaccine immunity? It is an increase in infection due to repeated vaccination. It is a good reason to not vaccinate. The concept of negative immunity is not a new one. It is a known response to repeated vaccination by a vaccine that has a similar effect on the immune system. Why am I raising this? There is compelling evidence that repeated COVID-19 vaccination through boosters is causing negative immunity. This is a flashing red light to STOP boosters. Unfortunately, in many countries, including Australia, health authorities continue to advocate regular boosters for almost all age groups.

Here is a video that covers the evidence for this effect featuring Dr John Campbell and Professor Robert Clancy.

Avi Yemini 1 - eSafety Commissioner 0

In a small but significant victory, Avi Yemini has forced Australia's eSafety czar to obey the law. It seems Avi picked up the eSafety commissioner's use of WhatsApp's self-destructing message feature. This is illegal as public officers must keep auditable records. Given the eSafety Czar has been acting as self-appointed censor of anti-woke activists, this is a win for Avi and more importantly for 'we the people'.

Avi's victory is but a small one in what has become an extended war. No doubt more skirmishes will follow.

Here is a concise report on the action.

Is the Tariff strategy working?

Following worldwide stock market turmoil that resulted in the destruction of hundreds of billions of dollars, we have experienced a pause. In Australia, after a fall of 4% yesterday, we have had a 2.4% recovery today. While welcome, it is not the end of our volatility. After such rapid drops, there will be aftershocks.

Has Trump done anything to mitigate his policies? There were some rumors at one stage that he was going to introduce a phase-in arrangement, allowing countries to negotiate their trade policies over 3 months before the tariffs would take effect. That would be a great idea, but it has been dismissed. Trump and his team have dug in and are willing to take the heat. At least for the time being. But some commentators are optimistic that Trump will overcome the current torrent of negativity. Many say the opposite; that Trump is like a bull in a China shop, his tariff policy is 'economic madness' and will set back the world's economy for decades. I am but an observer, and hope they are wrong. In the meantime, here is a more optimistic view.

Trump's Golden Age

With the world's stock markets plummeting, you may question the wisdom of the headline. Trump's tariff policies announced last week have opened up the floodgates. Trump argues he has only raised tariffs on trading partners to redress what he has said was unfair treatment of the USA in the past. There is a good case for this argument, and Trump has made every effort to explain it. Nevertheless, to every action there is a reaction, and markets have reacted in anticipation of trading problems. Markets have reacted somewhat predictably in their usual way, panic. Like a herd of bison, they are off and running at any such whiff of danger. Once started, they are hard to stop.

It is hard to predict what will happen. Talk of recession, even depression, is circulating, seeding panic. I tend to see this as an overreaction, but markets can be self-realising. To some extent there is mischief making, as always, with anti Trump media always ready to blame him for causing chaos. Trump, unpredictable as ever, may well take steps to stop the bleeding, but at this stage he is standing firm.

Could Trump's tariff policy have been handled without causing the severe market reaction? Most likely a phase-in period, over which countries could review their US trade policies, would have been preferable. That could have avoided today's market panic. 

While the method may not have been ideal, the foundation of the Trump policy is valid. The case for this change in tariff policy is covered well by Victor Davis Hanson in the following video.