CATEGORY / politics

13Jun

2026

Raywat / A.I., blog, politics, science / 0 comment

The World’s First Trillionaire

I’m sure you’ve seen the news. Now that his company SpaceX has gone public, in the world’s most valued and impactful IPO, the sale has made its owner, Elon Musk, the world’s first trillionaire.

By inflation-adjusted purchasing power, Musk is now probably among the top richest individuals ever recorded, maybe number one. Even by share of the global economy, he’s near the top, though probably still below historic rulers like Augustus. Still, he’s on the short of list of the most powerful individuals in human history.

I have some thoughts on the matter, mostly about the company itself. Many of you will disagree. Some of you might be angered by my take. I’m sure I’ll hear about it in the comments. (more…)

14May

2026

Raywat / blog, COVID-19, epidemiology, politics / 0 comment

The World Is Already Forgetting the Lessons of COVID

Six years after a pandemic killed millions, shuttered economies, and exposed the fault lines of every health system on earth, the world is quietly going back to sleep.

The signs are everywhere. Pandemic preparedness budgets are being trimmed. Vaccines are being demonized and diminished. The political urgency that briefly made public health a front-page priority has dissolved into something polite experts call “pandemic fatigue”.

A new report from the Disease Control Priorities project, published this year by the World Bank, phrases the problem with blunt clarity: “The global response to pandemic threats remains inadequate, failing to translate the lessons of COVID-19 into sustained investment and preparedness.” The editors warn that the old pattern of panic during a crisis and neglect once it passes “persists, amplified by pandemic fatigue, denialism, misinformation, resistance to public health measures, and limited international cooperation.” (more…)

03Sep

2025

Raywat / blog, epidemiology, politics / 0 comment

What Happens When Florida Removes Vaccine Mandates?

Another day, another wacky bit of public health news coming out of the U.S. of A. As an observer in Canada, it’s all quite perplexing, amusing, and terrifying to me. The most recent bit of eyebrow-raising news is that Florida will no longer be mandating childhood vaccinations for children attending public school.

(more…)

28Aug

2025

Raywat / blog, politics / 0 comment

How Long Will It Take to Recover from Trump?

Someone on social media just asked me, “Seriously asking, how long do you think that it will take to undo all of the damage that [the Trump administration is] inflicting upon Americans and the world?”

(I’ve paraphrased to remove the understandable expletives.)

Now, the asker was probably appealing to my supposed expertise as a health researcher. But I took this as an opportunity to explore the wider consequences of the broad plate of policies brought on by this…. interesting… administration. And do remember that we’re only eight months into a four year mandate.

To answer this question would depend on what kind of “damage” we’re talking about — political, economic, environmental, institutional, or geopolitical. Recovery timelines will vary significantly. They will also depend on how much longer these policies are enacted, how quickly a subsequent administration wishes to act to correct these problematic policies, and whether indeed there is a desire among Americans and a subsequent administration to roll back these policies which I and others deem destructive.

But let’s give it a shot…

(more…)

- PAGE 1 OF 95 -