Prof Deborah Lupton, MPH PhD

Australian police break spine of anti-genocide granny to protect war criminal Australian police beat a 69 year old woman at an anti-genocide protest so badly that they've broken her spine in FOUR places

Australian police beat a 69 year old woman at an anti-genocide protest so badly that they've broken her spine in FOUR places

Screenshot of an article from The Sick Times titled “Winter Olympic athletes are rightfully taking COVID-19 precautions,” tagged COVID-19 and Health. By Miles W. Griffis, dated February 10, 2026. Subheading notes media stigmatization of disease prevention while minimizing Long COVID risks. Featured image shows a German biathlete wearing a black face mask at a pre-Olympics media event in Munich, January 2026.

"Winter Olympic athletes are rightfully taking COVID-19 precautions"

"Olympians, just like anyone, are at risk of Long COVID. Studies have shown that the risk of the disabling disease may increase with each SARS-CoV-2 infection and trigger or worsen diagnoses."

Source: archive.md/gL5dY

Pop art woman image with words in speech bubble ‘Wait! I forgot to use AI!’

First image for my new series ‘Pop AI’. Made by me with Canva, no GenAI involved

now Matt's politics have always been this, for anyone paying attention, but this is also a great little piece on Big Tech's relationships to fascist governments and and how it uses our shared love of dogs to inveigle its way into/surveil our lives and produce all manner of harms

Screenshot of a sports news article titled “Face masks and no handshakes: Olympians follow ‘corona rules’ in Milan.” Subheading explains that while the COVID-19 pandemic is said to be behind us, fear of viruses remains in sport and Olympic teams are taking measures to prevent infection. Byline reads Sports editorial team, dated February 2, 2026, 7:12 PM. Below the headline is a photo of Jenning de Boo and Femke Kok, both wearing face masks and bright orange team jackets, walking indoors with others behind them. Photo credit: © Pim Ras Photography.

The Dutch Olympic team is taking several precautions: "We're not shaking hands anymore, but we're giving fist bumps," says Verheijen. "We're wearing face masks in crowded areas and making sure we wash and disinfect our hands thoroughly." This decision was made to minimize the risk of illness.

Last night the NSW Police disgraced themselves. The NSW government is fully responsible for what happened.

Photo of four athletes seated at a press conference table, all wearing face masks, with microphones in front of them. A blue backdrop behind them shows sponsor logos (including P&G, Samsung, TCL, Visa, Salomon) and Olympic branding. WHN branding “whn.global” appears at the top left. Large yellow text over the lower half reads: “Olympians are still masking in 2026” Smaller white text below reads: “At the Winter Olympics in Italy, some athletes are still masking and isolating, aware that COVID and other respiratory illnesses are not over.” Footer text: “The World Health Network is a network devoted to global compassion—working together to inspire collective action through science for a safer, healthier world.”

At parts of the Winter Olympics in Italy, COVID precautions remain, grounded in the reality that respiratory illness is still circulating. When your lungs are your livelihood, prevention is part of performance.

#COVID #COVID19 #PublicHealth #InfectionPrevention #Olympics #LongCOVID #MaskUp #N95

Why only China?

Screenshot of a VisaHQ article dated February 10, 2026, by the Visas & Immigration Team @ VisaHQ, titled “Portugal, Germany And Thailand Re-Impose Covid Testing For Arrivals From China.” Below the headline is a stylized illustration featuring the flags of Portugal and Germany, a syringe, medical symbols, a globe, and a landmark resembling Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, representing international travel and COVID-19 health measures.

Portugal, Germany and Thailand Re-impose Covid Testing for Arrivals from China

As XBB.1.5 spreads rapidly, several governments are bringing back pre-departure COVID testing for travelers from China. Portugal now requires a negative test within 48 hours and will add wastewater sequencing on flights.

🚨
Are people sicker now than in 2019?

Civil servants in England are.
Sickness absence rates have *risen by between 12% to 23% across the age groups*.

Are things getting worse?
It certainly looks like it.

This is exactly what we predicted repeat covid infection would do.

If we are going to ban symbols and phrases because of 'social cohesion' then we really should start banning some moustaches too.

Some of our staff were at the Sydney rally last night and report that the degree of police brutality was terrifying and unhinged.

We knew from the moment we heard it that “social cohesion” would be one of those Orwellian terms which would be used to cover all manner of state sanctioned abuse and deprivation of civic freedoms.
It fuels the very unrest it pretends to seek to quell.

Thanks to your support, our full-page ad is in today’s Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Over 1,000 Jews and thousands of allies have signed our open letter to say that Israeli President Isaac Herzog is not welcome here.

Help us spread the word!

Director Jeong Jin-woo dies at 88 after fall and COVID complications Director Jeong Jin-woo dies at 88 after fall and COVID complications

South Korean film director Jeong Jin-woo dies at 88 after fall and COVID complications

"He had been hospitalised at a university hospital for treatment after a fall while walking his pet dog about 2 months earlier and was reported to have not recovered his health after being infected with COVID-19"

the police presence at Town Hall is unfuckingbelievable. They are deep inside the station, stopping and searching people at the top of the stairs from the platform. Absolutely off the charts I have never seen anything like it and I have protested for over 40 years.

Vale @kudelka.bsky.social

I can’t express how outrageous this whole thing is, but I’ve given it a go! #auspol

For shame @albomp.bsky.social @chrisminnsmp.bsky.social

E-bike riders are getting seriously injured as the article points out

I have a question for the men who had no questions about Epstein The millions of pages of documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have shone a light on how many influential men were ready to disregard the experiences of countless women.

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

The headline of the article was silly - the article itself pointed out many safety risks, including to riders themselves

I said that as a pedestrian (not a car driver, mind) on a footpath, I had almost been knocked over and that more regulation is needed. Where is the hostility in that?

"But Covid is over! Why are you wearing a mask?" To my absolute surprise this week (and surely to most Olympic athletes’ and Covid-minimizers’ dismay), respirators made a return appearance at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

“I thought Covid was “over.” Everyone told me it was! They proclaimed these the “post-Covid games. “Why are the athletes taking such “extreme” measures if the pandemic is no longer a cause for concern? Didn’t Biden tell us that Covid ended all the way back in 2022? Didn’t we all move on from this?”

Proud to be a signatory.
This open letter is in SMH and Age.

MAHA Leaders Are Recycling COVID Myths to Minimize Measles Once again, everything old is new again. The circle of disinformation is complete.

MAHA leaders rose to power via their COVID disinformation.

Today, they are recycling those myths to minimize measles and distract from their inability to contain it.

My latest.

sciencebasedmedicine.org/newagain-2/

Unfortunately I don't know who to credit for this very apt cartoon -

#OngoingPandemic

Another example - why do these people think that raising the issue of e-bike safety mean that I don’t care about car safety? Two different issues

Well, I did not expect my comments about e-bike safety - linked to a Guardian article about how dangerous the bikes for to the riders themselves - to inspire such hostility

Critical Perspectives on "AI" in Education French Postcard, ca. 1901, "In the Year 2000," Wikimedia

Critical Perspectives on “AI” in Education – a free, one-hour, Zoom interview series starting Monday Feb 17, 12 noon PT / 3pm ET / 8pm GMT, continuing Tuesdays from Feb 23.

Come and chat with us! 🧵

🧪💙📚 🗃 #earlymodern #histsci #education #politics #AcademicSky #technology #AI

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If you read the article, you will see that it is e-bike riders themselves who are at high risk from injury or death. Are you concerned about them?