Dr. Vinay Prasad has published this important post – We need to talk about the vaccines. Beside the discussion by Dr. Vinay Prasad about specific items of controversy, he makes a point about censorship that is also very important.

Perhaps the most serious objection to censorship is that the censors themselves are not fit for the task. Censors are unaccountable. They may be biased, misinformed or undereducated. They may lack perspective. In short, they are as fallible as the people they are trying censor. This is especially true in science, where, as history shows us, consensus views can turn out to be false, while controversial or heretical ideas can be vindicated.

Finally, in the modern world, where the censor is so often a giant technology company, there is tremendous potential for abuse. The same tools used to suppress scientific “misinformation” may someday be used to solidify political power and stifle dissent.

Legitimizing censorship may be the most hazardous outcome of this pandemic.

Naked Capitalism has the article Rorschach Test: Revealing Western Press Reactions to Xi Jinping Speech at Davos.

Here is a quote from the transcript of Xi Jinping’s remarks.

Thanks to considerable economic growth, the Chinese people are living much better lives. Nonetheless, we are soberly aware that to meet people’s aspiration for an even better life, we still have much hard work to do in the long run. China has made it clear that we strive for more visible and substantive progress in the well-rounded development of individuals and the common prosperity of the entire population. We are working hard on all fronts to deliver this goal. The common prosperity we desire is not egalitarianism. To use an analogy, we will first make the pie bigger, and then divide it properly through reasonable institutional arrangements. As a rising tide lifts all boats, everyone will get a fair share from development, and development gains will benefit all our people in a more substantial and equitable way.

Can you imagine remarks like this from Joe Biden, let alone from Joe Manchin or Krysten Sinema?