The photo is from an article by a Canadian author, David Solway, one of the very best there is, found on an international website unrelated to Australia, other than it occasionally features Peter Smith who does live in Sydney. The article is titled, The Oxymorons Heard ‘Round the World, which may not mean very much, but you should read it all. Let me, as a sample of what you will find if you do, quote the following.

The palpable fact is that the vaccinated, who are now presumably shielded, should have no fear of the unvaccinated. It doesn’t seem to matter. I have met many of the jabbed who diligently avoid those who have demurred—even close relatives—though if the vaccines they swear by were potent, they should clearly have acquired immunity and be assured of their security. They are confident, yet frightened, a perfect instance of cognitive dissonance of which they remain unaware.

And there’s the rub. Such people are not governed by reason but by a species of magical thinking, a kind of voodoo conviction. Despite whatever inner tremors they feel or doubts they may have struggled to suppress, they insist on the soundness of the vaccines and rush to the inoculation booths. These confections are like magical elixirs, bunches of dill or lavender laid at the door to keep out demonic beings, or talismans affixed to the lintel to ward off the angel of contagion.

I see many many people walking the streets of Melbourne wearing masks when it is perfectly legal to walk along without one. I find all of it tragic and depressing.

And speaking of Australia in the international news, there was also this I came across: Australian authorities ban church from singing—on Zoom. I guess you just can’t be too careful.