Michael Woodhead
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michaelwood8.bsky.social
Michael Woodhead
@michaelwood8.bsky.social
Medical journalist, Sydney, via Leeds.
Cycling in China. Blog at josephrock.net
Steven Spielberg's mapmakers aren't very good in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Nepal and Bhutan moved into Arunachal Pradesh, bordering Yunnan. Is that Siam or Thailand? And is Taiwan part of China?
February 6, 2026 at 11:38 AM
With the US CDC now taken over by cranks and MAGA political operatives, Australia's responses to pandemic risks are now being assisted by China's evidence-based infectious disease teams www.themonthly.com.au/february-202...
February 6, 2026 at 7:44 AM
China Oncology News, 6th February 2026: Tributes paid to Sun Yan, the 'founder' of medical oncology in China open.substack.com/pub/michaelw...
China Oncology News, 6th February 2026: Tributes paid to Sun Yan, the 'founder' of medical oncology in China
Tributes have been paid to Professor Sun Yan, a pioneer of clinical oncology in China, who died on January 24, 2026 at the age of 97.
open.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Reposted by Michael Woodhead
I was working with @direthoughts.com when he broke the first stories about Labour Together's funding way back in 2021.

Now it turns out they were paying private investigators to investigate him for reporting on them and Morgan McSweeney knew about it

democracyforsale.substack.com/p/exclusive-...
BREAKING: McSweeney’s think tank paid PR firm to investigate journalists
Labour Together put private investigators onto journalists writing about its funding. Starmer's right-hand man knew.
democracyforsale.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Michael Woodhead
China is turning inwards in nurturing and retaining talent, according to a new study. Academics are now being pressured to publish in Chinese. “If they don’t, they’re being politically criticized,” APARC's Gi‑Wook Shin, author of 'The Four Talent Giants,' tells @nature.com.
China’s relationship with foreign scientific powers is changing rapidly
A study that examines career histories of the country’s elite scholars reveals that the nation is turning inwards in its search for talent.
buff.ly
February 3, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Guilin fisherman: tourism fantasy vs reality
February 4, 2026 at 12:33 PM
Oncology - a weekly clinical news update on developments from China substack.com/home/post/p-... #China #Cancer #Oncology
China Oncology News for 4th February , 2026
Clinical news in cancer therapy from China.
substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:11 AM
Australia should follow China’s example and ban investment in this genocide/ apartheid state www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/ar...
Chinese fund: “The Chinese government has imposed a ban on any new investment in Israel” | CTech
Kibbutz Hanita sues controlling shareholder of Hanita Lenses, the Chinese Ballet Vision fund, for $11 million, claiming refusal to buy remaining shares violates their agreement amid post-war financial...
www.calcalistech.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Hard not to conclude that Human Rights Watch has a double standard on Israel
Two HRW employees that make up the entirety of the organization's Israel and Palestine program are stepping down after the leadership blocked a report that deems Israel’s denial of Palestinian refugees the right of return a "crime against humanity." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Human Rights Watch researchers resign after report on Palestinian right of return blocked
The organization claims the report, which finds Israel’s denial of the right of return is a crime against humanity, is ‘paused pending further analysis and research’
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Just "AI Googled" myself using #Gemini asking about my recent China cycling trip which I documented in full on several platforms. Gemini's answers were a mix of 50% fact and 50% errors and total hallucinations eg about my name, what gear I took and what I said about the trip. Weird.
February 3, 2026 at 11:09 AM
“We don’t torture we’re a civilised country”. The banned song Armagh by the Au Pairs ad relevant now ad it was in 1981 odysee.com/@kentisheddi...
The set up & Armagh - The Au Pairs (live on old grey whistle test 1981)
The set up & Armagh The Au Pairs (live on old grey whistle test 1981)
odysee.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Reposted by Michael Woodhead
I'm at the Willard Hotel where I've been denied entry and kicked out of the Reclaiming Science event with NIH director Bhattacharya & other top agency leaders.

@jocelynkaiser.bsky.social and I registered for the event months ago yet were told capacity was full, even as they let in dozens of others.
January 30, 2026 at 6:07 PM
My Chinese phone assumes I'm a PRC citizen and sends me this message when I land in Sydney.

What would the "3 do's and 3 don'ts" be for western tourists?
January 30, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Reposted by Michael Woodhead
Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda with 1.4m followers reports TikTok ban https://aje.news/ljjuww
January 29, 2026 at 3:30 AM
Final day in Guilin (and #China) so last chance for Guilin noodles
January 29, 2026 at 3:45 AM
I’ve signed up for a Chinese tour group to take a boat down the Li river, Guilin. Guide has spruiked products and services non stop for the 45 minute bus ride to the wharf. Did not inhale once. Then finishes with a song.
January 28, 2026 at 12:54 AM
“Good day Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the tour. My names is Gunilla. Now look at this man on the left, he has a big fat head and a little tiny face …” #BigTrain
January 28, 2026 at 12:07 AM
Reposted by Michael Woodhead
It very much looks like the US Government has just abducted two people from Scotland hours after our Court of Session ordered that they not be removed.

The US is a rogue state. It's time to evict their troops from their de-facto base at (publicly owned) Prestwick airport.
US remove tanker captain from UK waters as crew set to leave Scotland
The US Department of Justice told Scottish authorities that the skipper and his first officer were on board the US Coast Guard vessel Munro.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 27, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Went back to the Guilin hotel roof for a nighttime panorama photo #China
January 27, 2026 at 12:35 PM
Guilin pano
January 27, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Guilin’s Li River Now and in 1984 #China
January 27, 2026 at 5:33 AM
Guilin rice noodles (mifen) recommendation: they have become so famous that many of the ‘genuine’ places are tourist/influencer check ins. If you want the real thing try Majia (马家米粉店) south of the station
January 27, 2026 at 4:42 AM
Today’s plan: latte at sister in laws Tiny Cafe then cycle to the Guilin Botanic Gardens #China #Dahon
January 27, 2026 at 1:27 AM
My Guilin hotel advertised as having ‘city views’. Well it is only $15 a night
January 27, 2026 at 1:01 AM
Kunming South Station panorama
January 26, 2026 at 12:44 AM