Something is happening. Something big. There is a growing number of people worldwide who are tired of COVID lockdowns and restrictions.
A resistance movement is happening right now, all over the world:
Covid-19: Dutch police break up an anti-lockdown protest - Police in the Netherlands have used water cannon to clear anti-government demonstrators from a park in The Hague.
Some 2,000 demonstrators rallied in the centre of the city to protest against Covid-19 restrictions and other government policies.
Mounted officers as well as riot police with batons and dogs moved in after some of the protesters refused to leave at the end of the demonstration.
The protests come a day before voting begins in a general election.
The vote is taking place over three days to avoid congestion that would risk spreading coronavirus at polling stations.
Protesters occupy Paris theatres to protest against Covid-19 shutdowns
Theatres, cinemas, museums and other cultural spaces have been shut since France's last full lockdown in October and have remained closed despite most businesses reopening in December.
University students spent Monday night protesting at Pau theatre in southern France. Similar actions were seen on Tuesday at two other theatres, the Colline in eastern Paris and the National Theatre of Strasbourg.
Pressure has been building for weeks and thousands marched in cities across France last Thursday to demand a reopening of the cultural sector, albeit with allowances made for social distancing measures.
3,000 protest coronavirus restrictions, vaccines in Romanian capital
Thousands of protesters gathered in Romania's capital, Bucharest, on Sunday to protest COVID-19 restrictions and vaccinations, which they fear will become compulsory.
Photos taken by The Associated Press and others on social media showed large crowds carrying signs and other materials with anti-mask and anti-vaccine slogans, including one reading, “Say no to forced vaccination.”
The protests reportedly come in the face of a new round of two-week COVID-19 guidelines restricting parts of public life in the country. Romania previously relaxed COVID-19 rules earlier this year but faces a rising wave of new infections that health officials have yet to have much success in reversing.
Senegal is experiencing Africa’s first post-Covid protests
Deadly protests have rocked Senegal in the last week, as anger over corruption and a crackdown on political opponents have come to a head. But they have been compounded by frustration over economic disruptions from Covid-19, a potential warning sign for the region in the months to come.
Senegal has been much more stable relative to regional neighbors Mali, Guinea, and Cote d’Ivoire, which have seen substantial political and civil unrest in the past year. The country tipped into turmoil last week, with at least eight protesters killed in clashes with security forces in the capital, Dakar.
“One reason why the protests are now spreading has been the government’s reactionary response,” says Eric Humphery-Smith, research analyst for Africa at global risk consulting firm Maplecroft. “The authorities flooded the streets with soldiers while simultaneously accusing protestors of being the source of the violence.”
Economists and analysts also believe that disgruntlement over a worsening economy hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and ongoing restrictions, are the reasons anger has been so sustained.
Covid: Anti-vaccination protests held in Australia ahead of the rollout
Anti-vaccination protesters have gathered across Australia ahead of the launch of the country's coronavirus inoculation programme.
Protests were held in cities including Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, with participants chanting slogans like: "My body, my choice."
The rallies were largely peaceful, but police made several arrests in Melbourne, local media reported.
The national rollout of the Pfizer vaccine is set to begin on Monday.
Australia's medical regulator earlier this week also granted provisional approval for the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which is expected to be rolled out next month.
Both vaccines have undergone extensive safety checks and are already being used in several countries.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Alberta legislature in Edmonton Saturday, following a “freedom convoy” relating to COVID-19 restrictions that began in Lethbridge.
The protest was organized by the “Walk for Freedom Alberta” group. That group claims to stand up for rights and freedoms and “peacefully promote breaches to our civil liberties across Alberta.”
The convoy began in Lethbridge, went through Calgary and Red Deer, and then finished at the Alberta legislature.
There were multiple groups seen in attendance, including the group that organized it, as well as others.
Thousands march in Montreal to protest against wearing masks - Montreal police said they made 10 arrests and issued 144 tickets to protesters, all of which were for refusal to wear a mask.
Ten people were arrested and police officers issued 144 tickets during a demonstration against COVID-19 health measures on Saturday in Montreal.
All of the 144 tickets issued were in relation to people refusing to wear masks.
One of the protesters had an arrest warrant, police spokesperson Raphaël Bergeron said Saturday evening, and others could face charges including possession of a weapon and assaulting a police officer. He did not clarify what type of weapon police officers seized during the protest.
Earlier on Saturday, police spokesperson Manuel Couture said the crowd of thousands of people was mainly made up of families who generally did not seek confrontation with the police, said Manuel Couture, a spokesperson for the Montreal police.
Protests erupt in Jordan after COVID-19 hospital deaths scandal
Protests erupted across many of Jordan’s cities and provincial towns against the government’s coronavirus restrictions, a day after oxygen ran out at a state hospital leading to the deaths of at least six COVID-19 patients, witnesses said on Sunday.
Hundreds of people spilled into the streets in defiance of a night curfew in the northern city of Irbid and several other provincial cities including a neighbourhood in the capital and the city of Salt. Protesters also gathered further south in Karak city and the port city of Aqaba.
“Down with the government. We don’t fear coronavirus,” hundreds of youths chanted in Irbid where outrage at the hospital scandal combined with anger over tighter restrictions that include extending a night curfew to stem a major surge of infections driven by a more contagious variant of the virus.
Jordan’s economy has been particularly hard hit by the shutdowns aimed at containing the virus with unemployment surging to a record 24 % and poverty deepening. It witnessed its worst contraction in decades last year.
Demonstrators who blamed the government for worsening economic conditions also called for an end to draconian emergency laws enacted at the start of the pandemic last year used to limit civil and political rights.
This isn't good:
In America, we have a bending of the rules to fit the narrative. Since schools can’t open fully with six feet of separation between all students, there will be new data to support the three-foot rule. How convenient.
School shutdowns have been a divisive topic during since the pandemic erupted, and a new study has ignited debate over the six-foot rule of social distancing and whether it can be relaxed in classroom settings, which would ease the way for children to return to schools.
The new study, published last week in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, suggests public schools may be able to reopen safely for in-person instruction as long as children maintain three feet of distance between them, and with other mitigation measures maintained, such as wearing masks.
Jill Biden and members of her husband’s administration have been traveling in a concerted campaign for reopening schools safely while parents and educators have grown increasingly frustrated by the off-again, on-again policies from district to district.
Thought-Provoking Articles:
“The policing of lockdown is failing” – The police response to the vigil has exposed another lockdown failure, says the Spectator.
“Are doctors failing to record bad reactions to Covid jabs?” – An anonymous piece in the Conservative Woman, with concerning implications.
“What is an anti-vaxxer” – Dr. Malcolm Kendrick’s latest blog ruminates on what it means to be ‘anti-‘ or a ‘denier’, or a ‘skeptic.’
“The end of experts, the rejection of woke and the rise of the working classes” – The latest episode of Irreverend invites reverend, Phil Sacre, to discuss some optimistic predictions about the breakdown of the lockdown narrative and the end of the reign of experts.
“France to trial digital vaccine passport scheme” – Healthcare IT News reports that France is piloting a vaccine passport scheme for passengers traveling on Air France.
“CDC vs. common sense” – The CDC’s guidance is at odds with common sense, writes Paul E. Alexander at AIER. Americans must understand that it is just guidance and nothing more than that.
“Vaccinations and stimulus boost consumer sentiment in early March” – Robert Hughes at the AIER looks at a Consumer Survey which shows rising consumer confidence.
“We want to get our summer back!’“: – Oklahoma is also bringing restrictions to an end, according to the Daily Mail. Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day…
Family Matters:
Clayton Craddock is an independent thinker, father of two beautiful children in New York City. He is the drummer of the hit broadway musical Ain't Too Proud. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University's School of Business and is a 28 year veteran of the fast-paced New York City music scene. He has played drums in several hit broadway and off-broadway musicals, including "Tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, and Lady Day At Emerson's Bar and Grill. Also, Clayton has worked on: Footloose, Motown, The Color Purple, Rent, Little Shop of Horrors, Spongebob Squarepants, The Musical, Evita, Cats, and Avenue Q.