Most Covid restrictions were lifted in The Netherlands except for a mask mandate in public transport and schools. I walked in a fully masked supermarket Thursday and a fully unmasked supermarket Friday. People in trains are still masked. People without QR are allowed to enter swimming pools again, so I've been doing a lot of swimming.
Our country saw an increased death rate in the second half of 2021 after the vaccinations started. The government entity for counting vaccine side effects said there were at most 3 people affected. Most people know more vaccine side effects first hand! Now the government statistics body has announced it will investigate. The investigation will not focus on vaccination side effects, but on a host of other explanations (like other viruses.)
The last few weeks saw a flurry of ever stranger news stories. Sexual harassment allegations in show business (why is that news? yet it was big.) When the new government was introduced in parliament, all reporting focused on hatred against immigrants stoked by one politician; no other questions made the news. Someone stealing from an Apple store, taking a hostage, with the hostage being given a message by a robot, and the hostage taker hit by a non-police SUV.
Then the hypnotic focus moved to Ukraine. People are convinced Putin is the bad guy. Like the earlier narrative, you're not allowed to doubt. For example, when I say the Ukraine imprisoned its opposition after the last election this results in real anger and ostracism.
In good news, there's more cyclists around, and I hear talk about setting the thermostat a few degrees lower.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2022-03-08 09:00 pm (UTC)Our country saw an increased death rate in the second half of 2021 after the vaccinations started. The government entity for counting vaccine side effects said there were at most 3 people affected. Most people know more vaccine side effects first hand! Now the government statistics body has announced it will investigate. The investigation will not focus on vaccination side effects, but on a host of other explanations (like other viruses.)
The last few weeks saw a flurry of ever stranger news stories. Sexual harassment allegations in show business (why is that news? yet it was big.) When the new government was introduced in parliament, all reporting focused on hatred against immigrants stoked by one politician; no other questions made the news. Someone stealing from an Apple store, taking a hostage, with the hostage being given a message by a robot, and the hostage taker hit by a non-police SUV.
Then the hypnotic focus moved to Ukraine. People are convinced Putin is the bad guy.
Like the earlier narrative, you're not allowed to doubt. For example, when I say the Ukraine imprisoned its opposition after the last election this results in real anger and ostracism.
In good news, there's more cyclists around, and I hear talk about setting the thermostat a few degrees lower.