News Round-Up

• “Lockdown wasn’t worth it” – “Aside from its effects on health, education and the economy, lockdown represents the greatest infringement on civil liberties in modern history,” writes Noah Carl in his latest Substack update.
• “Two more rounds of booster jabs to come as Government orders ‘variant-proof’ Covid vaccines” – A Deal for 114 million jabs from Pfizer and Moderna will futureproof the whole country against coronavirus beyond the winter, says Sajid Javid.
• “Will we ever learn to ‘live with the virus’?” – “I’m not the only one who’s been wondering for months: how will we ever get out of this terrible movie,” writes Lionel Shriver in the Spectator.
• “Too many people have a vested interest in this permanent Covid emergency” – Blaming the pandemic has become a convenient excuse for bodies that fail to do their jobs properly, writes Allister Heath in the Telegraph.
• “Trigger of rare blood clots with AstraZeneca jab found by scientists” – Researchers in Cardiff and the U.S. work out how the Covid jab may be linked to the extremely rare clots, reports BBC News.
• “AstraZeneca vaccine side effects – latest known symptoms” – Covid vaccine side effects have been reported since the earliest doses of the U.K.’s three leading vaccines, but what are the most common side effects in those who receive the AstraZeneca? The Express takes a look.
• “U.K. led the ‘vaccine’ rush, but did we know anything about gene safety?” – Paula Jardine starts a three-part investigation, published in TCW Defending Freedom, into the political decisions that allowed the Covid vaccines fast passage through the approval process.
• “The epidemiological relevance of the Covid-vaccinated population is increasing” – “Recent data indicate that the epidemiological relevance of Covid vaccinated individuals is increasing,” according to a new Lancet study.
• “The great nudge” – Government, Big Tech and the media are all trying to nudge us into adopting the ‘right’ behaviour, writes Joel Kotkin in Spiked.
• “Europe’s Omicron panic has left the Continent in a very dark place” – Britain has become the new Sweden as other governments race to implement tough policies, writes Fraser Nelson in the Telegraph.
• “We are all suffering from the Xi variant” – “This inability to contend with the most serious of issues facing us is one of the fundamental problems in Western society. We shy away from anything of substance, instead forever indulging in trivialities,” writes Frederick Edward in Bournbrook Magazine.
• “Javid says snog who you like under mistletoe, contradicting Coffey” – As Home Office staff are told to curtail Christmas parties, ministers are accused of mixed messaging, reports the Guardian.
• “Hospital pass: The NHS is on life support” – “Two decades ago, it was easier to claim that the NHS’s problem was simply not enough money,” writes Kate Andrews in the Spectator.
• “The Based Draft” – In Bournbrook Magazine’s second video essay, S.D. Wickett narates an article by Alexander Adams, arguing that “the organised minority is always more effective than the unorganised majority, frequently managing to dominate (or rule) societies“.
• “Coronavirus, Propaganda and the Coming Genocide?” – Dr. Colin Alexander, a Senior Lecturer in Political Communications at Nottingham Trent University, will deliver a talk exploring the extent to which the draconian actions of governments during the pandemic are similar to early stages of genocide.
• “Inside Australia’s Covid internment camp” – Hayley Hodgson, 26, moved to Darwin from Melbourne to escape the never-ending lockdowns – only to find herself locked up in a Covid Internment Camp without even having the virus. Here, she talks to UnHerd about her experience.
• “Von der Leyen’s threat of compulsory vaccinations is an ominous reminder of why we left the E.U.” – Mandatory vaccinations are another example of the mission creep that has characterised the E.U. since its inception, writes Ross Clark in the Telegraph.
• “Vaccines and Power” – “Given Germany’s notorious history of brutally stigmatising various minority populations, it is shocking and outrageous that a German ‘research institute’ and the Hamburg-based weekly news magazine would sink to such sleazy malice,” writes Chris Farrell in the Gladstone Institute.
• “Rising lithium prices risk pushing electric car dreams off the road” – With battery costs predicted to soar by 16%, vehicle makers face a defining choice, reports the Telegraph.
• “Court ruling in favour of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex condemned by chorus of sceptics” – The Mail on Sunday says it will consider an appeal to the Supreme Court, amid concerns that judges have created privacy laws by the back door, reports the Telegraph.
• “Michael Buerk: Freedom of speech under threat at ‘increasingly woke’ BBC” – The veteran broadcaster is concerned his “no holds barred” show “The Moral Maze” could lose its ability to be provocative, reports the Telegraph.
• “That’s this year’s Downing Street Christmas party ruined” – Labour MP Neil Coyle jokes that this year’s Downing Street Christmas party has been “ruined” by the seizing of cocaine worth £78 million.