I had several titles for this article. Top of the list initially was, “Lying Bastards” but that may be insensitive to bastards.

Here we are halfway through the first month of the new year and around the world leaders are doubling down on their respective populations with mandates and restrictions that despite being about pandemic management have the sinister atmosphere of authoritorian control.

It doesn’t really matter which side of the vaccine debate you subscribe to the evidence, actual and anecdotal is disproving the effectiveness or reasons behind the rinse and repeat stance of respective governments.

The opening salvo of the new year initially was that Omicron is less severe and may be the way out of the pandemic. The backlash to this was mixed and interesting. Some welcomed this as it meant their was a way out of the last two years of crap. Others were appalled that the…