War in Ukraine, DC’s COVID-19 restrictions, and cancel culture all find themselves the targets of protest in today’s Bwoglines.
Happening in the World: More than 4,300 anti-war protestors were detained in Russia on Sunday, with arrests occurring across 53 Russian cities. The largest protest for peace in Ukraine drew thousands to Moscow, where 1,700 were subsequently detained. Over the past 12 days, the number of arrests across Russia could be as high as 10,000. Russian legislation regarding assemblies effectively requires any assembly to receive prior authorization from the government, thus outlawing many of these protests. (BBC)
Happening in the US: On Sunday, a convoy of trucks circled Washington, DC, in protest of COVID-19 mandates in the city. The group planned to circle the city’s beltway twice before returning to nearby Hagerstown, Maryland, according to organizers. Officials in the District say that while the original convoy included only a few dozen vehicles, the number of vehicles in Hagerstown is currently around 1,000 and could double over the coming days. The protest echoes the “Freedom Convoy” protests in Ottawa, Canada, some weeks ago, which ended after Canadian police forcefully dispersed protestors. (CNN)
Happening in NYC: Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made his first public speech since his resignation at a Brooklyn church on Sunday. In his remarks, he claimed that “cancel culture” was the cause of the scandal which led to his resignation and accused “Democratic extremists” of overturning his election. Cuomo also hinted at a return to public service in the future, though he made no remarks concerning another run for office. Cuomo was invited to speak by Rev. Alfred Cockfield II, a close political ally of Mayor Adams’s whose church is often a campaign stop for city candidates. (Gothamist)
Happening in Our Community: On Tuesday, March 8, at 6 pm, join Columbia’s Office of the President and Office of University Life in the Low Library Rotunda for a Panel Discussion on the War in Ukraine. The panel will bring together four experts on the subject—including a former Ukrainian representative to the UN—for a discussion of the ongoing Russian invasion. The event will be cosponsored by the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies and the Harriman Institute.
Pro-Ukraine protest via Wikimedia Commons