New Zealand's New Weapon: Barry Manilow Songs

Canada has brought out the police in force to try to disperse protesters angry over COVID mandates. New Zealand is trying a different tactic for its copycat protesters: Barry Manilow's greatest hits. The government has been blasting songs such as "Mandy" and "Could It Be Magic" on a 15-minute loop, reports the BBC. They threw in the "Macarena" for good measure. The protesters' response? They began blaring "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister, per the AP.

The New Zealand protesters turned up earlier in the week, borrowing the "Convoy for Freedom" theme of the demonstrators in Ottawa. As the Sydney Morning Herald reports, police in the capital of Wellington responded aggressively on Thursday, which led to physical confrontations that went viral on social media. Police changed tactics after that, and Parliament Speaker Trevor Mallard came up with the Manilow idea after another tactic—dousing the protesters with sprinklers—didn't have much of an effect. (More Barry Manilow stories.)