Society's ChildS


Propaganda

Another news bungle? Bloomberg's op-ed mixes up hospital bed stats and OECD in its attack on Russian Covid-19 response


RT
Wed, 20 May 2020 08:03 UTC
empty beds
© Sputnik/IlliyaEmpty beds at a new infectious disease hospital for COVID-19 patients in Voronovskoye, Russia
Shortly after asking "why the coronavirus did not kill more Russians," Bloomberg illustrated a stinging op-ed with a graph suggesting Russia is far behind OECD states in hospital beds...though the exact opposite is true.

Everything's fine if it fits the narrative, Bloomberg Opinion editors might have thought when they misquoted World Bank statistics on the number of hospital beds per 1,000 residents, including the misrepresented data in a Russia-bashing op-ed by Clara Ferreira Marques, titled 'How Putin's Russia Bungled the Pandemic'.

Taking a swipe at Russia's efforts to upgrade the Soviet healthcare system to make it less cumbersome and more effective, the piece argued that the endeavor failed, only leading to a drop in hospitals, beds available, and doctors.
bloomberg article
© Bloomberg
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Pirates

Italy: 101 'Ndrangheta mafia bosses arrested for illegally collecting basic income


ANSA English
Wed, 20 May 2020 17:17 UTC
police raid mafia
© Guardia di Finanza, Reggio CalabriaPolice raid on mafia bosses illegally collecting basic income
Sons of 'Italian Pablo Esobar' among fraudulent claimants

Over 101 bosses and members of the Calabrian-based 'Ndrangheta mafia have been discovered claiming the government's 'citizenship wage' basic income for poor households and job seekers, without being entitled to it, the tax police said Wednesday.

The 'Mala Civitas' operation led to the citing of the false claimants, representatives of the main Calabrian clans.

Among the claimants were the sons of Roberto Pannunzi, known as "the Italian Pablo Escobar", unanimously considered by Italian and US investigators as one of the world's biggest cocaine brokers.
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Bizarro Earth

Ex-Green Berets believed US backed plan to oust Maduro, according to their families

Yaron Steinbuch
New York Post
Mon, 18 May 2020 16:52 UTC
maduro green berets passports coup
© European Press AgencyVenezuelan President Nicolas Maduro showing the passports of the two Americans detained in Venezuela.
Friends and relatives of two US mercenaries captured by Venezuela in a botched attempt to oust President Nicolás Maduro said they believe the former special forces soldiers would only have taken part in the mission had they been convinced it was backed by the White House, according to a report.

Luke Denman and Airan Berry have appeared on Venezuelan TV admitting their role in the wild May 3 attack, which authorities said was orchestrated by former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau and Gen. Cliver Alcala, a Venezuelan army defector.

They are among 34 combatants taken into custody for the raid, which Goudreau reportedly helped set up to cash in on a $15 million US bounty for Maduro's capture.

Comment:

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Mr. Potato

UK gov's virus surveillance firm Serco apologises for sharing private data of recruits


The Canary
Wed, 20 May 2020 10:09 UTC
nhs contact tracing
Outsourcing giant Serco has apologised after it accidentally shared almost 300 email addresses of new recruits to the government's coronavirus contact-tracing programme.

The company is helping to sign up people to support efforts to track and trace cases of Covid-19 to help reduce the spread of the disease in the UK.

The government has promised to recruit 18,000 contact tracers to manually gather information about the places infected people have visited and other individuals they have been in contact with to get a detailed picture of who might be at risk of infection.

Comment: And we're expected to believe this scandal ridden company can be trusted with the public's confidential data?

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Syringe

Best of the Web: 10 steps to turn a pandemic into the brave new normal

Catte Black
OffGuardian
Tue, 19 May 2020 00:01 UTC
lies mask
Now, dear reader, I know you're not a member of an institutionally sociopathic elite caste, trying to extend your power back to the good old days of supreme monarchs ordained by God himself.

But imagine you were.

Imagine you were one of the richest people to ever exist, and your vast network of wealth and influence was based on some imaginary money and the widely cultivated belief that "there is no alternative".

Now imagine the lies which secure your position are suddenly and violently challenged. Imagine Yellow Vested protests in the streets of Paris, an independence referendum in Catalonia. Anti-globalists, on the left and right, surging in popularity all around the world.

Comment: See also:

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Health

Holding healthcare hostage? Cuomo demands federal bailout or he'll 'have to' cut hospital funding


RT
Tue, 19 May 2020 19:41 UTC
andrew cuomo
© Reuters / Brendan McDermid
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has demanded that the federal government bail out his state, or he'll have to slash funding for hospitals, medical staff, and other local services - whose budgets he's already cut to the bone.

The governor took aim at the Trump administration's funding priorities during his Covid-19 press conference on Tuesday, waxing dramatic about political "values" as he accused Washington of shafting state governments with emergency coronavirus bailout packages that favored big banks and megacorporations.

"Why was Washington so quick to fund the corporations and big businesses, but now they have to think about whether they want to fund state governments and local governments?" Cuomo demanded, reminding his audience that local governments in turn fund hospitals, police, schools, and other "essential" services.

Comment: See also:

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Info

Naked cheerleader scandal leads to firings at the University of Kentucky


The College Fix
Tue, 19 May 2020 00:01 UTC
university of kentucky cheerleaders
© University of Kentucky Athletics
The University of Kentucky has fired its entire cheerleading staff after a three-month investigation found its cheerleaders engaged in public drunkenness, nudity, and hazing.

On Monday, Head Coach Jomo Thompson and Assistant Coaches Ben Head, Spencer Clan and Kelsey LaCroix were all fired for "failing to provide reasonable oversight" during several off-campus events involving the cheerleading team.

According to the report following the investigation, at a team retreat at Lake Cumberland, some cheerleaders performed gymnastics routines known as "basket tosses," which involved hurling their teammates from a dock into the water while either topless (for female cheerleaders) or bottomless (for males.) These routines were done while some of the coaches were present.
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Attention

Massage parlour stabbing was act of 'incel' terrorism: RCMP

Chris Herhalt
CP24
Tue, 19 May 2020 16:27 UTC
Crown Spa Toronto crimescene
Crown Spa in Downsview is seen with police investigators outside on Feb. 24, 2020.
A 17-year-old boy accused of stabbing a woman to death inside a Downsview massage parlour in February has now been charged with terrorism, and police allege he carried out the assault in the name of the "incel" movement.

On February 24, police were called to Crown Spa, near Dufferin Street and Wilson Avenue for reports of a stabbing.

When officers arrived, a teenage boy and a woman were found outside the building suffering from "laceration-type" injuries.

Comment: See also:

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HAL9000

Dystopian and disturbing: Big Tech censorship lumps together conspiracy loons and proper scientists

Frank Furedi
RT
Mon, 18 May 2020 19:19 UTC
Knut Wittkowski
© (L) Knut Wittkowski Youtube / Journeyman Pictures; (R) FILE PHOTO Getty Images / SOPA Images / Filip Radwanski
YouTube has set itself up as the world's thought police over Covid-19 and is shutting down the voices of highly respected experts. This has dangerous consequences for us all, as scepticism and questioning gets us closer to truth.

As far as YouTube is concerned, it is the arbiter of what can and cannot be said about how to fight the threat posed by the coronavirus. Dissidents' views must not be seen or heard on its channels! That is why it decided to clamp down on anyone who dares question the wisdom of the current lockdown.

YouTube's censorious attitude is not confined to policing conspiracy theorists and flat-earth nutters, either. Recently, it has removed a video of the respected epidemiologist Dr Knut M Wittkowski's discussion of how to understand and respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. This popular video, watched by 1.5 million people, was one of the rare resources that offered a serious scientific view challenging the official consensus.


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Stock Down

And they're gone! The obscenity of Dr. Fauci's jobs-mageddon

David Stockman
LewRockwell.com
Tue, 12 May 2020 05:08 UTC
Stock market
© Sputnik / Roman Galkin
Yes, they are.....gone.

We are referring, of course, to all of the jobs created not only since the Great Recession bottom, but during the entire 21st century to date!

That's right. The 20.5 million jobs plunge reported for April essentially wiped out the "strong labor market" brouhaha of the 244 "Jobs Friday" reports since January 2000.

In fact, the 131.072 million nonfarm payroll jobs reported for April 2020 were actually below the 131.124 million jobs reported way back in February 2000 when Bill Clinton was still scurrying around the White House looking for some place to hide the blue dress.

Comment: See also:

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