Society's Child
The German Government has offered to bail out even the wealthy investors who control the already governmentally favored but privately investor-owned airline Lufthansa, but those super-rich investors demand that it be an unconditional bailout, and negotiations are continuing. On May 5th, the "Flight Global" site bannered "Lufthansa reluctant to accept state aid with conditions attached", and reported that "Lufthansa Group is holding 'intensive talks' with governments in Germany, Austria and Belgium about the provision of state aid."

The Facebook "like" sign at Facebook's corporate headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on Oct. 23, 2019.
The list includes nine law professors, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate from Yemen, journalists, free speech advocates and a writer from the libertarian Cato Institute.
Absent, however, was any prominent expert in studying disinformation. Facebook has struggled to contain state-based manipulation efforts as well as hoaxes on subjects like false cures and gun violence.
Comment: It's difficult to say whether or not this is anything more than a public relations move on the part of Facebook. Whether it will end up improving the social media platform's implicit bias in censoring content remains to be seen.
See also:
- Top UK journalist Craig Murray blocked by Facebook after criticizing Israel
- The Unz Review suddenly banned by Facebook
- Facebook quietly stops letting advertisers target pseudoscience fans after years of boasting 'misinformation fighting' role
- Facebook deems protests 'harmful misinformation' as citizens defy quarantine orders
- Facebook's 'fact checkers' are the real fake news
- Facebook constructs bot-based universe to test out scenarios for manipulating humans, but don't worry, it's safe
- Facebook's alleged pursuit of spy software shows rapacity of its 'advertising machine'
Despite opting for flexible quarantine measures Sweden has been trailing far behind Spain, Italy and the UK in terms of confirmed COVID-19 cases and related deaths with just 23,216 infected and 2,854 fatalities. However, at the same time, the Nordic country has substantially outpaced its neighbours, Denmark, Norway and Finland which account for 503, 214 and 246 fatalities, respectively. Whether or not Stockholm's health strategy has worked will be seen in coming months, say Swedish observers.
Comment: We apparently have to wait months before we can accept the successes of the Swedish model meanwhile those countries in lockdown are using daily tally's to justify that their draconian actions are saving lives?
Functioning Economy & Herd Immunity
Comment: See also:
- Pandemic pushers, economy destroyers and sold out science: Imperial College are still open for business
- UK government 'using pandemic to transfer NHS duties to private sector'
- German manufacturers fear economic damage of lockdown, Bavaria to open for tourism
- EU dictatorship: ECB given ultimatum over €2 trillion stimulus scheme by Germany's top court
Any applicant who has survived the COVID-19 coronavirus will be barred from enrolling in the US military, unless they can obtain a waiver from the branch they would like to join, according to a tweeted Pentagon memo.
"During the medical history interview or examination, a history of COVID-19, confirmed by either a laboratory test or a clinician diagnosis, is permanently disqualifying..." the US Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) memo reads.
Comment: This seems rather counter-intuitive. If someone has had the coronavirus and recovers they would presumably have immunity. So why would that disqualify them from the military? Do the military know something about the virus we don't?
"Our insider witnessed the whole thing and came to Project Veritas, because he knew we would protect him," said James O'Keefe, the founder and CEO of Project Veritas.
"The insider told us that medical personnel were taken away from treating patients and making the line longer for actual patients wait for the COVID-19 test," he said.
In an interview with the insider, O'Keefe asked the insider: "You're telling me you're a hundred percent certain that CBS News, CBS News Corporation--national, staged a fake event. They faked the news. They faked the reality and broadcasted that to all of their audience last Friday on "CBS This Morning."
The insider said to him: "A hundred percent. Absolutely."
Comment: And that is not even the first time CBS has been caught making fake news to spread fear and panic about Covid-19:
- MSM peddles emotionally-charged fake news by covering 'no masks nurse'
- FAKE NEWS: Media fear-mongering reaches new low as CBS uses footage from ITALIAN hospital to describe conditions in New York City

tate Rep. Nino Vitale speaks about his proposal to allow Ohio's churches and pastors to refuse to perform same-sex marriages during a news conference in Columbus on May 11, 2016.
"This is the greatest nation on earth founded on Judeo-Christian Principles. One of those principles is that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. That image is seen the most by our face. I will not wear a mask," Rep. Nino Vitale, a Republican, wrote on Facebook. "That's the image of God right there, and I want to see it in my brothers and sisters."
Some of the thoughts Vitale shared in his most recent post on the topic on his campaign Facebook page Tuesday were from a previous video he had posted and a subsequent interview with Newsweek.
"People want to wear masks, they can. But mandating it, that's a whole different story for me," Tuesday's post said. "No one is stopping anybody from wearing a face mask. But quite frankly everyone else's freedom ends at the tip of my nose. You're not going to tell me what to do and there's a lot of people that feel that way."
"If someone is that scared, that they do not want to go out into the public because 100 percent of the people are not wearing masks, then that person should stay home, not tell everyone else what they should be doing," said Vitale, who represents Champaign County and parts of Logan and Shelby counties.
Comment: See also:
- Your Mask is Making You Meaner, Dumber, More Afraid & Less Safe
- Cops AGAINST masks: Houston police union says they won't enforce 'IDIOTIC' order mandating face covered for everyone over 10
- No, you do not need face masks to prevent coronavirus - they might increase your infection risk
Here's a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL's broadcast regions.
Georgia
Two major cities in Georgia, Batumi and Kutaisi, will lift the lockdowns imposed on them in mid-April to slow down the spread of the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said on May 4 that the restrictions will be lifted the next day, adding that two other major cities in the South Caucasus country, Tbilisi, the capital, and Rustavi, may have their restrictions lifted by the end of the week.
Gakharia explained that lifting the restrictions meant that vehicles will be allowed to enter and exit the cities, though the nationwide curfew between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. will remain until further notice.
Comment: Serbia and Georgia are not the only countries starting to reopen. Spain is joining their ranks of lifting restrictions allowing restaurants, hair salons, and small shops open back up. Economies can only take so much, and it will only be a short matter of time before we see the consequences of the worldwide lockdown.

A Palestinian man in the village of Carmel in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron carries an Israeli court order outside his home, which is similar to orders posted around the village of Bani Hassan, 15 January 2020
"But then we saw the car stopping at houses and posting things on doors, and we knew something was wrong," Issa told Middle East Eye.
In a matter of hours, authorities from Israel's Civil Administration, the military body that enforces Israeli policy in the occupied West Bank, had posted 22 demolition and stop-work orders on Palestinian properties in the village.
Issa's newly built home was one of 12 houses, seven agricultural rooms, and three internationally funded water collection wells that received an order, under the pretext that they were constructed "illegally" in Area C - the more than 60 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli military control.
Can you imagine a world where you have to constantly be concerned about walking, standing or sitting too close to someone else?
Already, there is talk of putting physical markings on sidewalks in order to constantly remind all of us not to walk too closely to one another...
Arrows on the ground, and other physical markers to encourage and enforce distance. Imagine sidewalks with scoring every 6 feet so those walking could make sure they're the human equivalent of a few car lengths behind. Or large sculptures deployed to separate people.
Peter Wagenaar believes the torching of his Mini Cooper was an escalation of the backlash he had received from the community.
"We feed homeless people and there are a handful of people not happy with it and they have rallied (other) people. Two Fridays ago, the police asked me for my permit. We had a valid permit in place and then last night at about 3.40am I saw my car was set alight and was burnt to the ground," Wagenaar said.
He added that over the past few weeks he had received complaints from residents who were opposed to him feeding the homeless.
"I believe it is someone who is so toxic who wants to deter me. I am at peace. We have 200-300 supporters. There are a handful of people who have been rallying against us," he said.












Comment: Historically, revolutions never really end well - they're often hijacked by nefarious forces - nor do they really achieve what they set out to do; what is needed is an education of at least a significant proportion of people - akin to the 'Tipping Point' - as to the nature of corruption and how it insidiously takes hold of a society. Without this, history is only bound to repeat itself: Political Ponerology: A Science on The Nature of Evil adjusted for Political Purposes
As things are, it looks like a time of revealing is upon us, those who have stuck their heads in the sand hoping things would get better despite the fact that life for the majority was getting worse, will now have to face up to reality, because it is their livelihoods now on the line.
See also:
- EU dictatorship: ECB given ultimatum over €2 trillion stimulus scheme by Germany's top court
- UK banks preparing for "severe" recession, profits at Lloyds bank crash by 95%
- Public companies received $1 billion in stimulus funds meant for small businesses
- "This is what a police state is like": UK's ex-supreme court judge lambasts policing, 'collective hysteria' and the lockdown
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