By: Paul Bennett

Online Dating In A Twisted Covid World

Finding your soulmate or next lover is all about showcasing your best qualities as a human being to a potential partner. Dating app Bumble is now offering singletons the opportunity to inform would be lovers of their vaccination status in Australia and New Zealand. Users on the app can now add a “vaccination badge” to their profile. A Bumble spokesperson said that the company will not independently confirm the vaccination standing of those who declare getting the vaccine which means the system of declaration is solely based on users honesty. Bumble added that the rationale for adding the vaccination badge status was in response to a survey which revealed a “45% increase in users asking potential dates if they had the vaccine or have covid symptoms”. Bumble currently enable users to share their dating preferences on issues like mask-wearing and social distancing.

A YouGov poll of nearly 5000 UK adults found that 28% would not date someone who has not received the jab with 2% indicating they would not date a potential partner if they did get the jab.

The normalisation of this intrusive and discriminatory “badge” has been welcomed and encouraged. Dr Rosalie Gillett, a postdoctoral analysis fellow at the Queensland University of Technology stated “As dating apps often encourage in-person interactions, users might feel safer meeting with people who say they have been vaccinated against covid”.

Competitors in the online dating world including Tinder are also planning to introduce the cringing vaccine badge category. In the US, The White House in partnership with many popular online dating platforms issued incentives to vaccinated users. White House advisor Andy Slavitt said, “We have finally found the one thing that makes us all more attractive: a vaccination”. The White House said the dating platforms will offer badges showing vaccination compliance, free access to “premium content like boosts, super likes, and super swipes” and filters to potential hook-ups based on their vaccination status. Super-likes increase your chances of being noticed on dating online platforms.

In the UK, the Department of Health and Social Care have introduced similar plans by teaming up with dating apps to encourage and promote vaccine uptake in young people.

This is another cynical ploy to divide people and incentivise them to get the jab by large multinational companies. If a self-declaration of current vaccine status is a priority when dating, one really has low standards. The covid clown world continues…

“Have The Vaccine Or I Will Jail You!” Says President of Philippines

Filipino President has threatened his citizens that he will jail anyone who refuses a covid vaccine. In a televised address, President Rodrigo Duterte told his nation, “You choose: vaccine or I will have you jailed”. Duterte’s tough words were in response to reports of low turnout at several vaccination centres across the capital Manila.

Duterte who is known for his straight-talking and bullish style issued more threats for anyone who refuses the experimental vaccine. He stated that “As long as you are here and you are a human being, and can carry the virus, get vaccinated. Otherwise, I will order all the village captains to have a tally of the people who refuse to be vaccinated. Because if not, I will have Ivermectin meant for pigs injected into you”.

His aggressive remarks are contrary to those of his health officials who have encouraged vaccine uptake but advised it is currently not compulsory. The Philippines has had a tough stance on covid with strict measures and lockdowns including the President’s decision to keep schools closed.

Duterte showed his dismay that many Filipinos would have the audacity to ignore government advice regarding covid and vaccines. He said, “I’m just exasperated by Filipinos not heeding the government”. The Filipino government hopes that this new low of scare mongering tactics will heavily influence its citizens to take the jab in large numbers.

Elected in 2016 after a landslide victory, President Duterte has established a controversial international reputation for his nononsense approach in tackling the war on drugs, crime, and corruption.

His methods have drawn attention from Amnesty and from the International Criminal Court (ICC). In the same televised address, Duterte took aim at the ICC who have sough permission for a full inquiry into alleged state sanctioned murder by police during an anti-drugs campaign. “Why would I defend or face an accusation before white people? You must be crazy,” stated Duterte.

The ‘International Community’ has surprisingly been quiet regarding his veiled threats regarding vaccine compliance. Then again, scaremongering and threatening demands is the order of the day.

Irish Police To Be Granted Powers Allowing Access To Passwords For All Electronic Devices

A new policing Bill in Ireland will grant the Gardai (Irish Police) legal powers to demand personal passwords for phones and other electronic devices. Refusal to supply passwords to the Gardai could result in up to 5 years in prison and penalty fines ranging from 5000 Euros to 30000 Euros according to the new invasive legislation. The proposed Bill requires any person under warrant to supply the Gardai with pin numbers, passwords, or decryption keys on any IT device even in minor offences. The Garda Siochana (Powers) Bill will also allow the Gardai to have increased powers in relation to stop and search procedures.

Irish Minister for Justice Heather Humphreys justified the Bill by stating that “It would be relevant in child abuse investigations and in the investigation of economic crime and corruption”. She said the Bill will have a strong focus on human rights and on the procedural rights of the accused. The Minister went on to say that the new powers will allow the Gardai to access important information in a “timely and efficient way”.

The nature of the draconian Bill has been met with caution and concern over privacy and legal rights. Professor of Law and Chairman of Digital Rights Ireland TJ McIntyre stated that the powers granted to the Gardai were “extraordinarily invasive” and would allow them access to “the entirety of someone’s digital life”. The Irish Council of Civil Liberties (ICCL) are concerned with the Bill’s provision of seizing private and privileged personal information, while also stating that new guidelines that indicates that search warrants could be issued by Garda Superintendents, as opposed to judges, in “exceptional circumstances” is worrying, given those circumstances are currently not defined.

Big Brother is not only watching us all the time but now totalitarian State powers and 21st century policing methods can now access and view our private digital information even if minor offenses have been caused. Our lives have become increasingly digitalised and guidelines and laws to intrude and invade our digital privacy is a worrying development.

Mask Exemption For Business And First-Class Flyers When Seat Is Reclined To A Flat Position

Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific have announced favourable and questionable mask exemptions for their business and first-class flyers. Passengers can now remove their mask when their expensive seat is reclined to a fully flat position. Passengers flying economy with Cathay Pacific are required to wear a mask for the duration of the flight.

Cathay Pacific have justified this absurd and bizarre waiver by stating that “seats in first and business class are more spacious with partitions, and passengers are exempted when lying flat for sleep”. The airline went on to say that when first or business class passenger’s seat is in the lounge or upright position, masks are required but not when the seat is in its lie-flat mode. A spokesperson for the airline also confirmed that its fleet of aircraft are equipped with filtration systems that are “capable of filtering 99.9999 percent of dust particles, including virus and bacteria”.

Qatar Airlines was the first airline to have lenient mask exemptions for business and first-class flyers. In a statement in June 2020, the airline said, “business class customers are asked to wear their face shield and mask onboard at their own discretion, as they enjoy more space and privacy”. Many view this brazen exemption and loophole as a cynical move to suit wealthy and privileged flyers. Healthline’s Chief Medical Officer Dr.Hanh Le has questioned the science behind it and branded the move a “business decision intended to encourage people to buy more expensive tickets without any foundation in science, evidence or safeguards’’.

Covid moves in mysterious ways not just on planes but also on other forms of transport. Former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher has questioned the logic and rationality of wearing masks, especially on trains. He responded with calls to wear a mask on a train by saying “Oh right, this killer virus that’s sweeping through the train is gonna come and attack me, but see me having a sandwich and go, leave him, he’s having his lunch?”. Noel Gallagher went on to say that masks are “pointless” and “there’s too many liberties being taken away from us now”.

Flying first class is a luxury that many of us will never experience. This perk and mask exemption policy is another mocking example of a two-tiered system that suits the rich and powerful.