Put the Blame Where it Belongs-China

[Spock]

Since this is my thread-going forward-I will not be limiting myself to items directly related to Coronavirus.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/politics ... index.html

Harvard professor among three charged with lying about Chinese government ties

But, I guess me noting the arrest of Harvard professor named "Charles Lieber" is just my way of "Bashing Evil Foreigners."

>>>"Federal authorities told reporters the cases highlighted the "ongoing threat" posed by China using "nontraditional collectors" like academics and researchers to steal American research and technology."<<<<

>>>"The complaint alleges that Lieber had lied about his affiliation with the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in China and a contract he had with a Chinese talent recruitment plan to attract high-level scientists to the country."<<<<

>>>"Last week, a cancer researcher, Zaosong Zheng, was indicted for trying to smuggle 21 vials of biological material out of the US to China and lying about it to federal investigators, Lelling said."<<<<

[Spock]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfQUifJAiSI

I posted this youtube video from Doctors Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (Evolutionary Biologists)in another thread Re-Bats and zoonotic diseases and so forth.

The relevant part of the video to this thread starts at about 33:30

Discusses Conspiracy Theories and the Wuhan bio-lab and so forth.

Also interesting discussion interweaved in this part about the term "Gated Institutional Narrative" or "GIN" which was coined by Dr. Weinstein's brother.

I do ask that you watch the whole video before proceeding with the anti-Spock posts.

[Bob Juch]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfQUifJAiSI

I posted this youtube video from Doctors Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying in another thread Re-Bats and zoonotic diseases and so forth.

The relevant part of the video to this thread starts at about 33:30

Discusses Conspiracy Theories and the Wuhan bio-lab and so forth.

Also interesting discussion interweaved in this part about the term "Gated Institutional Narrative" or "GIN" which was coined by Dr. Weinstein's brother.

I do ask that you watch the whole video before proceeding with the anti-Spock posts.

I hope planting season starts soon so you won't have so much time on your hands.

[Spock]

As I have said before-I am not limiting myself to the Coronavirus stuff. I am more interested in the wider threat posed by China

I am an active supporter/follower/member or whatever of "Committee on the Present Danger-China."

https://presentdangerchina.org/

Lots of good resources there-Webcasts/articles and such.

Most relevant right now is probably this article.

https://presentdangerchina.org/2020/03/ ... medicines/

Communist China is Our Enemy – So Why Are We Dependent on It for Medicines?

I guess in many ways the recommendations put forth by this group answer SSS's repeated rhetorical questions about what I think should be done about China.

[Bob78164]

As I have said before-I am not limiting myself to the Coronavirus stuff. I am more interested in the wider threat posed by China

I am an active supporter/follower/member or whatever of "Committee on the Present Danger-China."

https://presentdangerchina.org/

Lots of good resources there-Webcasts/articles and such.

Most relevant right now is probably this article.

https://presentdangerchina.org/2020/03/ ... medicines/

Communist China is Our Enemy – So Why Are We Dependent on It for Medicines?

I guess in many ways the recommendations put forth by this group answer SSS's rhetorical questions about what I think should be done about China.

I keep meaning to ask: Whatever happened to your plan to regularly post soybean prices in the wake of Donny's tariffs, on the theory that the price would remain more or less unaffected?

I'll tell you what happened. The facts turned out not to support your prediction, so you ignored it and hoped it would go away.

I don't give a damn about people examining China's culpability. But that's clearly not all you're doing. You're attempting to use China's culpability to excuse Donny's grossly incompetent response, which continues to the present day. And I'm seeing the same sort of thing at other on-line sites which are somewhat more heavily trafficked than this one is.

Yes, China did bad stuff. So what? It was Donny's job to make sure that we wouldn't get screwed when unfriendly foreign nations do bad stuff. Donny failed. Miserably. And he continues to fail even today. --Bob

[Spock]

As I have said before-I am not limiting myself to the Coronavirus stuff. I am more interested in the wider threat posed by China

I am an active supporter/follower/member or whatever of "Committee on the Present Danger-China."

https://presentdangerchina.org/

Lots of good resources there-Webcasts/articles and such.

Most relevant right now is probably this article.

https://presentdangerchina.org/2020/03/ ... medicines/

Communist China is Our Enemy – So Why Are We Dependent on It for Medicines?

I guess in many ways the recommendations put forth by this group answer SSS's rhetorical questions about what I think should be done about China.

I keep meaning to ask: Whatever happened to your plan to regularly post soybean prices in the wake of Donny's tariffs, on the theory that the price would remain more or less unaffected?

I'll tell you what happened. The facts turned out not to support your prediction, so you ignored it and hoped it would go away.

I don't give a damn about people examining China's culpability. But that's clearly not all you're doing. You're attempting to use China's culpability to excuse Donny's grossly incompetent response, which continues to the present day. And I'm seeing the same sort of thing at other on-line sites which are somewhat more heavily trafficked than this one is.

Yes, China did bad stuff. So what? It was Donny's job to make sure that we wouldn't get screwed when unfriendly foreign nations do bad stuff. Donny failed. Miserably. And he continues to fail even today. --Bob

Actually, you are wrong about soybean prices.

The price at the time was roughly $9.25-which was higher than it really should have been. A drop would have been natural at that point. Since that time, it has held very consistently around $8.25. Which, TBH, is higher than I think it has a right to be. I can't believe that it has stayed as high as it has. Recent pandemic related price drops have taken it to $7.90 as of Friday.

The reason I decided not to post soybean prices is that you have the attention span of a gnat and normal market price fluctuations throughout the year would have been beyond your understanding and you would have blamed them on President Trump's policies.

Bob#s>>>"I don't give a damn about people examining China's culpability."<<<<

Well, it is a really good thing then, that you and your ilk are not in charge of our nation's intelligence system.

[Spock]

https://twitter.com/nomiackerman/status ... 6103481344

Naomi Ackerman on Twitter-more on the WHO/China/Taiwan triangle.

>>>>"Important reporting from The Economist
.
@WHO has admitted it did not even REPLY to Taiwan officials raising concerns in late DECEMBER over possible human to human transmission in the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan. For fear of hurting WHO relationship with China. Answers needed."<<<<

Even those who completely dismiss any concerns about China, should be interested in the lessons to be learned about the role of the World Health Organization as China's lackey in this.

[Bob78164]

Actually, you are wrong about soybean prices.

The price at the time was roughly $9.25-which was higher than it really should have been. A drop would have been natural at that point. Since that time, it has held very consistently around $8.25. Which, TBH, is higher than I think it has a right to be. I can't believe that it has stayed as high as it has. Recent pandemic related price drops have taken it to $7.90 as of Friday.

Pretty sure you're moving the goalposts here. As I recall, the theory you expressed at the time was that the tariffs would have little or no effect on soybean prices. --Bob

[jarnon]

SSS has a namesake who belongs to my synagogue. Besides being a film critic, he writes articles about technology. Spock would be interested in this one.

Wuhan Institute of Virology: Origin of Coronavirus or Conspiracy Nonsense?

[silverscreenselect]

SSS has a namesake who belongs to my synagogue. Besides being a film critic, he writes articles about technology. Spock would be interested in this one.

Wuhan Institute of Virology: Origin of Coronavirus or Conspiracy Nonsense?

Close, but he misspelled our name. It's "Steven," not "Stephen."

[Estonut]

SSS has a namesake who belongs to my synagogue. Besides being a film critic, he writes articles about technology. Spock would be interested in this one.

Wuhan Institute of Virology: Origin of Coronavirus or Conspiracy Nonsense?

Close, but he misspelled our name. It's "Steven," not "Stephen."

"Stephen" came first, so you are the one misspelling it.

[silverscreenselect]

This will make Spock happy:

US explores possibility that coronavirus started in Chinese lab, not a market

[silverscreenselect]

In a spirit of fairness, I want to point out that Spock's theories have now been conclusively vindicated:

President Donald Trump contradicted a rare on-the-record statement from his own intelligence community by claiming Thursday that he has seen evidence that gives him a "high degree of confidence" the novel coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, but declined to provide details to back up his assertion.

The comments undercut a public statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued just hours earlier which stated no such assessment has been made and continues to "rigorously examine" whether the outbreak "began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan."
"Yes, I have," Trump said when asked whether he's seen evidence that would suggest the virus originated in the lab. Later, asked why he was confident in that assessment, Trump demurred. "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that," he said.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/30/politics ... index.html

Trump's comments were in response to the following statement from the Intelligence Community:

The entire Intelligence Community has been consistently providing critical support to U.S. policymakers and those responding to the COVID-19 virus, which originated in China. The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified. As we do in all crises, the Community’s experts respond by surging resources and producing critical intelligence on issues vital to U.S. national security. The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.

There you have it: a high degree of confidence based on information Trump can't share with us. My guess is that they've imported a new strain of the virus here and are going to infect patrons of Chinese restaurants through their network of sleeper agents who own and work at those restaurants. So, watch out next time you go to P.F. Changs.

[Bob Juch]

In a spirit of fairness, I want to point out that Spock's theories have now been conclusively vindicated:

President Donald Trump contradicted a rare on-the-record statement from his own intelligence community by claiming Thursday that he has seen evidence that gives him a "high degree of confidence" the novel coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, but declined to provide details to back up his assertion.

The comments undercut a public statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued just hours earlier which stated no such assessment has been made and continues to "rigorously examine" whether the outbreak "began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan."
"Yes, I have," Trump said when asked whether he's seen evidence that would suggest the virus originated in the lab. Later, asked why he was confident in that assessment, Trump demurred. "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that," he said.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/30/politics ... index.html

Trump's comments were in response to the following statement from the Intelligence Community:

The entire Intelligence Community has been consistently providing critical support to U.S. policymakers and those responding to the COVID-19 virus, which originated in China. The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified. As we do in all crises, the Community’s experts respond by surging resources and producing critical intelligence on issues vital to U.S. national security. The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.

There you have it: a high degree of confidence based on information Trump can't share with us. My guess is that they've imported a new strain of the virus here and are going to infect patrons of Chinese restaurants through their network of sleeper agents who own and work at those restaurants. So, watch out next time you go to P.F. Changs.

Trump probably hasn't seen a thing. He is probably taking the word of his buddy Hannity.

There are many who disagree that P.F. Chang's is a Chinese restaurant.

[jarnon]

According to a Homeland Security intelligence report obtained by ABC News, not only did China mislead the world about the outbreak, it secretly stockpiled medical supplies and cut exports to countries that would soon need them too.

[Bob Juch]

According to a Homeland Security intelligence report obtained by ABC News, not only did China mislead the world about the outbreak, it secretly stockpiled medical supplies and cut exports to countries that would soon need them too.

They're smarter than the U.S.: We didn't stockpile medical supplies nor cut exports.

[silverscreenselect]

According to a Homeland Security intelligence report obtained by ABC News, not only did China mislead the world about the outbreak, it secretly stockpiled medical supplies and cut exports to countries that would soon need them too.

They're smarter than the U.S.: We didn't stockpile medical supplies nor cut exports.

They weren't smarter than that grocery store chain from Texas that knew the coronavirus threat was serious before the end of January and began making plans to deal with it. If only our Federal government had the same intelligence-gathering capabilities in China that a regional grocery chain had.

[Bob78164]

According to a Homeland Security intelligence report obtained by ABC News, not only did China mislead the world about the outbreak, it secretly stockpiled medical supplies and cut exports to countries that would soon need them too.

They're smarter than the U.S.: We didn't stockpile medical supplies nor cut exports.

They weren't smarter than that grocery store chain from Texas that knew the coronavirus threat was serious before the end of January and began making plans to deal with it. If only our Federal government had the same intelligence-gathering capabilities in China that a regional grocery chain had.

Or my sister's employer, a major pharmaceutical firm that, since January, has been getting its hands on all the PPE it could buy. --Bob

[silverscreenselect]

Not surprisingly, China is managing to come out ahead of the US in terms of leadership and friendship with the rest of the world, despite their failings in regard to the virus:

The Rest of the World Is Laughing at Trump

The “disinfectant” comments—and the laughter that followed—mark not so much a turning point as an acceleration point, the moment when a transformation that began much earlier suddenly started to seem unstoppable. Although we are still only weeks into this pandemic, although the true scale of the health crisis and the economic catastrophe is still unknown, the outline of a very different, post-American, post-coronavirus world is already taking shape. It’s a world in which American opinions will count less, while the opinions of America’s rivals will count more. And that will change political dynamics in ways that Americans haven’t yet understood.

Look ,,, at China’s more serious public-relations campaign: the stunts at airports around the world, from Pakistan to Italy to Israel, designed to mark the arrival of Chinese aid—masks, surgical gowns, diagnostic tests, and sometimes doctors. These events all have a similar script: The plane lands; the receiving nation’s dignitaries go out to meet it; the Chinese experts emerge, looking competent in their hazmat gear; and everyone utters words of gratitude and relief.

Of course some of this, too, is propaganda. In the Western world, this dynamic has played itself out with striking success in Italy. Flattened by the virus and depressed by the lockdown, Italians are deeply divided by years of conspiratorial social-media campaigns, some with Russian backing, that have attacked Italy’s traditional alliances, NATO as well as the European Union. China has added its own unsubtle social-media campaign. Bots have been promoting Chinese-Italian-friendship hashtags (#forzaCinaeItalia) and thank-you-China hashtags (#grazieCina). But there is another, less visible layer of activity, too.

A year ago, Italy became the core European member of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese trade-and-infrastructure project designed to create deeper links across Eurasia and to provide an alternative to the transatlantic and Pacific trade pacts quashed by Trump. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, until recently the leader of Italy’s anti-EU Five Star Movement, has cultivated links to China too. Chinese investment has gained importance. Already, a Chinese oligarch has bought the Inter Milan soccer club; Chinese banks already own big stakes in Italian companies like Eni and Fiat.

Thanks to the economic havoc created by the coronavirus, China’s efforts in Rome may now bear fruit. Maurizio Molinari, the editor of La Repubblica, told me that Chinese businessmen are right now building on their contacts, looking for companies and properties to buy, scouting out factories that are suddenly bankrupt and entrepreneurs who want to sell out. I asked him what the source of China’s appeal was right now: “Money,” he replied. By contrast, the most conspicuous gesture that the U.S. administration has made in Italy’s direction since the pandemic began was Trump’s abrupt decision to ban flights. Apart from a modest and belated aid package, little in the way of friendship came from the United States.

So, the country that is most ravaged by the coronavirus may now hold China, which downplayed and concealed the virus, in higher regard than the US.