Just replace work with free money and Bob's your economy's uncle.
“When we talk about this idea of ‘reopening society’ you know, only in America- does the President, when the President tweets about liberation, does he mean go back to work. When we have this discussion about going back or reopening, I think a lot people should just say “no”- we’re not going back to that. We’re not going back to working 70 hour weeks just so that we can put food on the table and not even feel any sort of semblance of security in our lives."
The U.S. government is investigating whether the Covid-19 virus came from a government laboratory in Wuhan, China. The Chinese Communist Party denies the possibility. "There is no way this virus came from us," claimed Yuan Zhiming over the weekend. Mr. Yuan is a top researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which studies some of the world's deadliest pathogens. He is also secretary of the lab's Communist Party committee. He accuses me of "deliberately trying to mislead people" for suggesting his laboratory as a possible origin for the pandemic.
Beijing has claimed that the virus originated in a Wuhan "wet market," where wild animals were sold. But evidence to counter this theory emerged in January. Chinese researchers reported in the Lancet Jan. 24 that the first known cases had no contact with the market, and Chinese state media acknowledged the finding. There's no evidence the market sold bats or pangolins, the animals from which the virus is thought to have jumped to humans. And the bat species that carries it isn't found within 100 miles of Wuhan.
Wuhan has two labs where we know bats and humans interacted. One is the Institute of Virology, eight miles from the wet market; the other is the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, barely 300 yards from the market.
Both labs collect live animals to study viruses. Their researchers travel to caves across China to capture bats for this purpose. Chinese state media released a minidocumentary in mid-December following a team of Wuhan CDC researchers collecting viruses from bats in caves. The researchers fretted openly about the risk of infection.
These risks were not limited to the field. The Washington Post reported last week that in 2018 U.S. diplomats in China warned of "a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate" the Institute of Virology. The Wuhan CDC operates at even lower biosafety standards.
While the Chinese government denies the possibility of a lab leak, its actions tell a different story. The Chinese military posted its top epidemiologist to the Institute of Virology in January. In February Chairman Xi Jinping urged swift implementation of new biosafety rules to govern pathogens in laboratory settings. Academic papers about the virus's origins are now subject to prior restraint by the government.
In early January, enforcers threatened doctors who warned their colleagues about the virus. Among them was Li Wenliang, who died of Covid-19 in February. Laboratories working to sequence the virus's genetic code were ordered to destroy their samples. The laboratory that first published the virus's genome was shut down, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported in February.
This evidence is circumstantial, to be sure, but it all points toward the Wuhan labs. Thanks to the Chinese coverup, we may never have direct, conclusive evidence-intelligence rarely works that way-but Americans justifiably can use common sense to follow the inherent logic of events to their likely conclusion.
ENDS
NB - this clip of Senator Cotton from 30 January this year is well worth another look!
Almost 3 months ago he was one of the very few people to blow the Chinese Coronavirus whistle.
#YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says anything that goes against the W.H.O. is a violation of YouTube policies. All content that isn't "medically substantiated," such as advising people take Vitamin C, will be removed by the platform.
On behalf of myself my daughter and her friend I can not thank enough, all the people who came to our aid. The man who paddled all the way to help.....the lady (Tammy) who gave up her top....the man who gave up his footwear....and the AMAZING support of Bunbury Police and Ambulance restore faith in human nature. The kindness all these peopke showed was the first step in recovering Evan (Not a Hero) Dad
Evan thank you so much for writing to us, God Bless you all.
Bunbury Police recognise and thank members of the community, including local emergency responders, who assisted with the response to an emergency situation involving two girls who were swept out to see near the Casuarina Boat Ramp in Bunbury on Sunday 19 April 2020.
About 10:45am Police were alerted to the unfolding situation – two young girls swept out to sea approximately 100m north of the Casuarina Boat Ramp on Casuarina Drive, Bunbury. The two girls, aged 11 and 12, were at the beach with the father of one of the girls. They entered the water and shortly after they called out for help. The father could see they were in distress and appeared to be caught in a rip, which could push them further out to sea or into nearby rocks. The father entered the water to rescue them.
Another person who was at the beach also entered the water to provide assistance, however before he could reach them the father had managed to reach the girls. With no other option available to him the father swam the girls across to the rocks and assisted one of them out of the water while he carried the second girl out onto the rocks.
Several police were sent to the scene under emergency conditions and upon arrival they gained access to the Bunbury Port Authority area and climbed across rocks and ran approximately 500m to reach the group. The officers climbed up the rocks and assisted with carrying the girls down to safety.
St John Ambulance attended the scene and provided first aid to the girls and checked on their father. Both girls receive multiple cuts and bruises and attended hospital for x-rays.
Senior Sergeant Andy CARSON, Officer in Charge of Bunbury Police Station, said this incident serves as a reminder of the dangers that can be experienced when entering the water.
“In this instance both girls were extremely lucky the father of one of them was able to reach them and get them to the rocks. While the rocks posed an increased risk of injury, it was his only option and he did an outstanding job to rescue both girls from the water.
“It was pleasing to see so many people rush to provide assistance to the group and our police officers. While both girls were injured, the situation could have ended much worse and I urge anyone who is going swimming or undertaking other marine activities to take extra care.”
First up here is the official Communist Chinese news agency's claim.
(NB China refers to the Paracel Islands as Xisha and Spratly as Nansha)
Xisha Island and Nansha Island are parts of China, and any attempts to deny China's sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea are invalid and doomed to fail, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Since March, the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN has submitted notes reiterating its sovereignty over the Xisha and Nansha Islands and denying China's sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea. China firmly opposes this and has made solemn representations to Vietnam, Geng Shuang, spokesperson for the ministry, told a regular press conference.
The response was made after Vietnam made "illegal claims" to the UN, accusing China of infringing on its "sovereignty and jurisdiction rights" over the South China Sea. The Southeast Asian country also protested against China's establishment of two districts, Xisha District and Nansha District, in Sansha City, South China's Hainan Province, in the name of the sovereignty concerns, on Sunday.
China claims sovereignty and jurisdiction rights in relevant parts of the South China Sea in accordance with international laws that include the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, and the Xisha and Nansha islands are inherent parts of China, Geng said.
"China will take any necessary measures to defend its sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea," he said.
ENDS
That is very significant.
China is overtly asserting its "sovereignty, rights and interests" in the South China Sea, specifically the Paracel and Spratly Islands.
China is threatening war, "China will take any necessary measures".
The US presence in the region is diminished with considerable publicity given to the Coronavirus hitting the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier's crew.
US Air Force operations through Guam have also been curtailed due to the virus.
Related
The UK's Express newspaper reported in the past few hours:
China makes ever larger claim in South China Sea in ambitious move that will infuriate US
CHINA has approved an ambitious new land grab as it looks to fortify its claims to several islands chains in the South China Sea.
Approved by China State Council, Beijing has approved two new administrative centres in the South China Sea. Laying in the disputed Paracel and Spratly Islands, the move has come as the US has been forced to withdraw a navy vessel from the region amid the current coronavirus pandemic. Due to a coronavirus outbreak, the USS Roosevelt was forced to withdraw from the region while the air force ceased its 15-year presence over Guam.
On April 18 the Paracel (Xisha) and Spratly Islands (Nansha) were put under official control by China in a move which could spark tensions with neighbouring countries in the region.
Sansha City, within the Paracel’s will control both districts in a move which extends Beijing’s territorial claims by two million kilometres.
Zhang Junshe, a researcher at the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told the state-affiliated Global Times said: “Eight years after China set Sansha as a city-level administrative unit, it is now time to subdivide it with different districts to further fulfil the responsibility of safeguarding our national sovereignty.”
South China Sea: Xi Jinping has increased China's territorial claim (Image: GETTY/PA)
South China Sea: The islands are a part of China nine-dash line policy (Image: GETTY)
Song Zhongping also said: “As a city that administers the largest territory among Chinese cities, it is also responsible for managing islands, isles and waters – work that is complicated and sensitive.
“The newly established districts will help detail the current administrative work in the area and build Sansha into a better city.”
