Monthly Archives: June 2021

The Wuhan Institute of Virology is a global centre for coronavirus research

Who is responsible for the deaths of at least 3.5 million people from Covid? President Biden has asked the American intelligence agencies to find out. Presumably he suspects that the explanation isnt totally innocent.

His predecessor, Donald Trump, wasnt shy in blaming the Chinese authorities. What he called the China Virus was, as he put it with characteristic hyperbole, worse than Pearl Harbour. This is worse than the World Trade Centre. There has never been an attack like this.

The idea that the Chinese had organised some kind of germ warfare attack was as ridiculous and offensive as the Chinese counter-claim that Americans had deliberately sent the virus to China.

But the Chinese authorities had already poisoned the atmosphere and fomented distrust by seeking to cover up the outbreak for several weeks and to suppress whistleblowers. The combination of Chinese government opacity and the bluster of Trump and his allies helps to explain the very sharp increase in hostility towards China in the west, as charted by Pews international opinion surveys, as well as outbreaks of anti-Chinese racism.

The sense of mutual hostility and resentment was demonstrated when Australia demanded that China open itself to independent inspection of the causes of the outbreak. This, along with a considerable number of other actions, led to severe economic sanctions directed by China at Australian exports.

For most of 2020, however, the atmosphere calmed down. Mainstream scientific opinion embraced the idea of zoonotic transmission: the crossover from one species to another, as occurs in most new diseases involving viruses. Chinas wildlife markets are a potential breeding ground for such transmission. The assumption has been that Wuhans wet fish and animal market was the source. China has since banned wildlife consumption and trade in recognition of the problem. However, precise evidence of the source the smoking bat or the smoking pangolin has never been found.

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The alternative theory of an accidental laboratory leak from Wuhan Institute of Virology, a global centre for coronavirus research, or from the Wuhan Centre for Disease Control has been widely circulated on the internet but discounted by most scientists, and was dismissed by a WHO investigative team as very unlikely.

But the head of the WHO is among those not fully satisfied with closing down the laboratory leak theory, which is certainly plausible. It has happened elsewhere, more frequently than we would like to believe. Britain was responsible for a fatal leak of smallpox in 1978. China has had several such incidents, including a leak of Brucellosis in 2020 which infected more than 3,000 people in the northwest province of Gansu. Tougher rules on biosafety came into force in April this year.

Political considerations have prevented rational discussion of the issue, but there are several reasons why it is necessary to get to the bottom of the leak theory. The first is to learn lessons and ensure that such a global catastrophe as Covid doesnt happen again. In an ideal world, the Chinese authorities would embrace transparency and the search for truth. They would be given credit for opening up their facilities and subjecting the findings of their epidemiological research to independent international inspection.

A related point is that scientists working in this field, in Wuhan and elsewhere, have been experimenting with making the infections worse than their natural form in order to better develop treatments. This so-called gain of function research is a form of human meddling which could create bigger problems than it solves, and should stop.

The suspicion of the Chinese that demands for inspection are designed to score propaganda points and humiliate them may be eased by the suggestion that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was co-funded by the US National Institutes of Health. The idea that a disastrous leak might have emanated from a collaborative project between American and Chinese scientists is certainly a neat way of diffusing blame.

Either way, this vast human tragedy risks being subsumed within the propaganda of the new Cold War between China and the United States (and its allies, including the UK). From an American perspective, what is particularly galling is that the Chinese seem to be winning. After the negative impact of the initial outbreak and cover-up, the Chinese got a lot of credit for their effective, ruthless lockdown which appears to have been very successful, in marked contrast to the stumbling efforts of the worlds leading democracies.

The Chinese have also scored points by making their vaccines available to the world, in contrast to alleged hoarding by the west (Britains AstraZeneca being a very honourable exception). It appears that the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, in particular, is not as effective as the western (or Russian) alternatives, but for countries in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and eastern Europe it has been better than nothing. Now China is vaccinating its own population with great speed.

President Bidens decision to shift the debate back onto the origins of the pandemic may be partly motivated by a wish to reclaim the moral high ground in this propaganda war. The fact that he is so careful in his language, in contrast with his predecessor, makes him a very plausible proponent of the western case. But I somehow doubt that the CIA investigation, which is due to report in just under 90 days, will be a game-changer. We have all become cynical about dramatic revelations and dodgy dossiers.

Instead it will be another episode in the Covid blame-game box set, illustrative of a wider breakdown of trust between China and the west. The west has adopted a strategy of calling out China with strong public denunciations on a variety of matters, notably those involving human rights. Now we have turned our attention to its record on biosafety. It makes us feel good, no doubt, and is sometimes merited, but it has no impact on the behaviour of the Chinese leadership. It merely reinforces the assumption that the west is out to humiliate China in public.

One practical consequence of a propaganda war is that both sides start to believe their own version of the truth. Cooperation becomes impossible. Constructive initiatives become devious ploys. The fact that pandemic prevention and management constitute an international public good takes second place to the opportunity to score a point. Finding the smoking bat, or the lab leak, becomes more important than dealing with the problems of the pandemic itself.

The risk for the whole world now is that the same happens on climate change, nuclear proliferation, and other areas in which we need the Chinese to be allies, not adversaries.

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Laboratory leaks have happened before more frequently than we would like to believe - Yahoo Eurosport UK

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2021) US President Joe Biden's acknowledgment of the "lab leak" origin theory of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Facebook's immediate decision to stop banning posts about the possible artificial origin of the virus, are likely to aggravate anti-Asian sentiment in the United States and potentially worldwide, analysts told Sputnik, with some suggesting that the situation may contribute to the worsening of relations between Beijing and Washington.

Biden has recently directed the US Intelligence Community to redouble efforts to investigate the origins of COVID-19 and to report their findings to him in 90 days. The intelligence services that have insisted that there is insufficient evidence to assess whether COVID-19 came from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory leak, are expected to reach out to China on the issue. The announcement comes on the heels of the reports claiming that three laboratory employees in Wuhan, became sick in November 2019 with symptoms similar to those caused by COVID-19, which, according to the reports, should support the hypothesis that the virus could have originated in a laboratory.

Meanwhile, China rejected the reports as not corresponding to reality and said that Washington's intention to release a report on the origins of COVID-19 is just a political game and an attempt to shift the blame. In March this year, World Health Organization concluded in its official report that the leak from the lab was "extremely unlikely" and added that the virus was transmitted to humans from bats through another animal.

As a result, more people started linking the deadly virus to people who looked like Chinese. According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, hate crimes against Asian Americans jumped by over 160 percent in the first quarter of 2021.

Several days after Biden's statement, Facebook announced that it would no longer delete posts that describe the coronavirus as artificially created "in light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts." Previously, the social media giant fought fiercely with fake news about the alleged artificial origin of the virus.

Observers believe that the move by Facebook, a social media corporation with enormous influence on its users, can indeed affect the minds and attitudes of people toward the virus and China.

"Renewed interest in the 'lab leak' theory from China coming out of Washington and then cascading across Facebook could, unfortunately, raise anti-Asian hate. Sadly, Anti-Asian violence has risen since the beginning of the pandemic," Erik Qualman, an author and Social economics expert, told Sputnik.

Qualman said the dilemma for social media stretches beyond COVID-19 and is bigger than Facebook, yet with over 2 billion users, the network is the most influential.

"The key question is: should Facebook be treated like a news/media outlet like the New York Times or more like the AT&T [telecommunications company] and the phone lines? If it is, later than Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. could say we don't listen into your phone calls, we respect your privacy, we aren't going to censor anything," he said.

If social media, like Facebook, is viewed more as a media outlet, then one could argue they should censor the material, Qualman said.

"This is a slippery slope as Facebook then becomes judge and jury and you are trusting a public company to properly decide between what should be censored and what shouldn't be censored. Something that's an impossibility for them to get right 100% of the time. That's a high concentration of power ultimately in one person, Mark Zuckerberg," he explained.

Following Facebook's move, now in the world of massive social media influence, social networks like Facebook may dictate to people what to think. Qualman drew attention to the fact that Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other major social media giants would prefer not to have to censor any comments as it is very costly for them.

"They are in the business of making money and anything that is a cost their shareholders don't like. But, as the public and governments demand that they censor certain things, you need to be careful what you wish for because that ultimately makes these platforms more powerful than they already are as they are then the judge and the jury on what we see and don't see," he concluded.

Now, as the topic of origins of COVID-19 resurfaced, there is the potential for conflict between the two sides over the matter, Matthew Carlson, professor of Political science at the University of Vermont, told Sputnik.

"I am not sure whether President Biden will apply sanctions because most likely the intelligence community will struggle to understand the origins of the virus. And sanctions in general are usually not a very effective tool. But nonetheless, efforts to push the laboratory accident in the US and in Washington are likely to lead to deteriorating relations between the two sides," he said.

Carlson noted that many pundits have predicted a war between China and the US for decades, none has happened so far.

"The conflict that emerges is most likely to be a war of words and a debate over how COVID emerged," he said.

Carlson hopes that the rhetoric of politicians and the media does not aggravate the situation or lead to violence against Asian Americans.

"While it is important to study the origins of COVID-19, it is also important to not stir up anxieties and anti-Asian attitudes that may lead to further violence against Asian Americans," he said.

Nevertheless, Carlson believes that asking to search for the origins of the virus is a good idea.

"There are conflicting theories on how the virus started and to prevent similar outbreaks in the future it is important to know more about the origins," he said, while admitting that it would be difficult to find an answer since China is opposing this sort of inquiry.

However, some experts like Benjamin Page, Professor of Decision Making of Northwestern University, do not believe that Biden's statement and actions should disrupt relations with China or worsen the public's attitude toward the Chinese people.

"The context is that accusations of 'germ warfare' by The 'China virus,' made by Donald Trump and right-wing Republicans, have already caused serious damage. The Biden investigations of a possible accident at the Wuhan bio research lab are very different," Page, whose work focuses on American politics, said.

Originally posted here:

Biden's Renewed Interest in COVID Lab Leak Theory Likely to Worsen Anti-Asian Sentiment - UrduPoint News

The U.S. Army has a long and decorated history. Its inception began during the Revolutionary War, and it has since gone on to become the most powerful military force in the world. Here are some facts you might not have known about it, from the inception of its official song to its first female service member.

The first submarine used by the Army was invented by Yale graduate David Bushnell. Named the Turtle, it was a wooden craft that could be propelled by a single individual using a hand crank and a foot treadle. It rose and sink via a pedal-operated tank and a lead ballast helped keep it upright.

The Turtle saw its first military activity on September 7, 1776, during a mission to blow up the HMS Eagle. The ship was of British origin and had moored in New York Harbor.

Unfortunately, its pilot, Ezra Lee, received little training and aborted the mission. After several other botched trials, the craft was abandoned. Despite this, the Patriot Army, including George Washington, praised Bushnell for his invention.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. Army conducted chemical tests on large civilian populations. Operation Large Area Coverage (LAC) was designed to assess the threat of biological attacks by simulating germ dispersal in the air. Motorized blowers were placed atop buildings in St. Louis, San Francisco, Minnesota, and the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia, spreading zinc cadmium sulfide into the air.

Cadmium was used for its dispersal potential, despite being a harmful carcinogen. It was mixed with silicate and small amounts of copper and silver, with the latter allowing it to better glow under ultraviolet light. While the tests were isolated to a few U.S. cities, the effects were felt across a large portion of the country and as far away as Mexico and Canada.

The federal government claimed the tests were guarding the country against Russian aerial observation and attacks until 1994. The admission came after citizens complained of health issues, as long-term cadmium exposure can cause lung cancer and bone and kidney problems.

The Army Goes Rolling Along wasnt always the Armys official song. In fact, it didnt receive that distinction until Veterans Day 1956, after a lot of trial and error.

Its origins are in the Philippines, where West Point graduate Edmund Louis Gruber was stationed in 1908. He found inspiration upon overhearing a section chief shout commands at a caisson driver, and ended up writing The Caissons Go Rolling Along.

John Philip Sousa turned it into The Field Artillery Song. When the Army failed to find the perfect song during contests held in 1948 and 1952, they returned to the tune with one condition: that the lyrics be reworked. The rest, as they say, is history!

The University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies was established in 2004 in response to a review regarding the shortcomings that led to the attacks on 9/11. Students from the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) are trained to challenge the concepts and planning brought forth by military officials in order to strengthen the decision-making process. Their official title? The Red Team.

Unfortunately, this innovative course is set to end on October 1, 2021. With the Army planning to repurpose the $2.5 million set aside for the program, it will no longer have the ability to train new students.

Deborah Sampson served in the Revolutionary War between 1782 and 1783. She enlisted in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment under the name Robert Shurtleff and was assigned to Captain George Webbs Company of Light Infantry. There, she fought against the British alongside male infantrymen.

In order to keep her identity hidden, Sampson often treated her wounds herself. She managed to keep up the charade for a year before falling ill and being admitted to hospital, where she lost consciousness. She was given an honorable discharge in 1783, and was the first-ever woman to receive a military pension.

The rank was introduced in 1944 in order to allow U.S. officers to better command Allied officers from other countries who were technically of a higher rank. The Navy also introduced a similar rank, the Fleet Admiral. Between 1944 and 1945, the Army promoted Dwight D. Eisenhower, Henry H. Arnold, George C. Marshall, and Douglas MacArthur to the rank, with Omar N. Bradley being promoted in 1950.

While still in existence, the rank has not been used since Bradley died in 1981. The President has the power to promote an Army General to the rank with Senate approval, but many feel there isnt a reason to do so, given the reason for its origins.

DU is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process. Bullets made from it were first used during the Gulf War and have been standard issue ever since. Their high density allows them to pierce armored vehicles, and the impact often causes the rounds to ignite, causing more destruction.

Despite DU being depleted of its radioactivity by 40 percent, its chemical toxicity remains. This has led many to question the ethics of its use, as veterans have begun to experience health issues tied to it.

General Francis Marion nicknamed the Swamp Fox is credited with pioneering the tactics behind modern guerrilla warfare. A student of Major Robert Rogers 28 Rules of Ranging, he spent his military career molding the techniques to fit his own style of fighting.

This, paired with his experience during the French and Indian War, allowed him to create a form of combat instrumental to Americas victory over Britain. Many recount that he and his troops would launch surprise attacks against the enemy before leaving almost as unexpectedly.

The green beret became standard issue for the Special Forces after President John F. Kennedy visited Fort Bragg in 1961. He observed Brigadier General William P. Yarborough wearing one and decided it was just the article of clothing needed to distinguish the Special Forces from their counterparts.

At Kennedys funeral, Command Sergeant Major Francis Ruddy placed his own beret on the Presidents grave, a tradition that continues to this day at Arlington National Cemetery.

The U.S. Army is considered one of the countrys top employers. As of 2017, there were 1.3 million active-duty service members across all branches and 142.5 million civilians employed. This means civilians outnumber service members 110 to one.

More from us: 10 Everyday Products That Were Invented By The Military

While service members participate in traditional military tasks, civilian workers bring their skills to the support services.

Other top employers, unsurprisingly, are Walmart and Amazon, the latter of which saw exponential growth during the COVID-19 pandemic as shoppers moved online.

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10 Fascinating Facts About The US Army - War History Online