Indulge me for a moment and presume that it can be shown that COVID-19 was an engineered virus, designed in a Chinese laboratory for whatever purpose. Further presume that the release of this virus was accidental.
Nobody big, who matters, is discussing this publicly at the moment, but it will be discussed in circles beyond this pathetic little blog. There are computer algorithms that exist for making predictions for this sort of viral release. The US has them, Russia has them, China has them and they are used at places such as the CDC and the Pentagon to forecast. They’re not new algorithms.
The Daily Mail (UK) has reporters who are reporting on these forecasts (link here). The headline at the link reads, “15 MILLION people will die and the global economy will take a $2.3 TRILLION hit from coronavirus in the BEST-CASE scenario, new study predicts.”
It could be worse. Some scenario variations show deaths three or four times that high and the article explores that as well.
“Some countries’ economies could shrink by eight per cent in a global meltdown.”
My personal trust of US journalistic outlets is at an all time low, so for the moment, let’s just hang with the foreign broadcasts, and expect that they are more reliable than the New York Times or the Washington Post. I’m not suggesting that the British are more pure, but in terms of politics, let’s call them a little more reliable, these days. If you’re interested, read the article. It offers a range of outcomes.
Now, loop back to the cause of this situation – an engineered virus – presuming again that it can be shown that China is responsible for knowingly and deliberately creating the virus. An accidental release from their laboratory isn’t a cause to go to war, but it is clearly going to create torts on a Biblical scale, isn’t it? How will that be addressed, or will it be swept under the rug in the interest of international love and cooperation? I put that question to this blog’s readership.
Rice Bowls – never let a good crisis go to waste
The US Military and in particular, the US Coast Guard is taking steps toward limiting exposure of the virus coming to American shores by sea (more here). Expect them to dip into the $8 billion that Congress appropriated to fight COVID-19. They claim that their IT structure needs an upgrade. Of course it does.
US Homeland Security will dip hard into that pot of cash as will intelligence agencies and very soon, they’ll all be back at Congress, hat in hand, asking for more. That’s how the game is played.
"How will that be addressed, or will it be swept under the rug in the interest of international love and cooperation?"
I have no experience in policy at any level above student government in college, but I think the U.S. Government response should be based upon the actions of the PRC to the forthcoming torts. If I were making the decisions, it would likely end badly for all concerned. Fortunately I am only a short, fat, old man who is fond of expounding upon subjects about which he has little to no knowledge.
I will, however, disagree with your characterization of this blog as " pathetic ". Modesty is a virtue, but I think you went too far in this instance ( for whatever value my opinion has ).
Thanks for the post.
Paul L. Quandt
The world will reckon with China and it's not going to be pretty. My personal guess is that China will retract as it has in the past, giving up its imperialistic dreams of conquering the world within the next couple of centuries. Maybe it will lash out in one mighty gasp and try to invade Taiwan, or seize Russian Mongolia, but I doubt it.
Maybe they nudge the Korean situation in a way that gets them out of the news cycle.
Will they continue their creation of islands to control more of the South China Sea?
I think they should lose status and manufacturing should go elsewhere. Some could come back here.
Maybe, but there will be a lot of nations who want mare than a momentary break in the news cycle will accomplish. There are reports of COVID-19 wreaking havoc in Norkland.
I think that will stop for the near future. I think that the whole naval expansion will be re-thought.
Whatever happens down the road, the crisis will be an excellent excuse for increased totalitarianism by governments everywhere, including our own.
"I will, however, disagree with your characterization of this blog as pathetic . Modesty is a virtue, but I think you went too far in this instance ( for whatever value my opinion has ).
+1
How will that be addressed, or will it be swept under the rug? Damn good question. IMHO, at the international level it will all be 'cooperation'… Behind the scenes, I think there will be an entirely different reaction, intel will be used to facilitate various 'responses', be they monetarily, trade, or 'other'. Once again the USA has been placed in the driver's seat on a world wide response, not by choice. the CDC and Israelis are the backbone of the testing/vaccine response. That WILL be leveraged. Re the blog, it's damn good! Readable, thought provoking, and by turns informational. Not pathetic… Mine… on the other hand… LOL
More importantly, LL, is that Sainsbury’s have run out of loo roll. The hand sanitizer went out of stock weeks ago, but now 2-ply, super-soft, coconut fresh Andrex has followed suit.
“Where is everything?” I asked a tired looking assistant at the store today. “It’s been like bloody Christmas in here the past 2 days”, she said. “I’m shattered. It’s ridiculous. I’ll be glad when we’ve all go it so I can have a lie down.”
Well…. talk about stiff upper lip and all that…
I believe they already cancelled two of their carriers, specifically the nuclear powered carriers.
As long as we're spitballing here, try this: engineered virus from other player(s) set free at or near the presumed ground zero of Wuhan. That way the Chinese get the blame and not the real bad guys. Hmmm…
It's easy for them to stop building ships because (1) there is no external threat; (2) They are very hardware intensive.
Never let a good crisis go to waste.
95% of all antibiotics are manufactured in… wait for it… China. And that won't be coming our way anytime soon.
Thanks for the compliment. It was you in great part who inspired me to start blogging in the first place.
You can use the pages of my books if it comes to that. They can be really useful. The stuff on Kindle…that's another story.
False flag? Maybe.
I apply Ockham's Razor in this particular case and I may turn out to be completely wrong.
I'd totally forgotten about Andrex! Seems those days are gone, thanks a lot, China.
Weren't some people busted for selling lab test animals to that market in Wuhan a little while ago? Can't blame them, paid peanuts and they've got all these monkeys on hand. So make some cash.
Vector.
The IZAL medicated toilet paper in the UK was horrible. Wax paper. I don't know if they still have it, but there would NEVER be a run on it.
I don't know if anybody checked the dead monkeys for cash before they sold them.
"An accidental release from their laboratory isn't a cause to go to war"
I really don't give a shit if it was accidental or on purpose.
Some actions enter the realm of "beyond the pale" .
High temperatures and big numbers, that's my vote.
And that is why no one has ever put me in a position of authority…..
I don't think that we'll see a war with China. There may be better ways to manage the Chinese scourge. Becoming a self sufficient nation is a good first step and we're not there now. 95% of all antibiotics worldwide are made in China changing that would be a good first step.
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