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by pstuart 6 days ago
> And I have every right to be less than happy about that.

Sure.

Face saving in China is a cultural institution (not that it doesn't happen in the US and elsewhere). Ascribing that to an intentional act of war is a stretch. Coverups are virtually all motivated by CYA by their very nature.

China is handily winning the economic war without taking the tactic you suggest, and if we are unable to shake the current regime and it's scions, will mop the floor with us.

The reason I am so testy about this conspiracy is that it focuses all attention off the conspiracy that Grump did by dismantling the institutions that were built to protect us from such an outbreak, and then bungle the reaction to it actually happening.

Again: let's say China comes out tomorrow and says: "Sorry, we fucked up. Our researchers got sloppy and lied to us. We're sorry"

What does that do to either protect us from future events (which can be from out of the wild)? Other than the satisfaction of "I told you so", what do we get from that?

RFK Jr is running the show, and must appease his boss and his whims. They'd likely take that confession and use it as a parade and patting themselves on the back while they continue to destroy the science and institutions that are there to prevent future pandemics.

1 comments

I see the same things you see, but I contend that the causes are reversed. I think Trump's election, and subsequent dismantling of our institutions and safeguards, was a direct result of our country losing a war. It began as an information war in 2015. The installation of RFK Jr is a further result of us losing a biological war, which may have not been started intentionally, but which by mid-2020 was being conducted as one. I'm not trying to shift any blame away from this administration, either for the specific mishandling of covid or for its broader corruption, authoritarianism, and traitorous destruction of our democracy. But I think this administration is merely an effect, not a cause. Most Americans don't realize that we lost a war. The loss of democratic governance in our country, a corrupt puppet who worships autocrats, the decline of living standards and life expectancy, the shattering of our institutions and the lingering effects of covid are all part of the price.