W.H.O. (are you), WHO WHO

[Hanarchy Montanarchy]

Can we JUST blame China?

Both the WHO and Trump were acting on bad information from a country that is resistant to oversight from independent observers like the WHO, and was actively suppressing information.

I think Trump was justified in trying to avoid taking steps that would bring the economy grinding to a halt, and was right to leave it to local municipal and state governments to determine the threat from COVID and act independently to mitigate that threat.

That being said, withholding funds (especially the relatively small check compared to the current stimulus package) from the World Health Organization during an ongoing World Health Crises seems petty and short-sighted.

[heydaralon]

Man, I still remember when Obama talked about how Great China was, and how we can learn from them. Just gushing about some stupid ass train they made. That to me was very creepy.


Tbh I was also kind of weirded out when Trump said all that complimentary shit about Kim Jong Un. I know it was at a diplomatic summit, but I still didn't care for it either.

[C-Mag]

Is the death toll in Italy and Iran Trumps fault too ?

Those nations were following the lead by the WHO.

[heydaralon]

I like Trump's adverserial relationship with China and Iran honestly. A lot of that is just for public consumption, but they are shitty regimes. I'm glad he has called them out on some of their bullshit.

[heydaralon]

Is the death toll in Italy and Iran Trumps fault too ?

Those nations were following the lead by the WHO.

They are Trump's fault because he was behind Brexit. Do you even watch the news?

[heydaralon]

Can we JUST blame China?

Both the WHO and Trump were acting on bad information from a country that is resistant to oversight from independent observers like the WHO, and was actively suppressing information.

I think Trump was justified in trying to avoid taking steps that would bring the economy grinding to a halt, and was right to leave it to local municipal and state governments to determine the threat from COVID and act independently to mitigate that threat.

That being said, withholding funds (especially the relatively small check compared to the current stimulus package) from the World Health Organization during an ongoing World Health Crises seems petty and short-sighted.

Do you think the WHO has been completely honest with the public?

I personally do not. I did not give them much thought before this all started, but my opinion of them has plummeted.

[BjornP]

WHO's biggest economic contributor is the US, and not China, who just maximize their efforts to save face for the government of China and use the WHO for that. Trump is a stoic, serene, humble monk compared to super-sensitive Chinese CCP leadership who cannot accept or tolerate any criticism, and try to paint criticism of their government as some sort of great injustice against the people of China. A great deflective tactic.... to the Chinese leadership.

That being said, several countries of the world, and media around the world have criticized the way China has thrown its weight around in the WHO. Would have been politically more savvy to call for a suspension of China's membership of the WHO, replacement of those WHO officials who have been known to spread Chinese disinformation and if that's not possible, then declare that until China admits fault and publishes what it's kept secret about the outbreak, the US won't spend money on the WHO. At the same time as Trump's doing that, he should consider some sort of emergency relief idea: Maybe give massive tax incentives or even subsidies for select US companies to re-organize production so they can produce things like hand sanitizer, masks, respirators, etc.

China has put itself in the spotlight, and even Africa - which has been the target of massive Chinese investment - has shown outrage. Though that probably had more to do with China locking up African diplomats and workers in parts of China, claiming that they're spreading the disease more, or whatever.

It's refreshing to get a reminder of just how much China is a complete newcomer to international politics. They keep trying to work foreign politics as if its domestic politics, not understanding that they can't and don't have the same degree of control. They'll either learn from this, or the US, Europe and possibly Russia will be eyeing the markets and trade deals China could be losing in the long run. Interesting times.

[heydaralon]

I love too how they have tried to turn this into a Social Justice Issue on Race. Stop calling it the Wuhan Flu or any mention of China.

Even though this is the third fucking time China's food industry has created a global public health crisis in the last decade.

Maybe China should, you know, get its shit together...

Can you imagine if this pandemic started because Chic Fil A didn't handle and store its meat properly? These same media cretins and WHO people crying Racism would gleefully call this the Caucasian Christian Flu. They would sledgehammer that term into the public's head like John Henry.

[Hanarchy Montanarchy]

Can we JUST blame China?

Both the WHO and Trump were acting on bad information from a country that is resistant to oversight from independent observers like the WHO, and was actively suppressing information.

I think Trump was justified in trying to avoid taking steps that would bring the economy grinding to a halt, and was right to leave it to local municipal and state governments to determine the threat from COVID and act independently to mitigate that threat.

That being said, withholding funds (especially the relatively small check compared to the current stimulus package) from the World Health Organization during an ongoing World Health Crises seems petty and short-sighted.

Do you think the WHO has been completely honest with the public?

I personally do not. I did not give them much thought before this all started, but my opinion of them has plummeted.

I don't think they were intentionally misleading the public.

As a counterfactual, if they had pulled the "oh shit" lever faster and crashed the global economy but COVID turned out to be nothing to sweat my faith in them wouldn't be improved.

I imagine the thing the public is most misinformed about is how much power the WHO actually has in a place like China, but that misinformation isn't coming from the WHO.

[Fife]

I need an exposition of the MSG common thread.