Did the Covid-19 virus come from a lab in Wuhan, China? To ask that question in public was, until recently, to out yourself as a person wearing a tinfoil hat. It was nothing more than a far-right crackpot conspiracy theory, “disinformation” that could get you banned from Twitter, YouTube and Facebook all at once, the kind of thing you only dared discuss in private. Yesterday I asked that question of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. His answer: Yes.
Source: Did Covid Come From the Lab? Mike Pompeo says Yes. – Common Sense with Bari Weiss
To his credit, Eric Raymond said all the signs were there within weeks of the virus escaping China, and becoming international news. Lots of people immediately started countering this insinuation in the news, but given what we know about China’s enormous political machine, this was obviously a State-level effort to stifle this fact.
… Mr. Pompeo explains why he thinks China — which seeks nothing less than to “build an empire”— is by far the gravest threat facing the United States and the West. He explains how the CCP is exercising serious influence over higher education, Hollywood, agriculture, the NBA and even local elections. “The Chinese Communist Party is attending city council meetings all across America,” he says.
To my knowledge, ESR never said anything about it again. He has since gotten embroiled in other divisive political correctness (about the FSF and Richard Stallman), and hasn’t commented much about news lately, unfortunately. I’d love for him to provide more insight now this is recognized as true.
It’s crazy to think that the New York Times wouldn’t publish something possibly critical of China because they don’t want to offend their political apparatchiks, and/or that it might confirm something — anything — that Trump said, but this is the world we’re living in, and the reason why so many on the political Right have so little respect and trust in traditional media today. Leadership at companies like the NYT have only themselves to blame.
This whole thing is also being reported at the WSJ:
Three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick enough in November 2019 that they sought hospital care, according to a U.S. intelligence report, fueling debate over Covid-19’s origin.
China has repeatedly denied that the virus escaped from one of its labs. On Sunday, China’s foreign ministry cited a WHO-led team’s conclusion, after a visit to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or WIV, in February, that a lab leak was extremely unlikely. “The U.S. continues to hype the lab leak theory,” the foreign ministry said in response to a request for comment by The Wall Street Journal. “Is it actually concerned about tracing the source or trying to divert attention?”
Beijing has also asserted that the virus could have originated outside China, including at a lab at the Fort Detrick military base in Maryland, and called for the WHO to investigate early Covid outbreaks in other countries. (EDITOR: Screw you, “Beijing.”)
Source: WSJ News Exclusive | Intelligence on Sick Staff at Wuhan Lab Fuels Debate on Covid-19 Origin
At this point, it should be obvious to everyone that the WHO is a puppet of the PRC. What’s disconcerting is that so many reputable news organizations in the US have carried their China-absolving water for over a year now.