Guest essay by Eric Worrall
h/t Nick; Orange man bad, even when the problems being discussed happen in another country outside the USA’s sphere of influence.
Pandemic shines harsh light on Trump’s failure to protect pangolins
Jimmy Tobias
Wed 15 Apr 2020 20.00 AESTLast modified on Wed 15 Apr 2020 20.02 AESTWildlife conservation efforts are essential to preventing outbreaks, scientists and advocates say
For more than five years, wildlife conservationists in the US have been clamoring for the government to provide Endangered Species Act protections to pangolins, a group of imperiled ant-eating mammals that are widely, and often illicitly, trafficked for their scales and meat. The Trump administration, however, has refused to act and that refusal has suddenly taken on grave new implications.
Earlier this year, scientists in China identified pangolins, along with bats, as one of the possible animal hosts involved in the transmission of the deadly coronavirus from wildlife to humans.
Although there is still much uncertainty about the nature of the disease’s emergence, the unwillingness of the Trump administration, and the Obama administration before it, to provide legal protections to pangolins, and other species, has intensified scrutiny of America’s faltering role in international wildlife conservation efforts. Scientists and advocates say these are essential to preventing the kind of pandemic currently sweeping the globe.
Though no pangolins live in the US, an endangered species designation could make additional funding available to preserve the species, bolster efforts to crack down on illegal trade and send a powerful signal to the international community that the animals ought to be protected.
…
“It is not like any one thing would have stopped this pandemic, so you can’t make that generalization,” said Brett Hartl, the government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “But if the US were actually a leader in international wildlife conservation like it used to be back in the day and actually took its obligations seriously and was putting real pressure on trafficking and countries like China to stop decimation of pangolins and other species, who knows where we would be today.”
…
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/15/coronavirus-pangolins-protections-us-trading
Of course if President Trump did try to pass a law aimed at pressuring Chinese wet markets, the Guardian would be first in line to accuse Trump of being an insensitive cultural fascist.
What I find most fascinating about the Guardian story is still not one word of criticism for the incompetent and corrupt Chinese Communists and their spineless President Xi Jinping, even though the animal rights abuses, coverups, lies and mistakes which led to the global Pandemic mostly happened on their watch.
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I guess I missed the connection between how greater protection has anything whatsoever to do with transmission of the virus.
Sorry, I must be dense.
President Trump’s writ does not run in China nor for that matter does Boris Johnson’s. CCP’s writ runs in China they appear to run the place with an iron grip. I do not know what the Guardian reporters are smoking but they should stop it as it is addling their brain. I think they need to spent more time in Manchester, where the folks are much more sensible and grounded as the Guardian has returned to its roots to save money. For those it do not know the Guardian was originally called the Manchester Guardian and at one time was edited by one Brian Redhead who also broadcast on the BBC.
Have a heart. The Guardian makes a huge loss, with its woke cockwomble.
If the EU/Chinese/Russians didn’t pay them for these puff pieces they would go bust.
The Guardian is in very deep trouble. The online edition is full of increasingly desperate pleas for readers to support it with donations.
This is one of the silliest pieces that I have ever seen in that expensive fish-and-chip wrapper called the Grauniad. In it, there is not the slightest mention of real issues such as actions of the incompetent and corrupt Chinese Communists, the spineless President Xi Jinping, Chinese animal rights abuses, Chinese health problem coverups, and the possibility that the Covid-19 virus was created in a Chinese Viral Facility in Wuhan by Chinese Scientists.
Deep states, their bankers at CCP and their media mouthpieces around the world are on full DEFCON 1. Orange man must be stopped at any cost, or there will be no more ice cream!
Unintentionally hilarious and revealing piece in the Graun:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2020/apr/19/journalism-coronavirus-press-google-news
“… who knows where we would be today.”
Hypotheticals aren’t reality. They sure are good to launch ad hominem attacks with. Sigh.
So, what are the recipes for Pangolin?
I don’t really know any good recipes for Pangolin, but I’m guessing, if fried up in butter with some onions, salt, and pepper, then it would taste okay, … and maybe make some flour gravy from the drippings. Serve with grilled asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes. That’s just my suggestion, however. … Maybe a good bat-soup appetizer would work with it too. (^_^)
Just get an opossum recipe and substitute.
Pangolin is best served with bat juice.
I like that Obama is also the bad guy.
> if the US were actually a leader in international wildlife conservation like it used to be back in the day and actually took its obligations seriously
So when was that, exactly? Under Clinton? Carter maybe?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/14/covid-19-origin-lab-general-mark-milley
“The Pentagon’s top general has said that US intelligence has looked into the possibility that the coronavirus outbreak could have started in a Chinese laboratory, but that the “weight of evidence” so far pointed towards “natural” origins.”
So “US intelligence” either knows there is nothing to know here (bizarre conclusion, as they don’t know anything when there are essential things to know, in fact, almost always, they seem clueless), or “US intelligence” is lying. (IOW, there are no unknown unknowns.)
““During interactions with scientists at the WIV laboratory, they noted the new lab has a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory,” a cable dated 19 January 2018 said, according to the Post.”
Even more bizarre contribution to their conclusion above!
Those with experience in intelligence know it is useful to intertwine the truth with falsehoods. One will never really know which is which and it helps protect sources and confuse the enemy. China is a master at it, so is the US.
Thanks kribaez, that’s better.
Interesting article – makes sense. I hope you’re right.
Lessee here… Trump nukes China to stop them from making roast pangolin garnished with root vegetables and served with truffle sauce on the side.
The YSM gets the headline they want: Orange Man Bad.
Oh wait… Trump didn’t nuke China.
The headline still reads, Orange Man Bad.
President Trump uses economic weapons; sanctions, tariffs, and incentives to American businesses to reshore. He tries to avoid boots on the ground solutions.
But if you kill Americans, look for something to come down your chimney, and it won’t be Santa Claus. Or expect your Sunday drive to be ruined by U.S. drones.
P.S. Leave your jewelry at home on those Sunday drives.
I have a high regard for the Guardian! Not so much for its editorial content, but it makes good toilet paper in the age of Kung Flu.
Deutsche Welle is attempting to collectively guilt trip humanity for epidemic outbreaks, due to a lack of protecting the environment. They even cite some phoney peer review paper titled “Global shifts in mammalian population trends reveal key predictors of virus spillover risk”
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.2736
I like the way the complain that humans, for the first time are venturing into virgin territory where animals with unknown viruses exist.
These people must think history began a few decades ago.
Venturing into virgin wildernesses and exploiting the animals we find there is what humans have been doing since we learned to walk upright.
Pangolins of the World Unite! Free the Pangolin. Join the Pangolin Liberation Front.
You couldn’t make it up, or could you?
Grauniad plumbs new lows.
First the Grauniad must demonstrate that China does anything more than pay lip service to the CITES treaties.
Here in the Eastern USA, every state with black bears is on alert for illegal poachers seeking bear internal organs. Which get dried and smuggled out of the US towards China.
Name an animal/herbal medicine where the host animal/plant is critically endangered and China has a black market paying top dollars for that bit of wildlife.
May’s issue of National Fisherman has a news blurb where NOAA used long range panes to factually identify and track China’s long range fishing fleet illegally fishing USA waters. Racking up thousands of metric-ton harvests of highly regulated fish like tuna.
China doesn’t care about fantasies postulated by the cesspool paper known as the Guardian. The Guardian cares not about Democracy nor Constitutional Monarchies.
The Guardian much prefers despotic communism where activists disappear.