Same Old, Same Old: Our President Embarrasses Us Overseas
[guest post by JVW]
So I guess changing Presidents isn’t really accomplishing the goal of advancing American prestige overseas at G-7 summits. Whereas the previous guy was noted for his boorishness on the world’s stage, the new guy is setting tongues wagging with his befuddlement [links in quoted material appear in the original source]:
President Biden embarrassed himself at the G-7 summit when he tried to correct British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for not introducing “the president of South Africa” — even though Johnson already did so by name.
The blooper — one of several Biden made amid the series of meetings with world leaders — prompted laughter at his expense at the start of a roundtable discussion in Cornwall, England.
This is the sort of news that is being embargoed by the major news outlets who are fully vested in leaving us with the impression that the guy they helped drag across the finish line this past fall is competent and in control. Yet then we get moments such as this:
Biden wore dark sunglasses that obscured his eyes in an audience at Windsor Castle on Sunday with Queen Elizabeth II regarding future meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Royal protocol dictates that one must remove sunglasses during a meeting with the queen, according to a former royal butler.
“We had a great talk. She wanted to know what the two leaders that I … the one I’m about to meet with, Mr. Putin, and she wanted to know about Xi Jinping, and we had a long talk, and she was very generous,” Biden said after the meeting.
This statement from the president may have broken another protocol.
“It has nonetheless been a rule that an audience with the queen is strictly private, and to reveal its contents is a breach of trust,” said royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams.
To the degree that Elizabeth II Regina “asked” President Charming about other world leaders it was almost certainly a courteous way to make small-talk, as she is known to be well-informed on current events with an excellent memory for the people she meets in her state duties. Mr. Biden tried to make up for his famous oafishness in breaching protocol by clumsily comparing the Queen to his mother, and as I joked over the weekend Her Majesty should have thought to return the favor by comparing the President to her late Uncle Edward.
Warming to his own incompetence, President Biden then had one of his news conferences in which he let loose his own personal brand of aging befuddlement:
Biden referred to Syria as Libya three times in the span of 90 seconds while speaking about potential areas where the United States can partner with Russia despite the countries’ fraught relationship.
“In Libya, we should be opening up the passes to be able to go through and provide … food assistance and economic ― I mean vital assistance ― to a population that’s in real trouble,” Biden said during his speech, which capped the three-day Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Cornwall, England.
“The rebuilding of Syria, of Libya ― you know, this is, they’re there and as long as they’re there without the ability to bring about some order in the region, you can’t do that very well without providing for the basic economic needs of people,” he added. “So I’m hopeful that we can find an accommodation that where we can save the lives of people in, for example, in Libya.”
National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters later Sunday aboard Air Force One that Biden had mixed up the two Middle Eastern countries.
The President’s media courtiers inform us that behind the scenes Mr. Biden pressed for a tougher Western stance against China’s myriad of aggressions, and the G-7 crew did manage to issue a statement that criticized China’ human rights abuses and called for more transparency in the Wuhan Lab investigation, happily irking the tyrants in Beijing. I am pleased to hear that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is apparently continuing to use his predecessor’s description of China’s behavior towards the Uyghurs as “genocide and ethnic cleansing”; I was fearful that the Biden Administration might water down the rhetoric for the sake of appeasement.
The President now moves on to a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin, in which the Administration seems to already be dampening expectations. When Administration officials are (allegedly) telling reporters that a chief goal is for President Biden to have an error-free summit meeting, it’s very hard to keep up confidence in our Chief Executive, especially since the White House is working to ensure that Mr. Biden is not put into a position where his vigor and resolve might be unfavorably compared to that of his adversary, a tacit acknowledge that he lacks the stature of the man who served as President way back when Slow Joe was serving his third term in the United States Senate.
I don’t blame anybody for feeling a sense of relief that the last guy is no longer in the White House, but how can anybody feel secure that we are in the best of hands given the gaggle of mediocrities currently running the show? At least with the prior Administration we had a Vice-President who was competent, decent, and honest, three traits which none of us can ascribe to the current disaster who sits at Mr. Biden’s feeble right hand. We’re in for a rough ride over the next few years, especially if the President’s infirmities elevate the cipher that is Kamala Harris into an office for which she would undoubtedly be the worst-prepared occupant in our nation’s history. God bless America takes on a truly pointed meaning these days.
– JVW
But other than that. . .
JVW (ee64e4) — 6/15/2021 @ 2:15 pmI think the Dems might try to activate a Spiro Agnew plan sooner rather than later. The best thing for D in the event of a Trump redo, is a late starting open contest and a smoke filled room type of convention.
urbanleftbehind (ef7dc9) — 6/15/2021 @ 2:33 pmBless you, JVW.
Don’t forget Jill’s ‘Pay attention, Joe!’ shout out to the befuddled one at RAF Mildenhall and grabbing him after he literally wandered into the wrong cafeteria at the G7 chow-down.
The press has been giving this twit a pass he does not deserve nor has earned.
Been around for 13 U.S. presidencies in my lifetime and Squinty McStumblebum is by far the most “experienced” incompetent and the most embarrassing representative of the United States of America to ever set foot inside Her Majesty’s majestic abode. The first thing we were told when we moved to Britain was that every word and every action reflected not just upon ourselves but our country and to conduct ourselves accordingly. Never, ever, forgot that. Ol’Squinty never learned it. In Scranton– or in Wilmington.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 2:45 pmRemember, too, that Deaver and crew, under Hollywood Nancy’s direction, were much, much better at Reaganoptics, at protecting and projecting Ronnie’s image, even as he began to mentally and physically decline. And that’s not a slam but a genuine tribute to their skill set. With Biden announcing a solo presser, Vlad’s already won the optics battle. This go-around, the healthy, younger Putin has literally ‘Reagan-ed’ ol’Squinty.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 3:07 pmWorse than Chester A. Arthur?
Or if you want someone since 1900, Warren G. Harding. Well, maybe there was more to him than is commonly assumed – and he wanted to be honest about public policy. He knew he didn’t know things and didn’t do things because he thought it would help him politically. He was not a good judge of people.
The problem with Kamala Harris is that she’s not a cipher.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/15/2021 @ 3:36 pmThey;re trying to make Biden;’s answer about Putin being a killer into a sign of mental deterioraton but actually that was a case where he wanted to be diplomatic and he handled it very well for what he wanted to do.
Missing the introduction of the president of South Africa is a sign that his mind wandered (it was a ceremony) and nothing serious except that it might indicate that his short term memory is not as good as he expects it to be.
Confusing Libya and Syria – that might be a problem with him – that for some reason he can’t get the two countries straight (both were affected by the Arab Spring) But their histories since 2011 are quite different, and Syria is next to Israel.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/15/2021 @ 3:42 pm“Pussycat pussycat, where have you been?”
nk (1d9030) — 6/15/2021 @ 3:52 pm“I’ve been to London to visit the Queen.”
“Pussycat pussycat, what did you there?”
“I frightened a little mouse under her chair.”
That’s what you think is embarrassing?
Colonel Klink (Ret) (1367c0) — 6/15/2021 @ 3:52 pmI’m sure they will compare him to Reagan, who befuddled his way to winning to Cold War. Maybe Putin will compare Biden to Gorbachev, and Biden will thank him for it.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/15/2021 @ 3:54 pmKamala won’t replace Biden until Jan 21st, 2023, at the earliest.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/15/2021 @ 3:55 pmhttps://youtube.com/watch?v=MG4DMovzea4&feature=youtu.be
BuDuh (690fc0) — 6/15/2021 @ 4:00 pmWorse than Chester A. Arthur
A Civil War veteran who managed the Republican machine in New York? I thin he’s better prepared.
Warren Harding was a Lt. Governor of Ohio and served a full term in the U.S. Senate, so yeah, he was better prepared too.
JVW (c7f8f9) — 6/15/2021 @ 4:08 pmThat’s what you think is embarrassing?
Unless you are a fan of handing out participation trophies, yes.
JVW (c7f8f9) — 6/15/2021 @ 4:09 pmConfusing Libya and Syria – that might be a problem with him
Well, the both are three syllables ending in -a, so it’s not that unusual. But do you remember when they went after Trump for not knowing where Aleppo was?
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/15/2021 @ 4:36 pm$20 sez Queen Elizabeth could take Biden in the Octagon.
As for the sunglasses, they have Biden on a LongIsland Ice Tea style concoction of amphetamines, Adderall and God only knows what else in their attempts at maintaining a measurable pulse. His eyes are blown and even his Deliverance banjo squint can’t disguise that.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/15/2021 @ 4:48 pmYes. He didn;t know what was ALEPPO?
I had the idea Aleppo could stood for something. I can’t completely remember the acronym I came up with.
American Led Emergency Partial Peace Option.
I had a little trouble with the mnd I’m not sure about the L and the E.
Aleppo of course was the name of a city.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/15/2021 @ 4:54 pmWhat I’d like to know: Who in Biden’s circle wields the most power behind the scenes? Please, Lord, don’t let it be Kamala.
norcal (c66c6b) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:04 pmI remember when Clark Gifford referred to Reagan as an “amiable dunce”, but that moniker fits Biden to a T.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:25 pmThank you for your post, JVW. Everyone is donning cheerleader garb so quickly everywhere, on all sides, that it just reminds me I need to not read the news.
Even Jon Stewart is acting…unusually.
My only explanation:
https://youtu.be/UUWJWRn5m6E
Thank you again. I really do appreciate your posts.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:30 pmWhat I’d like to know: Who in Biden’s circle wields the most power behind the scenes? Please, Lord, don’t let it be Kamala.
White House Chief of Staff Robert Klain should be the best guess. But if the Biden White House follows previous practice, the new David Axelrod or Kellyanne Conway and I don’t know who that is.
nk (1d9030) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:33 pm19… you’re conflating Clark Clifford with Frank Gifford, fer chrissakes.
15 yard penalty and loss of down…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:34 pm9.I’m sure they will compare him to Reagan, who befuddled his way to winning to Cold War.
Insulting Nixon, Kevin?!?! The Cold War ended on GHWB’s watch, not Ronnie’s following a consistent, continment, American Cold War policy from the Truman Administration through Ike, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush. And the first person to credit them all would be Reagan.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:37 pmPartial thanks, nk!
norcal (c66c6b) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:38 pmWhen he dies, we can hope his ashes will be scattered off the lush beaches of Delaware, so the creatures of the sea, summertime swim-suited bathers, fishermen, merchant mariners and jet planes evacuating their airborne heads, can piss on his grave.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:44 pmEven though I only visit Conservative Treehouse as a novelty, I sometimes find an interesting take.
It seems plausible.
BuDuh (7bca93) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:45 pmDe nada. I’ll add that it’s unlikely to be Kamala Harris: “In the corridors of power, the Vice President is the janitor’s closet.” — Steven Spielberg, Pinky and the Brain
nk (1d9030) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:47 pmBiden has already made the most important move in diminishing Putin, by refusing a press conference, which would only give Putin more stage opportunities, and by emphasizing solidarity with NATO allies, which Putin has been trying to sabotage for many years.
Who gives a damn if he violates royal protocol or confuses two countries? Well apparently every Republican desperate for evidence that Biden is the drooling senile idiot they keep telling themselves he is.
If you can find me a single world leader who finds Biden worse to deal with than Trump, I’d be curious. And at least Biden is unlikely to side with Putin as against his own intelligence agencies regarding Russian attacks on the U.S.
Victor (9ebafe) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:48 pmI think the world leaders, so far, are quite happy that Biden is so easy to deal with.
BuDuh (7bca93) — 6/15/2021 @ 5:56 pmWho gives a damn if he violates royal protocol or confuses two countries? Well apparently every Republican desperate for evidence that Biden is the drooling senile idiot they keep telling themselves he is.
Evidence? I’m most decidedly not a conservative Republican. Just an American w/international residency experience who has been to the same sites as Squinty McStumblebum; subject to their cultures and laws who respects the history and sovereign traditions of same and is deeply embarrassed that this fumble-mouthed, brain-damaged,shuffling imbecile is representing the United States of America to the citizens of these nations at U.S. taxpayer expense.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 6:18 pmThat’s a bizarre take on Stewart by Sundance. He didn’t get the ratings on The Daily Show by being a “moonbat”.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/15/2021 @ 6:20 pmEven though I only visit Conservative Treehouse as a novelty, I sometimes find an interesting take.
It’s not as if this is an Aaron Rupar take…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/15/2021 @ 6:26 pmMaybe he was thinking about the 5 years since Stewart left the Daily Show? 🙂
Either was, Simon Jester noted that Stewart’s recent behavior is unusual and I happened to have just seen a post that attempted to reason out that unusual behavior.
There is probably a better reason Stewart is now telling Captain-Obvious jokes about the Wuhan Lab, that were just as true a year ago when he wasn’t being so wise.
BuDuh (7bca93) — 6/15/2021 @ 6:27 pmEither way…. not “was…”
BuDuh (7bca93) — 6/15/2021 @ 6:28 pmWho gives a damn if he violates royal protocol
Only the British Tourism Board. More than 100% with you on that one.
… or confuses two countries?
It’s not like he called them sh!tholes. And I’ll tell you something else, too. 99% of his critics couldn’t find them on a map.
nk (1d9030) — 6/15/2021 @ 6:56 pmLet me rephrase that: 99% of *Americans* couldn’t find them on a map.
nk (1d9030) — 6/15/2021 @ 7:00 pmYou Republican traitors and terrorists are spreading disinformation. Everyone knows Biden simply suffers from a mild stutter. To insinuate otherwise is to show true Americans that you are a Kremlin pawn.
Wait to show your true colors, traitors.
Hoi Polloi (b28058) — 6/15/2021 @ 7:06 pmnk@27,
Yeah. I’m thinking if Kamala really had any juice she wouldn’t have been saddled with the thorny issue that is the border.
norcal (c66c6b) — 6/15/2021 @ 7:19 pmIt’s not like he called them sh!tholes.
Except they are.
And I’ll tell you something else, too. 99% of his critics couldn’t find them on a map.
Whereas 99% of him needs a nap– 24/7.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 7:21 pm“this fumble-mouthed, brain-damaged,shuffling imbecile”
I can’t wait for DCSCA to enter his golden years and start making repetitive, boneheaded, nonsensical comments that we can turn against him…..oh wait….
AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 6/15/2021 @ 7:22 pm@29. I think the world leaders, so far, are quite happy that Biden is so easy to deal with.
No kidding.
“Who’s the mark? Doyle Lonnegan.” – ‘The Sting’ 1973
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 7:26 pm@40. Reaganaurics!
Conservatism 101- when losing the message, attack the messenger.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 7:28 pmI can’t wait for DCSCA to enter his golden years and
Nah, it’s nothing like that. Here’s the deal:
DCSCA had developed an inordinate affection for Melania’s rear-end going up the steps of Air Force One, but it did not translate into a resentment for Donald Trump because DCSCA understood that Melania is high maintenance and out of his league.
However, now that his affections have migrated to Dr. Jill’s rear end, it’s a different ballgame. He considers girl-next-door Jill within his means and resents Biden for getting to her first.
And thus tragedies are written.
nk (1d9030) — 6/15/2021 @ 7:38 pmThe one positive thing about Trump’s prominence is that it did….out of necessity….bring callipygian to my vocabulary.
“Conservatism 101- when losing the message, attack the messenger”
Except it isn’t….
AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 6/15/2021 @ 7:45 pm@44. And yet it is- by your own posting.
Glorious.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:03 pmbring callipygian to my vocabulary.
Then you might be interested to know that in the etymology of “protocol” if the penultimate is spelled with an omicron, πρωτοκολλο, it means “first page”, but if it is spelled with an omega, πρωτοκωλλο (same sound), it means “first butt”.
nk (1d9030) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:07 pm@43. DCSCA had developed an inordinate affection for Melania’s rear-end going up the steps of Air Force One, but it did not translate into a resentment for Donald Trump because DCSCA understood that Melania is high maintenance and out of his league. However, now that his affections have migrated to Dr. Jill’s rear end, it’s a different ballgame.
Calfhide to Naugahyde, nk.
Reaganomics!
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:07 pmWERTHER had a love for Charlotte
Such as words could never utter;
Would you know how first he met her?
She was cutting bread and butter.
Goethe-gnomics!
nk (1d9030) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:13 pmYes. He didn;t know what was ALEPPO?
That was Gary Johnson, the Lolbertarian candidate.
Factory Working Orphan (2775f0) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:18 pm#36
3 barely connected thoughts
1. I have distant relatives in Birmingham, England.
Even other Brits will agree it is a S#it#ole. X2 My second cousin from Birmingham came to vist. Gay man, still lived with his mom, my great aunt, when he wsn’t roaming Europe as an over sensitive soccer hooligan
2.We should all just admit it. Trump beat Hillary and then lost to a venal ventriloquist dummy named Joe who feathered his nest at least as much as Trump did.
3. I have a friend who taught History (and other stuff) at Hueneme High School in Oxnard, CA
steveg (ebe7c1) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:28 pmAs an icebreaker on the first day of class, he invited kids up to the front and asked them to point to their country or state, or city of family origin. He had to cut it short when the Mexican kids were fumbling around on Europe and the white kids were stumped by Africa. The black kid that won found Mississippi
He didn’t know what was ALEPPO?
Factory Working Orphan (2775f0) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:18 pm
I couldn’t remember the circumstances in which it came up, but I didn’t remember Trump being associated with it. I remembered it was associated with the camaoign, and the acronym I created.
Yes it was Gary Johnson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcj8yJk87cs
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:30 pm@40-
Rip Murdock (2975ef) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:37 pmGiven DCSCA‘s obsession with old movie quotes and politicians from 40 years ago he has already reached that point, especially since one of his prized possessions is a photo of the most accidental Presidents ever.
10.Kamala won’t replace Biden until Jan 21st, 2023, at the earliest.
A year from now, President Harris will be cackling why Russian troops ‘liberated’ Ukraine and blame the failure of her predecessor to pressure NATO into accepting them into the alliance; deride him for allowing Chinese ‘gunboat diplomacy’ to finally secure sovereignty over Taiwan while still never visiting the U.S. southern border… then remind us she was just “a little girl in California” who was bused as a part of the second class to integrate public schools in her county because of him, too. No ‘Joe Dirt’ on her pantsuits!
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:38 pmI want to say I regret my comment at #52.
Rip Murdock (2975ef) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:39 pm@’52. Given DCSCA‘s obsession with old movie quotes and politicians from 40 years ago he has already reached that point, especially since one of his prized possessions is a photo of the most accidental Presidents ever.’
Do tell!
“Hail to the chief / He’s the one we all say “Hail” to. / We all say “Hail” / ‘Cause he keeps himself so clean! / He’s got the power, / That’s why he’s in the shower…” – Dave Kovic [Kevin Kline] “Dave” 1993
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:49 pm@54. I want to say I regret my comment at #52.
I want to say I don’t regret my comment at #55! 😉
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 8:51 pm“Trump beat Hillary and then lost to a venal ventriloquist dummy named Joe”
Looking back at the democrat field of 2020….doesn’t give me much hope for 2024. That Warren, Bernie, and Bloomberg were the best of the best to challenge Biden shows that both parties are taking on water and listing badly. Of the governors, Hickenlooper was plausible….Inslee was vaguely recognizable….oh and yeah there was some Montana guy and Deval Patrick. I’m coming to the conclusion that parties need to wrestle back control over these primaries…..somehow….cull the field while presenting some ideological options. My expectations for Biden for these types of trips…based on 40 years of flubs….was pretty low. I do hope his staff and cabinet are watching the details. We have to do better…..
AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 6/15/2021 @ 9:11 pm@57. He should have stopped crying in his beer over dead Beau, grown a pair like a hard-assed SOB POTUS has to have and challenged HRC for the nomination in 2015 when he still appeared to have had both oars in the water as VP. He likely would have had a better shot at beating Trump than the wholly dislikable b-tch– and spared the Untied States of the Trump era rooting.
He doesn’t have the balls for this gig. Anybody who keeps clutching at ‘staff’ as a crutch doesn’t.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 9:27 pm[Sorry, I killed a duplicate comment that my own ass had made.]
So sorry, a bunch of comments here are minus one for effect.
JVW (ee64e4) — 6/15/2021 @ 10:06 pmJVW, another excellent post as usual. Thank you for it.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 6/15/2021 @ 10:37 pm@49.
1. It is.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 11:04 pm2. True.
3. Kids don’t vote.
27.Biden has already made the most important move in diminishing Putin, by refusing a press conference, which would only give Putin more stage opportunities, and by emphasizing solidarity with NATO allies, which Putin has been trying to sabotage for many years.
No. It makes Squinty look weak. And afraid. As to ‘solidarity’w/NATO allies, keep in mind that these days it is Russian energy resources which helps keep the lights on and the homes warm through the European winters. And another pipeline was just given the greenlight by McStumblbum. Vlad has them NATO types by their energy short and curlies- and if push comes to shove, especially over any effort to ‘liberate’ Ukraine, he’ll squeeze.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/15/2021 @ 11:33 pmOld chinese curse (in more ways then one) Be careful what you wish for you might get it. You think you would like kamala harris better? To solidify the nomination in 2024 the left and latinx would force her to put AOC on the ticket or tear the party apart.
asset (939a56) — 6/15/2021 @ 11:49 pmhttps://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/06/sometimes_a_coincidence_isnt_a_coincidence.html
mg (8cbc69) — 6/16/2021 @ 2:52 amWill any of you grow up?
I have axed this question before. If Biden is so bad, why didn’t all the people who like Trump keep him as President? I just don’t understand it.
nk (1d9030) — 6/16/2021 @ 5:44 ammg, you read too much crap that feeds your confirmation bias. No one has enough time…or interest…to challenge each and every grasping assertion made by retired engineer John Green at the American Thinker. Still, I think the claim that Fauci purposefully funded gain-of-function research at Wuhan deserves a serious discussion (of course Green…presumably from his bunker in Idaho… also claims…wholly unconstrained by fact, fairness, or ethically responsibility…that the virus was deliberatively released….again, not fact-based and careful journalism, but let’s jump to my favorite conspiracy theory fluff). Here’s an article that presents a more careful and measured analysis of the research, I’ll quote the conclusion below
https://healthfeedback.org/what-is-known-about-the-claims-that-the-wuhan-institute-of-virology-conducted-research-to-bioengineer-bat-coronaviruses/
“The NIH indirectly funded research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a sub-contractor to a grant awarded to EcoHealth Alliance. This grant was reviewed during the NIH’s funding pause on gain-of-function research, and was determined to not fall under the definition of gain-of-function research used by the NIH for the funding pause. There is controversy among scientists whether a study from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, carried out with NIH funding, used gain-of-function techniques. However, this study did not work on making the virus more infectious for humans. The research involved in this study couldn’t have led to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, as the two viruses are too different.”
AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 6/16/2021 @ 5:52 amI agree with this part of Mr. Green’s piece: “But maybe this is all just crazy conspiracy thinking.”
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/16/2021 @ 6:44 amOn the Stewart thing, he’s just sending updates for the NPC’s. Now they can all believe they always thought the lab hypothesis was obvious. Propaganda for the mindless. They need something though. You can see the old code running on Colbert and it’s glitching bad.
The beauty to his approach is it’s now smart and edgy to challenge “the media narrative”, even though it’s the new media narrative, and it was done as a joke so he can put the clown nose on it when he wants.
Even science is getting on board. Science a year ago said “natural origin” and science now is saying “unique sequence not found in nature detected”. Although in fairness science a year ago was also saying there was evidence in the sequence pointing to a lab origin. Sadly, some of us didn’t have Stewart to point out the obvious a year ago.
frosty (40e1bb) — 6/16/2021 @ 6:57 amToo damn many people everywhere saying too damn many things.
nk (1d9030) — 6/16/2021 @ 7:01 amAt this point Biden probably isn’t in control of his bowel movements. That there are people endorsing this and explaining how it’s really a good thing just let’s you know that when people say they want the best for the country you should ask which country and what do they mean by best.
He’s soft on Russia and everyone who used to think Trump and Putin were literally destroying the world seem to be ok with the new POTUS. Same for China.
Everyone worried about Trump having the nuclear codes doesn’t seem to have any concerns about Biden. Anyone think that guy could pick the correct code off the biscuit?
The best part is that there are people who would read this comment and think it’s no problem. Jill can just deal with the codes or get KH to do it. On the Russia thing, of course it’s not a problem now because reasons.
frosty (40e1bb) — 6/16/2021 @ 7:15 amAlthough it should not be stated as an absolute, there is wisdom in Hanlon’s Razor. Just as there is wisdom in Occam’s Razor.
Jim Miller (edcec1) — 6/16/2021 @ 7:23 amThis is an especially good part
That the president’s people would say something like this is laughable. They “pressed” for a “tougher stance” and issued a critical statement that irked Beijing. Holy balls of fire, that is some serious US foreign policy muscle being flexed. Everyone must have been worn out after writing that statement for the press. I like how they leave that out now. They issued a statement for the press designed to manipulate US public opinion but somehow calling it a statement makes it means something?
His answer to the Putin question is also telling. Either his staff prepped him and he forgot the response they worked out or they didn’t prep him. Either one is a bad sign. The constant references to how he’s going to get in trouble with his staff suggest they’re trying but he can’t remember what he’s supposed to say. Every time he says that I laugh a little at the idea of the leader of the free world getting in trouble with his staff. I suspect the tyrants in Beijing and Putin do to.
These people need to be tarred and feathered. Some of them need worse just to set an example for future administrations.
frosty (0cba86) — 6/16/2021 @ 7:44 amI bet Biden took Putin to the woodshed over the bounties Putin put on American troops…
Hoi Polloi (ade50d) — 6/16/2021 @ 7:54 am“At this point Biden probably isn’t in control of his bowel movements”
Are you proposing impeachment…..or 25th amendment….or wildly hurling poo for three more years (hey, at least its exercise)? It remains sad that the majority of the GOP thought Trump was the best opposition candidate against someone whose chief qualification was that he did not screw up too badly as Obama’s VP. Biden is what you can get when the opposing party refuses to acknowledge how flawed their incumbent candidate actually is/was. On the bright side, Biden hasn’t broken the law yet, done anything blatantly unconstitutional, or attacked the integrity of our elections. Maybe start there as we move toward 2024….
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:00 amLibya is a Freudian slip on his part. It’s a failed state because of BO, HRC, and Biden. His handlers probably told him to deny any comparisons between Syria and Libya and he just remembered Libya because it’s in a memory he hasn’t lost yet.
I’m glad he’s getting a pass though and no one is pointing out that he’s telling Putin to do, in Libya, what he failed to do, in Libya.
frosty (0cba86) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:13 am65. AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 6/16/2021 @ 5:52 am
The facts are scattered in many places.
But I think roughly is is like this:
Fauci funded gain-of-function research, mainly or only in the United States, for about a dozen years tlll October 2014 when (probably his superiors) placed a pause on it. However there was the possibility of exceptions. Dr Ralph Baric claimed that. And got some research funded.
After this, money went to the EcoHealth Alliance (a nonprofit company run by Peter Daszak)- need to check out details) but the money came from the Department of Defense, not Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
In December 2017 the Trump Administration lifted the hold. There were supposed to be precautions.
Then Fauci gave money to the EcoHealth Alliance. Which gave some money to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is not one thing, but really an umbrella organization. And there are two other labs n the city, one close to the seafood market (which really did – mostly illegally – have some air breathing animals, although probably not the right kind. You can break the law in China if it’s a matter on which the central government is not really paying attention. It’s not really a very efficient despotism any more. There are too few people with arbitrary power of arrest – aside from the local despots, who have a lot of delegated authority)
https://healthfeedback.org/what-is-known-about-the-claims-that-the-wuhan-institute-of-virology-conducted-research-to-bioengineer-bat-coronaviruses/
Fauci defines gain-of-function research as making a virus that already infects humans more infectious, not taking a virus that does not infect people and making it so it can infect people.
In any case people would only know what they funded, not what somebody else, like maybe the Chinese military, funded.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:15 amIs maybe some comrades want to consider that summit discussions between nuclear powers are not like shooting somebody on Fifth Avenue? Is maybe more like making sausage? Or babies? The real thing happens out of sight?
Yeah, Biden is not the showman providing
nk (1d9030) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:16 amfodder for the mediaentertainment for the proles that Trump was. That’s a feature, not a bug.Biden is revising slightly his Afghan pullout plan and has been for awhile.
Even after the pullout, American forces will be able to provide air support to Afghan troops, which is the main thing they do now besides training.
The problem is: From what air base??
NATO countries are very worried about the security of their embassies in Kabul.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:20 am71. frosty (0cba86) — 6/16/2021 @ 7:44 am
I think they prepped him and he gave the answer he was supposed to: He would not retract the statement that Putin was a killer, but neither would he reiterate it. That did leave him somewhat at a loss for words.
When he says that he means they don’t want him to take the question. But he doesn’t like ignoring questions.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:26 amActually, he is providing fodder for the media and other foreign leaders as he shows his dotage every time he opens his mouth.
At this point, do you really think any of the foreign leaders feel comfortable talking to Biden himself about foreign policy?
Hoi Polloi (ade50d) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:26 am@67 Frosty, A little more then a year ago I listed to virologist from the university of Minnesota talk about where he thought CV19 came from. He was pretty clear that in is expert opinion it was probably of natural origin passed from animal to human via Chinese wet markets. He was also clear that it *could* have been engineered, but that wasn’t what the data best supported at that time. The fact that we have new data now that leads to a different likely source doesn’t mean that everyone was lying last year. Also, the people loudly calling it the kung-flu and trying to demonize china weren’t doing so from any deep analysis of the data. They were trying to scape goat China to impact the political discussion.
Time123 (441f53) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:27 amAJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:00 am
How would you know? His DOJ won’t represent it’s side for political reasons and the press is covering him like a warm blanket. Did you go back and add “blatantly” after remembering some of his recent EO’s and regulatory changes? You’re setting a pretty low bar. Maybe I’ll start wherever I like and when you catch me pushing obvious hoaxes, lies, and propaganda we can revisit how we move toward 2024. The guy you’re pimping has checked out and you can’t blame trump voters for that. He made it through the D primary and it was obvious then. His VP couldn’t even make it into the D primary and she’ll probably be POTUS before Biden hits 1 year.
frosty (40e1bb) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:28 amHere’s a quote from Fauci last year
It’s cleat what he thought and why, but he left plenty of room for himself to be wrong.
Time123 (b87ded) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:35 amThey fight so hard to get statements critical of other countries, they think issuing a statement is doing something.
Of course what they mst do is tell the government of China that, no matter what they say, the NATO countries and others believe without question, and try to get the whole world to agree, that it came from a lab, and act accordingly. Time is up for China to attempt to prove otherwise. And they are not even allowing any investigation, contrary to their obligations under the World Health Organization treaty, so they get no benefit of the doubt.
But, tel them, rhat China could improve its public image by admitting the truth. (this is only the case, of course, if hardly anybody believes that it didn’t leak from a lab.)
And what we want to know is not whether it leaked from a lab, but how it leaked from a lab, i.e., was there an unusual degree of incompetence there, or are there some lessons for labs in other countries to learn?
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:40 am82. It wouldn’t have been artificially or deliberately manipulated starting from a known sample virus </b?
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:42 amThey had to have started from an unpublished virus.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:43 amTime123 (441f53) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:27 am
The data we have now about the gene sequence didn’t take a year to gather. We either had it last year and it was ignored (spoiler warning) or it wasn’t investigated.
There was never any actual evidence for an animal transmission. There was only speculation based on previous viruses. Anyone saying they had scientific evidence for animal transmission is either lying or egregiously misstating facts.
Don’t take my word for it though. Try a couple of bing searches and you’ll find some papers on the gene inserts and you’ll also find scientists complaining about how the entire topic was being actively censored.
Blaming trump isn’t an excuse.
frosty (40e1bb) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:46 amFrosty, i’ll do that. But if you have comments about that from last to start my search on it would save me time. If not not worries, I know you’re not my research assistant.
Time123 (441f53) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:50 amTime123 (441f53) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:27 am
We don;t really have no data. We have the absence of data, and perhaps evidence ruling out some possibilities. Also more circulation to some arguments that it did not arise in nature.
One point: IF it was genetically engineered THEN it had to come out of a lab.
But IF it was NOT genetically engineered, THEN that DOESN’T MEAN that it did NOT come out of a lab.
The 1977 return of a 1949/1950 flu virus was not genetically engineered but almost certainly came out of a lab in Russia or China, probably Russia.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:52 am86. frosty (40e1bb) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:46 am
Plus the fact that saying it came out of lab amounted to a conspiracy theory: China was hiding something.
But since when is something wrong just because it’s a conspiracy theory?
Conspiracy theory!
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:56 amI think conservatives believe the best means of conducting foreign relations is to be the biggest asshole possible. Strange.
Victor (9ebafe) — 6/16/2021 @ 9:09 am“The guy you’re pimping has checked out and you can’t blame trump voters for that.”
Didn’t vote for him…don’t support his domestic policies….believe he’s been wrong on most international questions over his career….and think he is a step too slow for the most important elected office in the world….how’s that for pimping.
But why we got him is that Trump voters were convinced that enough of the electorate would see Trump like right-wing media presented him….a fighter….a victim of liberal media bias…rough on the edges but right on policy and tone. Of course that narrative failed….even though Biden was a historically weak candidate…in terms of enthusiasm, charisma, and message. Most people just wanted Trump gone. Adopting the attitude of “see he wasn’t THAT bad” just seems to continue to miss the point. Trump losing in 2020 destroyed the myth that it took Trump to win….and his post-election behavior further alienated persuadable people and lost the Georgia seats. At what point do you just say, “we need a new horse”?
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 6/16/2021 @ 11:25 amThe Wuhan lab got money indirectly through EcoHealth not just from the NIH but also from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/16/2021 @ 3:30 pmNew York City mayoral debate on WNBC Channel 4 at 7 pm – second hour not on regular TV
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/16/2021 @ 3:56 pmTime123 (441f53) — 6/16/2021 @ 8:50 am
You can try this.
A similar google search gives different results.
There’s a bit of a disagreement in the “scientific” community with some scientists publishing papers on artificial sequences in covid and “the scientific community” pressuring them to retract the study, usually for vague reasons.
frosty (40e1bb) — 6/16/2021 @ 7:34 pmAJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 6/16/2021 @ 11:25 am
What are you positing here? That we got Biden because Trump voters didn’t dump Trump and the R’s didn’t primary him? Based on your “logic” if Trump voters would have been right we’d have another Trump term. In what fantasy scenario do we get someone besides Trump or Biden based on the actions of Trump voters?
I can easily say we need better options for 2024. What I don’t see is how someone thinks you win a presidential election with someone who primaried the sitting POTUS.
I take the pimping comment back. I confused another comment with yours.
frosty (40e1bb) — 6/16/2021 @ 7:46 pm94. One of the sources (from early 2020) uses as an argument that it was not man made the same fact later used to say that it was (the more infectious mutation was not one known before)
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/17/2021 @ 9:24 amEmerging Infectious Disease Repository database from the organization that has been trying to avoid implicating any Wuhan lab:
It says it runs from 1940 to 2013:
https://eidr.ecohealthalliance.org
SARS is in here (dated 2002), but you have to search for it. By default, the database shows only 20 rows per page
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 6/17/2021 @ 10:51 am