With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Pence task force freezes coronavirus aid amid backlash
Pence is actually trying to fix the damage Trump is causing, to an extent. But it's still harming America in many ways.
Last week, a Trump administration official working to secure much-needed protective gear for doctors and nurses in the United States had a startling encounter with counterparts in Thailand.
The official asked the Thais for help—only to be informed by the puzzled voices on the other side of the line that a U.S. shipment of the same supplies, the second of two so far, was already on its way to Bangkok.Trump aides were alarmed when they learned of the exchange, and immediately put the shipment on hold while they ordered a review of U.S. aid procedures. Crossed wires would only confuse our allies, they worried, or worse—offend them. And Americans confronting a surging death toll and shortages of medical equipment back home would likely be outraged.
Vice President Mike Pence soon realized another step was needed: After a phone call asking a foreign leader’s help with key supplies, he ordered his staff to make sure the review process wasn’t holding up coronavirus-related aid to countries that were assisting the United States.
The incidents have spurred the Pence-led coronavirus task force to scrutinize all of USAID’s deliveries to countries requesting personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to fight the outbreak, according to people directly involved in the discussions, causing tensions between aid officials and task-force members.
The administration has also placed a moratorium on overseas shipments of USAID’s stockpiles of protective gear and is asking that the equipment be sent to the U.S. instead, other officials said.America’s diplomats are also grappling with China’s attempts to exploit the shortages by supplying aid to Western countries, keenly aware of Beijing’s interest in showing it is supplanting the United States as a global leader.
Just days before a load of medical supplies from China arrived in the U.S. for distribution in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the State Department boasted in a press release that the United States was “Leading the Humanitarian and Health Assistance Response to COVID-19.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted the aid in a press conference on Tuesday, noting, “We've now made available a total of $274 million in funding to as many as 64 countries,” money he said “would go to some of the world’s most at-risk peoples.”
There is bipartisan agreement on the need to resupply American hospitals and take care of domestic shortages first. But the issue is tricky: Other countries’ ability to fight the virus directly affects the U.S.—an infected man from Wuhan, the sprawling capital of Hubei province in China, is believed to be the first to bring the novel coronavirus to American shores in January—and millions of Americans work, serve, and study overseas in countries that have been hard hit.
“Our domestic response needs to be the priority, but the amount of aid offered internationally has been too slow and too small, risking the continued spread of the virus to Americans and to communities in countries with weaker infrastructure, immense poverty, and ongoing humanitarian crises,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who is the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy.
Other Democrats have been more pointed -- and political -- in their criticism. Dan Pfeiffer, who was a senior White House adviser for President Barack Obama, tweeted over the weekend, “Trump sending two million masks to China weeks before COVID came to America because he didn’t take the threat seriously would be a devastating ad.”
Last edited by Tami; 04-01-2020 at 09:22 AM.
Original join date: 11/23/2004
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Oh, no, a shutdown has been in place in ALL the state's counties, including Philly which has practically been a ghost town, especially the downtown area. Schools and businesses are closed with no date whatsoever as to when both will reopen, and social distancing has been in full effect. Here in Philly, we get daily updates from our mayor and KYW, our local all news radio station has been just about all COVID-19 all the time since the outbreak began. I think Pennsylvania has done a pretty good job in flattening the curve and keeping the populace informed.
Avatar: Here's to the late, great Steve Dillon. Best. Punisher. Artist. EVER!
Star Tribune is reporting that the Mayo clinic has found some stuff about antibodies.
https://twitter.com/StarTribune/stat...731025413?s=09
With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
This is pathetic, no? This administration spent the last month constantly downplaying the extent of the virus and telling everyone there was nothing to worry about, and now that's gotten so out of hand that they can't take that tack anymore, they're going to blame China for their lack of preparation? This isn't some kind of contest, and comparing the death tolls is pointless geopolitical posturing that doesn't actually help anyone.
Yeah but there isn't actually any proof that China has been lying about its numbers, just baseless speculation based on random photos people took of stacks of cremation urns. Like it or not, this willingness of people to believe every negative thing they hear about China is what leads to the all the hate crimes you see reported these days. Yeah sure you can repeat until the cows come home that you only hate the government and not the people, but that's about as credible here as all that "I don't hate Muslims, I just hate Islam!" talk was during the Bush era.
I repeat, this is the same CCP that covered up the situation with the Muslim community, willingly kidnapped people to cover up corruption, has lied in the past to its people, and whose president pulled a Napoleon.
People doing hate crimes against Asians are monsters but that does not absolve the Chinese government of doing horrible things and covering up things. And before you day America does the same, yes it has and we should hold them accountable for their actions as well.
I harbor no ill will towards the Chinese people who have seen a lot of shitty governments in their days, what I do harbor ill will towards is the assholes in charge of their government who hold the country in a constant police state.
See Paul's post above for more examples.
That's exactly the issue, because nobody is actually willing to take serious military or economic action against China, trying to "hold the CCP accountable" always just amounts to people shouting racial slurs at every Chinese person they see or perhaps in the most extreme cases a travel ban, which only serves to drive them closer to a government they would otherwise despise. This is also exactly what happens in every other country that America considers an enemy, when are we going to wake up to the fact that our constant reprimands are doing a lot more harm than good? In fact, just about the only country that I can think of that DIDN'T see its people subjected to racial discrimination for being an enemy of the US was Germany, funny that.