Tyrone Biggums
Well-known member
Looking at who funds the WHO it doesn't really look like global unity.
Seems rather lopsided.
But yeah, lets all blame the US.
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Trump
- Thread starter ShandyH
- Start date
Looking at who funds the WHO it doesn't really look like global unity.
Seems rather lopsided.
But yeah, lets all blame the US.
But Trump knew it was a pandemic long before anyone else.
Do I think there was a bit of quid pro quo? Yes. Do I think they were involved in a cover up? No, of course not. How would that last?
With regard to Taiwan, I don't agree with it but the WHO is far from alone in not recognising the ROC government.
Tyrone Biggums
Well-known member
Taiwan warned the WHO on December 31st.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-questions-at-start-of-outbreak-idUSKBN21B160
The fact the WHO doesn't recognise Taiwan says it all. Imagine ignoring a population of 23 million people just to appease China.
Corrupt as ****.
highflyer
Well-known member
- Jan 21, 2016
- 2,553
And your evidence for this is?
(beyond unuspported statements from some highly partisan US media propagandists)
Like those of any global institution, senior WHO officials have to navigate their way through global politics. I watched the live broadcast from the IMF relating to their 'World Economic Outlook' report yesterday, and was astounded at some of the carefully worded, head-in-the-sand statements and responses from the senior officials there.
Do I think they self-edit when speaking publicly to keep certain powerful players (most notably the US) happy? Yes.
Are they 'corrupt'? No, or at least no more than the WHO is corrupt.
Do we have a better option than the IMF for tackling some aspects of the of the economic crisis we now face? No.
I think we've heard quite enough from so called experts.
Mr Banana
Tedious chump
The WHO's finances are not the best anyway.
The US, which had been proposing in February to roughly halve the amount it paid, is its greatest contributor on paper but has been late on payments worth about $100 million, making China the highest reliable contributor.
The US, which had been proposing in February to roughly halve the amount it paid, is its greatest contributor on paper but has been late on payments worth about $100 million, making China the highest reliable contributor.
- Apr 5, 2014
- 25,901
Morning, Mr Gove !
LamieRobertson
Not awoke
Says it all ....of course later he could add how happy he is about his audience figures
Weststander
Well-known member
Just by having a Sky dish or Virgin cable TV.
Who'd like the channel. They show no reverence for The Commander In Chief, they dissect his endless spinning with a surgical knife, and within seconds have to hand his past quotes and actions that contradict his latest lies.
Is that a throw-away comment, or your expert opinion?
The WHO is part of the United Nations. The United Nations does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. This is mostly because China has a veto in the UN Security Council meaning it is unable to do so.
Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,028
EFA.
Because China will never release the truth about what happened. Why would they? No one will make them, and it serves no purpose for them to suddenly own up.
No, you misunderstand the point. This isn't about WHO not coming out and saying 'we recognise Taiwan as an independent country', this is about the WHO refusing to acknowledge any questions that even mention Taiwan. So if you were to identify a successful method of preventing the spread of CV in Taiwan, and ask the WHO how that can be used around the rest of the world, to save lives, they cut you off, because you mentioned Taiwan. That's ****ed up.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...ask-his-own-stark-failings-on-covid-19-crisis
Here's snippet if you don't want to open the link:
“Whatever form it takes, this is a deeply shortsighted and dangerous decision - at any time, let alone during a ... pandemic,” said Alexandra Phelan, assistant professor at the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University.
“It’s a bizarre decision that would be profoundly detrimental to global public health,” said Gavin Yamey, the director of Duke University’s center for policy impact in global health. “He’s trying to distract from his own errors that have led to the worst government response to Covid-19 on Earth.”
Public health officials generally agree that the WHO’s response to the pandemic has not been perfect, but much improved on the organisation’s lambasted performance in the face of the Ebola outbreak in 2014, and immeasurably better than how the US has handled Covid-19.
The WHO first raised the alert over the Wuhan outbreak on 5 January, and beginning on 7 January it was briefing public health officials from the US and other national governments on the outbreak in regular teleconference calls. On 9 January the WHO distributed guidance to member states for their own risk assessment and planning.
Trump and his supporters have focused on a 14 January WHO tweet reporting the findings of preliminary Chinese studies suggesting “no clear evidence” of human-to-human transmission.
While the WHO was obliged to report on the latest findings of a member state at the source of the outbreak, its officials told their counterparts in technical briefings on 10 and 11 January, and briefed the press on 14 January, that human-to-human transmission was still a strong possibility given the experience of past coronavirus epidemics and urged suitable precautions.
Yamey said it was ridiculous to point to a single tweet early in the pandemic as the fixed position of the WHO. “The whole point of science is that we have initial hypotheses and initial ideas, and we update those ideas as more and more data emerges,” he said.
On 23 January the WHO updated its account of the coronavirus threat, confirming human-to-human transmission and warning that the global risk was high. One week later it formally declared a global emergency.
Announcing the cut in funding on Tuesday, Trump accused the WHO of failing to send its experts to the source of the outbreak to gather samples. That failure decisively set back the effect to contain the pandemic, he claimed.
In fact Beijing blocked a WHO delegation from visiting Wuhan in the first weeks of the outbreak. The WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had to fly to Beijing to meet Xi Jinping on 29 January to negotiate entry and information sharing. A WHO team was allowed to visit Wuhan on 22 February. Tedros has been criticised for his flattery of Xi and the Chinese response, in the face of Beijing’s obstructionism and cover-up attempts. His defenders said that such diplomacy was the price for entry.
Trump did more than his own fair share of Xi flattery. On 24 January, the president tweeted “China has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus … The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency.”
The claim that the delay in the WHO acquiring samples crippled the international response is also false. Chinese scientists publicly released the genetic sequence of Covid-19 on 11 January.
Here's snippet if you don't want to open the link:
“Whatever form it takes, this is a deeply shortsighted and dangerous decision - at any time, let alone during a ... pandemic,” said Alexandra Phelan, assistant professor at the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University.
“It’s a bizarre decision that would be profoundly detrimental to global public health,” said Gavin Yamey, the director of Duke University’s center for policy impact in global health. “He’s trying to distract from his own errors that have led to the worst government response to Covid-19 on Earth.”
Public health officials generally agree that the WHO’s response to the pandemic has not been perfect, but much improved on the organisation’s lambasted performance in the face of the Ebola outbreak in 2014, and immeasurably better than how the US has handled Covid-19.
The WHO first raised the alert over the Wuhan outbreak on 5 January, and beginning on 7 January it was briefing public health officials from the US and other national governments on the outbreak in regular teleconference calls. On 9 January the WHO distributed guidance to member states for their own risk assessment and planning.
Trump and his supporters have focused on a 14 January WHO tweet reporting the findings of preliminary Chinese studies suggesting “no clear evidence” of human-to-human transmission.
While the WHO was obliged to report on the latest findings of a member state at the source of the outbreak, its officials told their counterparts in technical briefings on 10 and 11 January, and briefed the press on 14 January, that human-to-human transmission was still a strong possibility given the experience of past coronavirus epidemics and urged suitable precautions.
Yamey said it was ridiculous to point to a single tweet early in the pandemic as the fixed position of the WHO. “The whole point of science is that we have initial hypotheses and initial ideas, and we update those ideas as more and more data emerges,” he said.
On 23 January the WHO updated its account of the coronavirus threat, confirming human-to-human transmission and warning that the global risk was high. One week later it formally declared a global emergency.
Announcing the cut in funding on Tuesday, Trump accused the WHO of failing to send its experts to the source of the outbreak to gather samples. That failure decisively set back the effect to contain the pandemic, he claimed.
In fact Beijing blocked a WHO delegation from visiting Wuhan in the first weeks of the outbreak. The WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had to fly to Beijing to meet Xi Jinping on 29 January to negotiate entry and information sharing. A WHO team was allowed to visit Wuhan on 22 February. Tedros has been criticised for his flattery of Xi and the Chinese response, in the face of Beijing’s obstructionism and cover-up attempts. His defenders said that such diplomacy was the price for entry.
Trump did more than his own fair share of Xi flattery. On 24 January, the president tweeted “China has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus … The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency.”
The claim that the delay in the WHO acquiring samples crippled the international response is also false. Chinese scientists publicly released the genetic sequence of Covid-19 on 11 January.
My opinion on this doesn't come from the US, it comes from the reports coming out of China and the WHO at the time, and how they don't stack up with reality. Add in the fact that the WHO won't take questions on how Taiwan have dealt with the crisis, and it's clear that the WHO are following orders from China.
Sure, and there's no problem with them being careful not to speak out of turn. But to refuse to discuss what's happened in Taiwan is not just trying to keep people happy, it's kowtowing to Chinese orders. As were early WHO reports, which mirrored official reports from China.
Where there are problems with the IMF or WHO, we should try and address those problems and improve the organisations, not pretend there are no problems.
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Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,028
I might be missing something here, but do countries have to adhere to the advice from the WHO? Or could they do whatever they like regarding closing borders, etc, etc? If so, why is Trumpo throwing his toys out of the pram when he could effectively do what he wants anyway? 
I'm guessing the stuff he was spouting last night is – in some way – being used to add to the picture that he is so great for keeping the death total low (relatively speaking) when it could've been into millions (or not, according to experts) without his inspirational intervention. And that's all the fault of China, WHO, Democrats, the previous administration and basically anyone that isn't him?
What a guy – I'm sure Americans will love another four years of him...
I'm guessing the stuff he was spouting last night is – in some way – being used to add to the picture that he is so great for keeping the death total low (relatively speaking) when it could've been into millions (or not, according to experts) without his inspirational intervention. And that's all the fault of China, WHO, Democrats, the previous administration and basically anyone that isn't him?
What a guy – I'm sure Americans will love another four years of him...
highflyer
Well-known member
- Jan 21, 2016
- 2,553
It really isn't.
Why does that mean the WHO deliberately misled people?
I agree, indicative of China's global sway. How do you suggest fixing it?