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Emails raise new questions about Wuhan coronavirus lab's safety protocols prior to pandemic
The lab has been at the center of controversy and speculation for well over a year.
Emails released on Thursday afternoon have raised further questions about the preparedness of Chinese officials in managing a high-stakes coronavirus lab in the years leading up to the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic.
The emails, obtained via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Judicial Watch, depict an official with the Wuhan Institute of Virology scrambling to find disinfectant to sterilize lab equipment in the facility in 2016, shortly after a high-level laboratory opened up there.
Wuhan Institute of Virology Vice Director Yuan Zhiming is shown in the emails asking NIH virologist Jens Kuhn for help determining the right disinfectants for the institute's BSL-4 laboratory, which had just recently opened and had not yet started working with viruses. "BSL-4" is the highest level of security at which a lab can be constructed and is reserved for the highest-risk virological research.
"I am writing to you to ask your help," Zhiming wrote. "Our laboratory is under operation without pathogens, and we are now looking for the disinfectants for decontamination of airtight suits and surface decontamination indoor decontamination.
"We have tried several ones do [sic] determine their antiviral efficacy and corrosion to pipeline and wastewater treatment equipment. Unfortunately, we have [sic] found a good candidate. I hope you can give us some help, to give us some suggestion for the choice of disinfectants used in P4 laboratory."
Kuhn responded that he was "not the right person to weigh in on official biosafety procedures." He directed Zhiming to several other NIH officials who "may be able to point you in the right directions."
Neither Kuhn nor the NIH responded to requests for comment on the emails on Thursday evening.
The Wuhan lab has been at the forefront of ongoing controversy since early last year when speculation arose that a "lab leak" might have been responsible for the release of the SARS-Cov-2 virus that launched the pandemic. The lab sits just a few miles from the first reported outbreak of SARS-Cov-2.
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/wuhan-lab-safety-documents-virus-show
Military Situation In Syria On July 8, 2021 (Map Update)
On July 8, Russia reported that Idlib militants violated the ceasefire regime in Greater Idlib 31 times: 17 – in Idlib province, 9 – in Latakia province, 2 – in Hama province, 3 – in Aleppo province
On July 7, one Turkish border guard was killed by unknown gunfire near Amuda
On July 7, the positions of US coalition in the Omar oilfield in Deir Ezzor province was targeted with a suicide drone
On July 7, 4 SAA soldiers were killed by an IED blast in Shabragh area of Daraa province
245 ISIS terrorists were arrested in 34 operations during the first half of 2021, according to the SDF
On July 8, clashes between SDF and the Turkish-backed forces were reported on Jat area
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-syria-on-july-8-2021-map-update/
U.S. Transport Warship Enters The Black Sea To Support NATO Allies
On July 8th, he U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa announced that Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport USNS Yuma (T-EPF 8) began its northbound transit into the Black Sea to operate with NATO Allies and partners.
Spearhead-class class transport warships are designed to transport 600 short tons of military cargo 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots.
The ship is capable of operating in austere ports and waterways, interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities, and on/off-loading a combat-loaded Abrams main battle tank.
It is an expeditionary fast transport (EPF) and is equipped with an expansive flight deck, a load ramp capable of supporting 100 tons of weight, and a 20,000 square-foot mission bay.
EPFs have sleeping accommodations for up to 42 crew members, 104 mission personnel, and an airline-style seating for 312 people. Its aviation flight deck can support day and night flight operations for a wide variety of aircraft, including CH-53 Super Stallions.
From June 28 to July 10, the annual Sea Breeze naval exercises are held in the Black Sea. Their participants practice combat operations at sea, on land and in the air, including the landing of troops, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft warfare. The exercise involves 5,000 servicemen, 40 aircraft and 32 ships from 32 countries, including Ukraine, the United States and NATO members.
On the day of the start of the exercise, the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control insisted that the scale and aggressiveness of the 2021 Sea Breeze in the Black Sea did not contribute to security in the region.
On July 1, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the Sea Breeze NATO exercise in the Black Sea was “provocative muscle flexing” and had “anti-Russian overtones.” In her opinion, the United States and its allies are turning the Black Sea into a zone of military confrontation.
At the same time, the Black Sea Fleet of Russia stated that they control the actions of the ships of NATO and other countries that participate in Sea Breeze – 2021.
https://southfront.org/u-s-transport-warship-enters-the-black-sea-to-support-nato-allies/
https://southfront.org/u-s-transport-warship-enters-the-black-sea-to-support-nato-allies/
Did you know Canada gives foreign aid to China?
There aren’t a lot of independent media in Canada, but a small company based in Ottawa called Blacklock's Reporter is one of them. They’re not cheap — a subscription is more than $300 per year. But they just plain old cover news that others don’t.
Sometime it’s with real scoops. But sometimes it’s simply by reporting what everybody else is ignoring, that’s just lying right in plain sight.
This is one of those stories:
Aid To China Is Little Known
As in, foreign aid.
Did you know Canada gives foreign aid to China?
Federal agencies paid out a total $6.5 billion in foreign aid worldwide last year according to a Statistical Report On International Assistance. A total $14.2 million went to China.
I wonder how many clean drinking water wells you could dig for $14.2 million.
You know what? We can’t give any more foreign aid money. We just can’t. We’re too broke. We’re broker than China. They have all the money — I’m not kidding, they have literally trillions in foreign currency reserves. We owe them money. Maybe they should give us foreign aid.
How about let’s help Canadians. And you know what? That said, I’d be happy to spend it on getting clean water to reserves — something Trudeau said was his top priority five years ago.
But as the Chinese propaganda accurately says, that was just a lie.
https://www.rebelnews.com/ezra_levant_show_july_08_2021
'Enough! Time to stop this farce': Sen. Rand Paul aims to bring an end to mandatory mask-wearing aboard airplanes
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced Thursday that once the Senate is back in session he aims to put the kibosh on mandatory face mask-wearing for air travelers.
"When the Senate returns to session, I will be introducing an immediate repeal of the mask mandate on planes. Enough! Time to stop this farce and let people travel in peace!" the Republican lawmaker tweeted.
When the Senate returns to session, I will be introducing an immediate repeal of the mask mandate on planes. Enough… https://t.co/4AND3Kbxk5
— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul)1625756823.0
Paul, who has served as a senator from the state of Kentucky since 2011, is the son of former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul. The Senate is slated to be back in session Monday.
Reactions were mixed among the thousands of Twitter users who responded to Paul's tweet, with some slamming the lawmaker's plan and others expressing hearty approval.
"The families of over 600,000 people who died from COVID don't think it's a farce," one tweet said in response to Paul's announcement.
"Weird, my definition of peace is not having anyone in my family contract a deadly virus because some conservative virtue signaler was too afraid of what people would think if he wore a small piece of fabric to cover up his blowholes," another tweet declared.
But in addition to the critics, some were fully on board with Paul's plan to push back against mandatory mask-wearing aboard airplanes.
"Thank you! Yes, the madness needs to end!," a tweet said.
"Thank you Senator Rand Paul! Enough IS Enough!!" another account tweeted.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than half of the total U.S. population has been fully vaccinated (47.7%) while a bit more than half of the total population (55.2%) has received at least one vaccine dose.
Those statistics are much higher when it comes to the individuals ages 65 and older, as 78.8% of the population within that age bracket has been fully vaccinated while 88.5% of the population within that age range has received at least one dose.
While the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines each involve receiving two shots, the Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine involves receiving just one shot.
There have been more than 33 million COVID-19 cases and more than 606,000 COVID-19 deaths so far in the U.S., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/sen-rand-paul-says-enough-aims-to-bring-an-end-to-mandatory-mask-wearing-aboard-aircraft