In our ongoing series about the Covid-19 breakout and the Chinese winter, we have discussed the damage the breakout has done to the Chinese economy, our belief that the outbreak is part of a destabilization effort against China, and the investments of Steve Bannon associate J. Kyle Bass and, in turn, Bass’s political association and probable co-investment position with Trump associate Tommy Hicks, Jr.
Positioned to profit as a result of a Chinese economic downturn, Bass and Hicks may well be profiting from China’s economic problems, which are growing more severe as a result of the outbreak.
Now, many Chinese firms say they cannot pay their workers their full salaries–a development that will further strain the Chinese economy.
NB: With the economic consequences of the outbreak spreading globally, Bass, Hicks et al would not necessarily have to be invested in Chinese equities to profit enormously from this event.
New bank loans in China hit a record high in January, reflecting the growing need for cash to keep the businesses operating and employees paid. The PBOC, China’s central bank, also cut its benchmark lending rate today as part of a push to ease the financing costs for business. As the article notes, small and rural banks are most at risk–a stress test last year by the PBOC found that 13 percent of banks were considered “high risk”.
As noted below, Tommy Hicks brought in J. Kyle Bass to lecture to interagency government networks about China’s banking system.
We review the fact that Bass is close to, and may well be a co-investor with, Tommy Hicks Jr., a key member of Team Trump. Hicks, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and national security officials are, in turn, working to deny Chinese electronics firm Huawei access to developing 5G networks, further hamstringing the Chinese economy.
Paul Krugman, among others, has noted that Wilbur Ross was openly celebrating the coronavirus as a boon to the United States.
We highlight key aspects of this discussion:
1.–Hicks is not a government official but has access to high-level governmental process, including (apparently) CIA activities. ” . . . . Tommy Hicks Jr., 41, isn’t a government official; he’s a wealthy private investor. And he has been a part of discussions related to China and technology with top officials from the Treasury Department, National Security Council, Commerce Department and others, according to emails and documents obtained by ProPublica. In one email, Hicks refers to a meeting at ‘Langley,’ an apparent reference to the CIA’s headquarters. . . .”
2.–Hicks has used his position to arrange for J. Kyle Bass to network with government agencies and officials. Bear in mind that Bass is positioned to benefit from a downturn in China’s economy. ” . . . . Hicks used his connections to arrange for a hedge fund manager friend, Kyle Bass — who has $143 million in investments that will pay off if China’s economy tanks — to present his views on the Chinese economy to high-level government officials at an interagency meeting at the Treasury Department, according to the documents. . . .”
3.–Hicks and Bass have invested together since 2011. ” . . . . Bass presented his views on China’s banking system in the office of Heath Tarbert, an assistant secretary at Treasury in charge of international markets and investment policy and a powerful intergovernmental committee that reviews foreign investments in the U.S. for national security concerns. Among the officials at the meeting with Tarbert were Bill Hinman, the director of the division of corporation finance at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Ray Washburne, a wealthy Dallas restaurant owner and family friend of Hicks’ who was nominated by Trump to head the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Hicks and Bass, both Dallas residents and longtime denizens of the financial community there, have invested together since at least 2011, according to securities filings and court records. . . .”
4.–Hicks did not deny that he participated in Bass’s funds, but was evasive.” . . . . But it’s not clear if Hicks or his family have an investment in Bass’ China-related funds. Reached twice on his cellphone, Hicks declined to be interviewed by ProPublica. In the second call, in June, Hicks didn’t dispute that he and his family have invested in Bass’ funds. But when asked to detail their business relationship, he cut the conversation short. . . . ”
5.–Bass has a history of betting against trends that will turn downward, having made his fortune on the 2008 crash. ” . . . . Bass, who made his name and fortune by betting against subprime mortgages before the crash and is known for large bets that economies or certain macro trends will turn downward, declined to comment. . . .”
6.–Official review did not examine possible business relationships between Hicks and Bass. ” . . . . An administration official briefed on the Bass meeting at the Treasury downplayed it as ‘strictly a listening session.’ . . . . He acknowledged that the review didn’t include an examination of any financial relationship between Hicks and Bass. . . .”
7.–Bass is positioned to maintain “massive asymmetry” to down turns in Hong Kong and China, in other words, he will benefit if they go down. ” . . . . Bass has become a vocal advocate for an aggressive U.S. policy toward China. On Twitter and on cable business channels he’s denounced everything from the country’s Communist Party government to its business practices. Securities filings show Bass raised $143 million from about 81 investors in two funds — investments that would benefit if China’s currency were devalued or the country faced credit or banking crises. In April, in a letter to his investors, Bass wrote that his company, Hayman Capital Management, was positioned for coming problems in Hong Kong and was set up to ‘maintain a massive asymmetry to a negative outcome in Hong Kong and/or China.’ . . . ”
Next, we turn to discussion of the possible manipulation of the virus to make it communicable through airborne transmission, similar to the transmission of influenza.
Researchers found that levels of the virus increased soon after symptoms first appeared, with higher amounts in the nose than in the throats–more consistent with influenza than SARS. Of the 18 patients they examined, one had moderate levels in their nose and throat but no symptoms. People who are asymptomatic can still spread the virus. It’s this combination of airborne transmission and asymptomatic patients who are still shedding the virus that makes this a particularly infectious disease.
This sudden anomalous (for SARS-like coronaviruses) new ability to infect the upper respiratory tract, of course, brings up chilling experiments in which researchers modified the H5N1 bird flu virus to become capable of airborne transmissions between ferrets. That research was banned by the NIH following public outcry but resumed in early 2019. The original 2012 study specifically found that it was the genetically engineered mutations that gave the virus the ability to infect the upper respiratory tracts of the ferrets. We have yet to hear if the SAR-CoV‑2 virus had the same or similar mutations to those that were induced in the H5N1 bird flu virus experiment but it seems likely.
Thus, the infectiousness of the SARS-CoV‑2 coronavirus is unprecedented based on this new study. As one immunologist put it, “This virus is clearly much more capable of spreading between humans than any other novel coronavirus we’ve ever seen. This is more akin to the spread of flu”.
The virus can also be spread through human fecal material from an infected person.
Yet another speculative element of discussion concerns a cult/church in South Korea which is the epicenter of a burst of cases in that country. A reputed presence of a branch of the organization is in Wuhan, which has directed discussion in the direction of the virus having migrated from Hubei province to South Korea.
Against the background of Unification Church activity during the Cold War, in connection with CIA, in connection with the fascist power elite in Japan that is continuous with that country’s activities during World War II, we wonder about the possibility of the use of this cult as a vectoring agent.
Might it be possible that it was used to introduce the virus into China in the first place?
As will be highlighted in future programs, there appear to be operational/networking links between the Shincheonji and the Unification Church, as well as doctrinal similarities.
The first program begins with review of the conclusion of FTR #1112, noting the repetitive, drumroll of articles about the economic effects of the coronavirus on the Chinese, U.S. and global economy, this in the context of Steve Bannon’s links to Guo Wengui, J. Kyle Bass and–through Bass–to Tommy Hicks, Jr. (This was covered at length and in detail in FTR #‘s 1111 and 1112.)
Steve Bannon–one of the luminaries of the “Alt-Right,” and a former key Trump aide is centrally involved in the anti-China effort. Note Bannon’s role in the “Get China” movement and the manner in which Washington is being possessed by this: ” . . . . Fear of China has spread across the government, from the White House to Congress to federal agencies, where Beijing’s rise is unquestioningly viewed as an economic and national security threat and the defining challenge of the 21st century. ‘These are two systems that are incompatible,’ Mr. Bannon said of the United States and China. ‘One side is going to win, and one side is going to lose.’ . . . .”
Next, the program undertakes a review of circumstances that suggest the possibility of investor activity by people linked to Steve Bannon, who is at the epicenter of the anti-China effort. Bannon has been the beneficiary of the enormous wealth of the brilliant, eccentric investor Robert Mercer. Mercer has used AI-directed investment projection to afford a 70% return for his hedge fund.
We wonder if he might have had foreknowledge of the coronavirus outbreak? IF that was the case, this would have enabled him to have made a great deal of money on the torpedoing of the Chinese economy as may well be the case for J. Kyle Bass. On the other side of the coin is Mercer’s/Renaissance Technologies’ enormous investment in Gilead Pharmaceuticals.
IF Gilead’s remdesivir does prove to be the “go-to” treatment for coronavirus, that firm stands to make a great deal of money, as would Mercer/Renaissance Technologies. NB: The information from Dr. Mercola’s post should be factored in to the information about investing and the possibility of short-selling and/or other types of maneuvering to profit from this crisis. Equity markets are very responsive to suggestion, accurate or falacious. We note that the hysteria alluded to in the post by Dr. Mercola may well contribute to the steep decline in markets.
China, of course, has shut down much of its infrastructure to combat the virus. That is contributing, obviously. To what extent they, too, are responding to hysteria is an open question. We also wonder if they know something we don’t. Media have featured pictures of Chinese personnel in protective clothing fumigating public facilities. We wonder if they are protecting against rodents or other animals spreading the virus. Note the reference in the post by Dr. Mercola.
China has begun testing of Gilead’s remdesivir. IF, for the sake of argument, Gilead’s remdesivir becomes the “go-to” treatment for the coronavirus, Gilead–and Mercer–will make a great deal of money. China is a huge market and the drug will find markets elsewhere, as well. Note that a Chinese government research facility has applied for a patent on the drug.
We find it curious that American media outlets have remained silent on such a promising therapeutic regimen. Reuters reported it, as did Agence France Presse. These are major wire services. Why not American media outlets?
Indicative of the “Chicken Little journalism”–weaponzed journalism– that characterizes the U.S. news media is the lack of coverage of the American flu epidemic of 2017–2018. Contrast the statistics about the 2017–2018 flu epidemic in this country with the statistics about coronavirus. In this country, 45 million caught the flu. According to the CDC, 80,000 of them died.
Next, we read in full an Op-Ed column by Rosie Spinks–a rare island of balance and sanity in The New York Times’ coverage of this event. In addition to noting the effects of the coronavirus on the economics of the travel industry, Rosie Spinks notes the draconian reaction of the U.S. State Department. Ms. Spinks tales stock of the relatively mild nature of the virus. ” . . . . Numerous experts have said that the majority of people who contract coronavirus will experience it as a respiratory infection they will fully recover from. But the extreme reactions — the canceling of flights, closing of borders and level-four travel warnings — seem more appropriate for something much worse. . . .”
Because it screens points of entry for MERS coronavirus infection because of its citizens who make the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, Indonesia has no recorded cases. In the column cited above, Ms. Spinks noted the effectiveness of the kind of prophylactic screening measures taken by Indonesia: ” . . . . Measures like screening at airports, quarantining cruise ships or flights with confirmed cases and isolating communities at the center of an outbreak can be effective, said Erin Sorrell, an assistant research professor at Georgetown University who studies emerging infectious diseases. . . .”
The outbreak has occurred in the context of what we have called a “Full Court Press” against China.
Headed by “ex” CIA officer William Barr, the Justice Department has charged Chinese personnel with having hacked the Equifax credit reporting agencies. The Chinese have denied this. It will be interesting to see if the U.S. deploys cyber-weaponry on Chinese computer and internet systems, as it has in Russia. In turn, it will be interesting to see if the “Full Court Press” strategy encompasses the sabotaging of Chinese nuclear power plants, Project HAARP environmental modification warfare or other draconian measures.
The CIA’s hacking tools are specifically crafted to mask CIA authorship of the attacks. Most significantly, for our the purposes of the present discussion, is the fact that the Agency’s hacking tools are engineered in such a way as to permit the authors of the event to represent themselves as Chinese. ” . . . . These tools could make it more difficult for anti-virus companies and forensic investigators to attribute hacks to the CIA. Could this call the source of previous hacks into question? It appears that yes, this might be used to disguise the CIA’s own hacks to appear as if they were Russian, Chinese, or from specific other countries. . . . This might allow a malware creator to not only look like they were speaking in Russian or Chinese, rather than in English, but to also look like they tried to hide that they were not speaking English . . . .”
Pivoting to what Mr. Emory has termed the “weaponized media coverage” of the coronavirus outbreak, we note The New York Times’ stunningly slanted coverage of the 2016 campaign.
Before discussing Allen Dulles and his relationship to “The New York Times,” we set forth events illustrating the fundamental place of Sullivan & Cromwell in the development of American Big Money. Both Allen Dulles and John Foster Dulles worked for Sullivan & Cromwell.
A now famous article by Carl Bernstein (of Watergate fame) focuses on CIA presence in major U.S. media. We note, here, the deep historical and political relationship between Allen Dulles and The New York Times’s Arthur Hays Sulzberger. This, again, by way of background to the weaponized coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.
In in his 1985 volume “American Swastika,” the late author Charles Higham provides us with insight into the Christian West concept, revealing the extent to which these SS/OSS negotiations set the template for the post-World War II world, as well as the degree of resonance that key Americans, such as Allen Dulles, had with Nazi ideology, anti-Semitism in particular. Weighing the long, profound relationship between Dulles and The Times, this is presented as something of a “navigational aid” to analysis of the weaponized coverage of the virus.
In the context of Allen Dulles’s orientation and his relationship with The New York Times, we present a look at The New York Times’ use of a Third Reich alumnus named Paul Hofmann as a foreign correspondent, serving as chief of The Times’ Rome bureau, and covering the Gray Lady’s coverage of the CIA’s participation in the overthrow of Patrice Lumumba.
The program concludes with an item presented in our landmark series of interviews with the brilliant Jim DiEugenio about Destiny Betrayed.
Nothing illustrates this country’s media and their willingness to distort information than the NBC television broadcast arranged by Walter Sheridan. Sheridan is a career intelligence officer, with relationship with the Office of Naval Intelligence, the CIA, the NSA and the FBI.
Exemplifying Sheridan’s methodology was the treatment meted out to Fred Leemans, who was the climactic person interviewed by Sheridan in his special. Note the open intimidation of Leemans and his family, threatening them if they did not perjure themselves, betray Garrison, and cooperate with both Sheridan and Clay Shaw’s counsel! This is reminiscent of the treatment of Marlene Mancuso detailed in our previous interview.
Although we have no hard information of a possible biological warfare link to the outbreak, an article from former Naval Intelligence officer Wayne Madsen is worth considering in that regard. In 2009, Germany was pondering the shipment of deadly pathogens, including Ebola virus to Ft. Detrick in Maryland. They voiced concern about the possibility that the samples might be weaponized, possibly giving themselves plausible deniability in the event that they were used for biological war purposes. All of the contents of this website as of 10/2/2014–Dave Emory’s 35+ years of research and broadcasting–as well as hours of videotaped lectures are available on a 32GB flash drive.
Over the years, we’ve presented the profound, decades-long networking of both Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger with Third Reich alumni, many of them war criminals of the first order. Nixon helped to initiate and sustain the Nazi element of the GOP. Now we learn that Kissinger actively conspired with Third Reich veterans and German aristocrats to establish the groundwork for the overthrow of the German government of former chancellor Willy Brandt. Previously, Kissinger was recruited by Allen Dulles to help incorporate Nazis into the CIA’s fledgling paramilitary cadre to be used against the USSR. One of Kissinger’s co-conspirators was Hans Globke, author of the Nuremberg laws, which provided the basis for the Nazi extermination programs.
Michele Carbone on polio vaccine contaminant SV40’s role on mesothelioma.
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