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FTR #1111: This program was recorded in one, 60-minute segment. [6]
FTR #1112: This program was recorded in one, 60-minute segment. [7]
Introduction: This description encompasses material for two programs. Following up on FTR #‘s 1107 and 1108 [8], we highlight a San Francisco Chronicle [9] article about the alleged suicide of Iris Chang [8], a suggestive, important detail was noticed by a sharp-eyed listener/reader [10]. A detail about the physical circumstances surrounding Iris’s “suicide” suggests–strongly–that she did not pull the trigger herself. Her body was discovered by a Santa Clara County Water District Employee. Someone who had fired a .45 caliber black powder weapon [11] into her mouth would be unlikely to have her hands crossed in her lap and with the revolver on her left leg. This sounds like it may well an arranged crime scene. “. . . . He noticed condensation on the windows, peered inside and saw Iris in the driver’s seat with her hands crossed in her lap. The revolver lay on her left leg. . . .”
Transitioning to discussion about biological warfare, we discuss [12] Unit 731–a Japanese chemical and biological warfare unit that committed egregious atrocities in China during World War II. We note: ” . . . . the U.S. Government secretly absorbed Unit 731, moving most of its scientists, personnel, and documents to U.S. military research centers like Fort Dietrick in the Maryland countryside. All information about its activities, including biological warfare atrocities, and horrific experiments on fully conscious victims, was withheld by Washington from the American and Japanese public, and from the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunals. All Unit 731’s records held by the U.S. Government are still top secret. . . .”
In connection with the coronavirus, we note that U.S. scientists had synthesized [13] a virus of that type in a laboratory by 2008–an virus that infected mice, as well as human tissues. The synthetic coronavirus was described, in part, as follows: ” . . . . Here, we report the design, synthesis, and recovery of the largest synthetic replicating life form, a 29.7‑kb bat severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like coronavirus (Bat-SCoV), a likely progenitor to the SARS-CoV epidemic. Synthetic recombinant bat SARS-like coronavirus is infectious in cultured cells and in mice. . . .”
Altogether curious in the context of the stridently alarmist coverage of the coronavirus outbreak is the fact that Thai doctors have apparently successfully [14] treated the virus with a drug cocktail involving some common anti-virals. “. . . . A Chinese woman infected with the new coronavirus showed a dramatic improvement after she was treated with a cocktail of anti-virals used to treat flu and HIV, Thailand’s health ministry said Sunday. The 71-year-old patient tested negative for the virus 48 hours after Thai doctors administered the combination, doctor Kriengsak Attipornwanich said during the ministry’s daily press briefing. ‘The lab result of positive on the coronavirus turned negative in 48 hours,’ Kriengsak said. . . . The doctors combined the anti-flu drug oseltamivir with lopinavir and ritonavir, anti-virals used to treat HIV, Kriengsak said, adding the ministry was awaiting research results to prove the findings. . . .”
Reported by both Agence France Presse and Reuters–two major wire services–this (apparently successful) therapeutic regime has gone unreported in U.S. media, so far.
The lifting of a moratorium on the testing of viruses such as the SARS and MERS coronaviruses was lifted at the end of December of 2017, a little more than two years before the outbreak occurred. A number of key points of inquiry in a post [15] by Dr. Joseph Mercola should be scrutinized:
- As mentioned the moratorium on the testing of this virus was lifted a little less than two years after the outbreak. ” . . . . For starters, a 2014 NPR article32 was rather prophetic. It discusses the October 2014 U.S. moratorium on experiments on coronaviruses like SARS and MERS, as well as influenza virus, that might make the viruses more pathogenic and/or easy to spread among humans. The ban came on the heels of ‘high-profile lab mishaps’ at the CDC and ‘extremely controversial flu experiments’ in which the bird flu virus was engineered to become more lethal and contagious between ferrets. The goal was to see if it could mutate and become more lethal and contagious between humans, causing future pandemics. . . . ”
- Note that as the ban was lifted, it was known that a virus of the type now infecting China had been developed in a U.S. lab. This appears to be the same virus mentioned in the 2008 post mentioned above. That link had been temporarily broken, as mentioned in FTR #1112 [16]. It has since been restored. ” . . . . The federal moratorium on lethal virus experiments in the U.S. was lifted at the end of December 2017,38 even though researchers announced in 2015 they had created a lab-created hybrid coronavirus similar to that of SARS that was capable of infecting both human airway cells and mice. . . .”
- China had opened a level 4 laboratory to study the world’s most dangerous pathogens in January of 2018 (one month after the U.S. resumed testing of lethal viruses.) ” . . . . In January 2018, China’s first maximum security virology laboratory (biosecurity level 4) designed for the study of the world’s most dangerous pathogens opened its doors — in Wuhan.41,42 . . . .”
- A couple of months before the outbreak in China, there was a (frankly suspicious) exercise in New York that was not only a harbinger of what was about to happen but may have been used to journalistically frame coverage of the Wuhan virus. The significance of this, in our opinion, is the “psychological warfare” component–the utter hysteria gripping the world (and driving down markets) may be driven, in part, by the suggestion placed in people’s minds by this exercise. Given that roughly nine hundred Chinese have succumbed to the coronavirus and almost ten times that number have died from the flu in the U.S. (a country with a population roughly one fifth the size of China’s) it would make more sense for people to be beside themselves over the flu and/or the prospects of traveling to, or receiving travelers from, the U.S. that is not the case. We also note, in this context, that the demographic of people succumbing to the coronavirus is similar to the demographic of most flu fatalities: older people with other infections and/or chronically ill patients. In other words, people with weakened immune systems. ” . . . . Equally curious is the fact that Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored a novel coronavirus pandemic preparedness exercise October 18, 2019, in New York called ‘Event 201.‘46 The simulation predicted a global death toll of 65 million people within a span of 18 months.47 As reported by Forbes December 12, 2019:48 ‘The experts ran through a carefully designed, detailed simulation of a new (fictional) viral illness called CAPS or coronavirus acute pulmonary syndrome. This was modeled after previous epidemics like SARS and MERS.’ Sounds exactly like NCIP, doesn’t it? Yet the new coronavirus responsible for NCIP had not yet been identified at the time of the simulation, and the first case wasn’t reported until two months later. . . . ”
- As noted above, press coverage of the Chinese outbreak suggests that media outlets may well have been briefed about “Event 201.” ” . . . . Forbes also refers to the fictional pandemic as “Disease X” — the same designation used by The Telegraph in its January 24, 2020, video report, “Could This Coronavirus be Disease X?“49 which suggests that media outlets were briefed and there was coordination ahead of time with regard to use of certain keywords and catchphrases in news reports and opinion articles. . . .”
- Also of significance is the fact that Johns Hopkins–the co-sponsor of “Event 201,” is at the epicenter of national security related biomedical research. FOIA requests on such information are shielded: ” . . . . Johns Hopkins University (JHU) is the biggest recipient of research grants from federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and Department of Defense and has received millions of dollars in research grants from the Gates Foundation.50 In 2016, Johns Hopkins spent more than $2 billion on research projects, leading all U.S. universities in research spending for the 38th year in a row.51 If research funded by federal agencies, such as the DOD or HHS is classified as being performed ‘in the interest of national security,’ it is exempt from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.52 Research conducted under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is completely shielded from FOIA requests by the public.53 Additionally, agencies may deny FOIA requests and withhold information if government officials conclude that shielding it from public view ‘protects trade secrets and commercial or financial information which could harm the competitive posture or business interests of a company.’ . . .”
Next, we note that Steve Bannon [17]–at the epicenter of the anti-China movement [18]–is professionally aligned with an exiled Chinese billionaire and a wealthy Texas hedge fund manager [19] positioned to make a great deal of money from a downturn in China’s markets.
Bannon is also very close [20] to the accomplished investor billionaire Robert Mercer, of Cambridge Analytica fame. In our next program, we will discuss Mercer’s Reinaissance Technologies hedge fund and its investment position with regard to a pharmaceutical giant that may profit from the coronavirus outbreak.
Key points of discussion:
- G News is disseminating disinformation about the coronavirus: ” . . . . On Jan. 25, G News published a false story [21] saying the Chinese government was preparing to admit that the coronavirus originated in one of its labs. It did not, but the article still racked up over 19,000 tweets and 18,000 Facebook engagements, according to social tracking website BuzzSumo. . . . ”
- 4chan and 2chan have been amplifying the disinformation about the coronavirus, echoing the falsehood that the Chinese government spread the virus. ” . . . . The website also published a questionable document [22] that fed a conspiracy that the Chinese military spread the disease deliberately. That document, which seems to have come from G News originally, has been popular on anonymous message boards like 4chan and 2chan. . . .”
- G News and its funder–Guo Wengui–are professionally associated with Steve Bannon. ” . . . . G News is part of Guo Media, a project funded by Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Kwok and Miles Guo. . . . In August 2018, Guo’s organization signed what Axios reported [23] to be a $1 million contract with Steve Bannon, former White House strategist and former chair of the hyperpartisan news site Breitbart. The contract required Bannon to make introductions to ‘media personalities’ and advise on ‘industry standards,’ according to Axios. Guo and Bannon frequently appear together in videos on G News that attack the Chinese government. . . .”
- Associated with Steve Bannon and G News is Dallas-based hedge fund manager J. Kyle Bass, who is positioned to make a great deal of money over a downturn in the Chinese economy. ” . . . . Another person connected to G News, hedge fund manager J. Kyle Bass, also spread a false coronavirus claim in a tweet. His hedge fund reportedly [24] had investments that will increase in value if the Chinese economy fails . . . . Bass has remained a China critic, frequently [25]echoing [26] Bannon.”
- Bass, too, is tweeting disinformation about the virus: ” . . . . ‘A husband and wife Chinese spy team were recently removed from a Level 4 Infectious Disease facility in Canada for sending pathogens to the Wuhan facility. The husband specialized in coronavirus research,’ Bass tweeted [27], linking to a CBC News article [28] that did not support his claim. . . .”
- Bass has no intention of removing his tweet, and is chairman of a foundation that advertises on G News. ” . . . . When asked about his tweet, Bass said he had no plan to remove it. ‘I am extremely concerned about the spread of misinformation about the coronavirus by the Chinese government,’ he said. Bass is the chair of the Rule of Law Foundation, a nonprofit that runs banner ads at the top and bottom of the G News website soliciting donations. . . .”
- Bass denies any link between the Rule of Law Foundation and the Rule of Law Fund, founded by Guo and Bannon, a claim of which we are skeptical. ” . . . . He also claimed that the Rule of Law Foundation was separate from the $100 million fund started by Guo and Bannon [29] called the Rule of Law Fund. . . .”
Supplementing [24] the previous article about Bannon, J. Kyle Bass and Guo Wengui, we note 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 [30] 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 [30] the coronavirus as a boon to the United States.
We highlight key aspects of this discussion:
- Tommy Hicks is at the epicenter of Trump administration maneuvering that, ultimately, will hurt China economically (and will benefit the investments of J. Kyle Bass.) ” . . . . Over the past two years, the Trump administration has been grappling with how to handle the transition to the next generation of mobile broadband technology. With spending expected to run into hundreds of billions of dollars, the administration views it as an ultra-high-stakes competition between U.S. and Chinese companies, with enormous implications both for technology and for national security. Top officials from a raft of departments have been meeting to hash out the best approach. But there’s been one person at some of the discussions who has a different background: He’s Donald Trump Jr.’s hunting buddy. . . .”
- 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. . . .”
- 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. . . .”
- Hicks is no co-chairman of the Republican National Committee. ” . . . . Hicks leveraged his Dallas financial network to become a top Trump campaign fundraiser in 2016 and a vice chairman of the inaugural finance committee; in January, he was named co-chairman of the Republican National Committee. . . . ”
- In addition to his relationship with Donald Trump, Jr., Hicks is networked with Jared Kushner. ” . . . . Even before becoming the second highest-ranking GOP official, Hicks was a frequent White House guest. He liked to have lunch in the White House mess with his half sister, who worked for a time in the communications operation. . . . Hicks would then stroll the halls, according to a former senior administration official, dropping in to offices for impromptu chats with various officials, including Jared Kushner. Those sorts of connections have given Hicks a convening power, the ability to call together multiple officials. . . . ”
- Again, Hicks networking can influence policymaking that could damage China economically and assist Bass. ” . . . . ‘He basically opened the door for having a conversation with people who I didn’t know but needed to know,’ said Robert Spalding, a former senior director for strategic planning at the National Security Council during the Trump administration. The efforts, detailed in hundreds of pages of government emails and other documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that Hicks had access to the highest levels of government to influence policymaking in ways that could lead to painful economic outcomes for the Chinese — and a potentially lucrative result for Hicks’ hedge fund friend, Bass. . . .”
- 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. . . .”
- 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. . . . ”
- 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. . . .”
- Official review did not examine possible business relationships between Hicks and Bass. H” . . . . 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. . . .”
- 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.’ . . . ”
- Hicks has networked with Wilbur Ross, who has openly celebrated the coronavirus outbreak. Ross is deeply involved with the 5G maneuvering.” . . . . Hicks’ work on the 5G initiative was extensive. . . . . he was part of an informal group led by then NSC official Spalding, that advocated for a strategy in which the federal government would plan out a national policy for 5G. . . . That same month Hicks attended a 5G meeting that he’d arranged with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Commerce plays a key role in the future of 5G since a division within the agency manages government spectrum and another maintains a list of companies the government believes are, or will become, national security threats. Companies that end up on that list can be effectively shut out from global deal-making. The meeting with Ross focused heavily on the threat of China, said Ira Greenstein, who served as a White House aide and was part of Spalding’s 5G crew. . . .”
- Hicks is networking with elements in Taiwan with regard to the 5G developments. ” . . . . It isn’t clear what influence, if any, Hicks had in those decisions. But his profile is only rising. In April, he led a Republican delegation to Taiwan alongside a U.S. government delegation. Hicks met with the country’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, who has lately been positioning her country’s corporations as safer providers of 5G equipment than those in China. Tsai thanked the U.S. for selling arms to Taiwan. She asked Hicks to convey her regards to the Trumps. . . .”
The broadcast concludes with a reading of headlines and, in some cases, text excerpts of articles about the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, as well as xenophobic over-reaction on the part of many governments.
1. In a San Francisco Chronicle [9] article about the alleged suicide of Iris Chang [8], a suggestive, important detail was noticed by a sharp-eyed listener/reader [10].
A detail about the physical circumstances surrounding Iris’s “suicide” suggests–strongly–that she did not pull the trigger herself. Her body was discovered by a Santa Clara County Water District Employee.
Someone who had fired a .45 caliber black powder weapon [11] into her mouth would be unlikely to have her hands crossed in her lap and with the revolver on her left leg. This sounds like it may well an arranged crime scene.
. . . . He noticed condensation on the windows, peered inside and saw Iris in the driver’s seat with her hands crossed in her lap. The revolver lay on her left leg. . . .
2. Pivoting to the subject of biological warfare and China, we highlight the activities of Japanese Unit 731:
. . . . Manchuria also became the main proving ground for Japan’s biological warfare program, called simply Unit 731. Headquartered at Ping Fan, outside Harbin, it was headed by Colonel Ishii Shiro, a 1920 graduate of Kyoto University, who persuaded the high command to let him develop chemical and biological weapons, and test them on Chinese in Manchuria. Pu Yi said he learned that his subjects were being enslaved by the Japanese to build these installations, then were poisoned to keep the locations secret. Later, during the Pacific War, other labs wee set up in Peking, Canton, and Singapore, experimenting on Allied POWs and civilian prisoners. Emperor Hirohito was briefed about it in detail during at least one recorded meeting with Colonel Ishii. The emperor’s brothers toured Ping Fan to observe experiments. Prince Mikasa, Hirohito’s youngest brother, revealed after the war that he had seen films in which “large numbers of Chinese prisoners of war . . . . were made to march on the Manchurian plain for poison gas experiments on live subjects.” Others, he said, were “tied to posts in a wide field [and] gassed and shot. It was a horrible scene that could only be termed a massacre.” . . .
3. Of possible significance, aside from the fact that atrocity and chemical and biological warfare was deemed appropriate by elements of the national security establishment is the fact that tissue from this long-ago unit would still be able to yield important information about Chinese DNA and immunological peculiarities.
. . . . General Marquat was also in charge of closing down and punishing Japan’s biological and chemical warfare service, Unit 731. Instead, the U.S. Government secretly absorbed Unit 731, moving most of its scientists, personnel, and documents to U.S. military research centers like Fort Dietrick in the Maryland countryside. All information about its activities, including biological warfare atrocities, and horrific experiments on fully conscious victims, was withheld by Washington from the American and Japanese public, and from the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunals. All Unit 731’s records held by the U.S. Government are still top secret. . . .
4. We have done a number of programs about the destabilization of China.
(FTR #‘s 1089 [31], 1090 [18], 1091 [32], 1092 [33], 1093 [34], 1094 [35], 1095 [36], and 1103 [37].)
We have also done many shows over the years about elements of the intelligence community and military testing and using biological weapons on civilian populations, inside and outside of the U.S.
Use the search function on this website (be sure to use quotation marks when looking for a word or words) and look for: AIDS, Lyme Disease, Ed Haslam, Hanta Virus, to name just a few.
We are suspicious of the latest outbreak of an apparently bat-borne corona virus in China, which is destabilizing capital markets, China (to an extent at least) and stoking the anti-China feeding frenzy of CIA-linked media outlets like The New York Times [38].
It should be noted that Chinese scientists have been studying this type of virus and anticipated the possibility that the next outbreak of a bat virus to human outbreak might well occur in China.
The timing of this outbreak, coinciding with the Chinese New Year, is significant, in our opinion.
In that context, it should not be overlooked that a bat-borne coronavirus like the one apparently causing the Chinese outbreak was synthesized in U.S. labs more than ten years ago and reported in publications of the National Institutes of Health. NB: After posting this link and excerpt, we tried the link five days later and it could not be accessed. Two days later, the link worked just fine. This may have been computer weirdness.
As illustrated in–among other programs–FTR #686 [39]–elements of the National Institutes of Health have a history of collaboration with the national security establishment.
This is NOT to say, necessarily, that there MUST be a connection between this synthesis and the outbreak in China. NOR are we casting aspersions on the researchers involved.
Even IF, for the sake of argument, there is a link, malefactors in or associated with the intelligence community might well have availed themselves of this, or related organisms.
Nonetheless, given past history, this is a possibility that warrants careful examination and consideration.
Note that: ” . . . . Synthetic recombinant bat SARS-like coronavirus is infectious in cultured cells and in mice. . . .”
. . . . Here, we report the design, synthesis, and recovery of the largest synthetic replicating life form, a 29.7‑kb bat severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like coronavirus (Bat-SCoV), a likely progenitor to the SARS-CoV epidemic. Synthetic recombinant bat SARS-like coronavirus is infectious in cultured cells and in mice. . . .
5a. In the movie “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion proceed with trepidation through The Dark Forest chanting “Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!” In a recent post [40], we covered our suspicions that the coronavirus outbreak in China was part of the destabilization process underway against that country.
We also wondered if there might be a relatively mundane therapeutic regimen that could be used to successfully treat the virus.
With innumerable comparisons between the latest outbreak and the 2003 SARS outbreak, caused by a similar virus, we note that it turned out that the SARS virus was readily treatable with a therapeutic regimen similar to that used to treat the flu and common cold.
Amidst all of the catastrophic, world-wide headlines, it turns out that there IS just such a therapeutic regimen!
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?
A sharp-eyed listener noted the following: ” . . . . A Chinese woman infected with the new coronavirus showed a dramatic improvement after she was treated with a cocktail of anti-virals used to treat flu and HIV, Thailand’s health ministry said Sunday. The 71-year-old patient tested negative for the virus 48 hours after Thai doctors administered the combination, doctor Kriengsak Attipornwanich said during the ministry’s daily press briefing. ‘The lab result of positive on the coronavirus turned negative in 48 hours,’ Kriengsak said. . . .
“The doctors combined the anti-flu drug oseltamivir with lopinavir and ritonavir, anti-virals used to treat HIV, Kriengsak said, adding the ministry was awaiting research results to prove the findings. . . . Thailand so far has detected 19 confirmed cases of the virus believed to have originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, which is under lockdown. . . .
” . . . .That is the second-highest number of cases outside of China, with Japan recording 20. So far, eight patients in Thailand have recovered and returned home, while 11 remain in the hospital. In a video released Sunday, Thai health minister Anutin Charnvirakul visited a patient from Wuhan who had recovered from the coronavirus, chatting with her amicably in Mandarin as she thanked him and the medical staff. . . .”
A Chinese woman infected with the new coronavirus showed a dramatic improvement after she was treated with a cocktail of anti-virals used to treat flu and HIV, Thailand’s health ministry said Sunday.
The 71-year-old patient tested negative for the virus 48 hours after Thai doctors administered the combination, doctor Kriengsak Attipornwanich said during the ministry’s daily press briefing.
“The lab result of positive on the coronavirus turned negative in 48 hours,” Kriengsak said.
“From being exhausted before, she could sit up in bed 12 hours later.”
The doctors combined the anti-flu drug oseltamivir with lopinavir and ritonavir, anti-virals used to treat HIV, Kriengsak said, adding the ministry was awaiting research results to prove the findings.
The news comes as the new virus claimed its first life outside China – a 44-year-old Chinese man who died in the Philippines – while the death toll in China has soared above 300.
Thailand so far has detected 19 confirmed cases of the virus believed to have originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, which is under lockdown.
That is the second-highest number of cases outside of China, with Japan recording 20.
So far, eight patients in Thailand have recovered and returned home, while 11 remain in the hospital.
In a video released Sunday, Thai health minister Anutin Charnvirakul visited a patient from Wuhan who had recovered from the coronavirus, chatting with her amicably in Mandarin as she thanked him and the medical staff.
Thai authorities are trying to balance the screening of inbound Chinese visitors with the economic needs of its tourist sector, which is heavily reliant on arrivals from the mainland.
Messages of support saying “Our hearts to Wuhan” in English, Chinese and Thai were plastered on a Bangkok mall popular with tourists.
The bulk of confirmed cases have been Chinese visitors to Thailand, but on Thursday the kingdom recorded its first human-to-human transmission when a Thai taxi driver was diagnosed with the disease.
The taxi driver had not traveled to China but may have had contact with tourists.
Thailand’s government is also battling public criticism that it has been slow to evacuate scores of its citizens from Hubei province, at the center of the outbreak.
Anutin said the evacuation would happen Tuesday, and the returnees would be quarantined for 14 days.
5b. The lifting of a moratorium on the testing of viruses such as the SARS and MERS coronaviruses was lifted at the end of December of 2017, a little more than two years before the outbreak occurred. A number of key points of inquiry in this post by Dr. Joseph Mercola should be scrutinized:
NB: The use of this article does not constitute an endorsement of the bulk of Dr. Mercola’s posts and articles–D.E.
- As mentioned the moratorium on the testing of this virus was lifted a little less than two years after the outbreak. ” . . . . For starters, a 2014 NPR article32 was rather prophetic. It discusses the October 2014 U.S. moratorium on experiments on coronaviruses like SARS and MERS, as well as influenza virus, that might make the viruses more pathogenic and/or easy to spread among humans. The ban came on the heels of ‘high-profile lab mishaps’ at the CDC and ‘extremely controversial flu experiments’ in which the bird flu virus was engineered to become more lethal and contagious between ferrets. The goal was to see if it could mutate and become more lethal and contagious between humans, causing future pandemics. . . . ”
- Note that as the ban was lifted, it was known that a virus of the type now infecting China had been developed in a U.S. lab. This appears to be the same virus mentioned in the 2008 post mentioned above. That link had been temporarily broken, as mentioned in FTR #1112 [16]. It has since been restored. ” . . . . The federal moratorium on lethal virus experiments in the U.S. was lifted at the end of December 2017,38 even though researchers announced in 2015 they had created a lab-created hybrid coronavirus similar to that of SARS that was capable of infecting both human airway cells and mice. . . .”
- China had opened a level 4 laboratory to study the world’s most dangerous pathogens in January of 2018 (one month after the U.S. resumed testing of lethal viruses.) ” . . . . In January 2018, China’s first maximum security virology laboratory (biosecurity level 4) designed for the study of the world’s most dangerous pathogens opened its doors — in Wuhan.41,42 . . . .”
- A couple of months before the outbreak in China, there was a (frankly suspicious) exercise in New York that was not only a harbinger of what was about to happen but may have been used to journalistically frame coverage of the Wuhan virus. The significance of this, in our opinion, is the “psychological warfare” component–the utter hysteria gripping the world (and driving down markets) may be driven, in part, by the suggestion placed in people’s minds by this exercise. Given that roughly nine hundred Chinese have succumbed to the coronavirus and almost ten times that number have died from the flu in the U.S. (a country with a population roughly one fifth the size of China’s) it would make more sense for people to be beside themselves over the flu and/or the prospects of traveling to, or receiving travelers from, the U.S. that is not the case. We also note, in this context, that the demographic of people succumbing to the coronavirus is similar to the demographic of most flu fatalities: older people with other infections and/or chronically ill patients. In other words, people with weakened immune systems. ” . . . . Equally curious is the fact that Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored a novel coronavirus pandemic preparedness exercise October 18, 2019, in New York called ‘Event 201.‘46 The simulation predicted a global death toll of 65 million people within a span of 18 months.47 As reported by Forbes December 12, 2019:48 ‘The experts ran through a carefully designed, detailed simulation of a new (fictional) viral illness called CAPS or coronavirus acute pulmonary syndrome. This was modeled after previous epidemics like SARS and MERS.’ Sounds exactly like NCIP, doesn’t it? Yet the new coronavirus responsible for NCIP had not yet been identified at the time of the simulation, and the first case wasn’t reported until two months later. . . . ”
- As noted above, press coverage of the Chinese outbreak suggests that media outlets may well have been briefed about “Event 201.” ” . . . . Forbes also refers to the fictional pandemic as “Disease X” — the same designation used by The Telegraph in its January 24, 2020, video report, “Could This Coronavirus be Disease X?“49 which suggests that media outlets were briefed and there was coordination ahead of time with regard to use of certain keywords and catchphrases in news reports and opinion articles. . . .”
- Also of significance is the fact that Johns Hopkins–the co-sponsor of “Event 201,” is at the epicenter of national security related biomedical research. FOIA requests on such information are shielded: ” . . . . Johns Hopkins University (JHU) is the biggest recipient of research grants from federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and Department of Defense and has received millions of dollars in research grants from the Gates Foundation.50 In 2016, Johns Hopkins spent more than $2 billion on research projects, leading all U.S. universities in research spending for the 38th year in a row.51 If research funded by federal agencies, such as the DOD or HHS is classified as being performed ‘in the interest of national security,’ it is exempt from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.52 Research conducted under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is completely shielded from FOIA requests by the public.53 Additionally, agencies may deny FOIA requests and withhold information if government officials conclude that shielding it from public view ‘protects trade secrets and commercial or financial information which could harm the competitive posture or business interests of a company.’ . . .”
“Novel Coronavirus–The Latest Pandemic Scare” by Dr. Joseph Mercola; Mercola [15]; 2/4/2020. [15]
. . . . Moratorium on SARS/MERS Experiments Lifted in 2017
As mentioned, a number of reports raise questions about the source of the 2019-nCoV [The Chinese coronavirus–D.E.]. For starters, a 2014 NPR article32 was rather prophetic. It discusses the October 2014 U.S. moratorium on experiments on coronaviruses like SARS and MERS, as well as influenza virus, that might make the viruses more pathogenic and/or easy to spread among humans.
The ban came on the heels of “high-profile lab mishaps” at the CDC and “extremely controversial flu experiments” in which the bird flu virus was engineered to become more lethal and contagious between ferrets. The goal was to see if it could mutate and become more lethal and contagious between humans, causing future pandemics.
However, for the past decade there have been red flags raised in the scientific community about biosecurity breaches in high containment biological labs in the U.S. and globally.33 There were legitimate fears that a lab-created superflu pathogen might escape the confines of biosecurity labs where researchers are conducting experiments. It’s a reasonable fear, certainly, considering that there have been many safety breaches at biolabs in the U.S. and other countries.34,35,36,37
The federal moratorium on lethal virus experiments in the U.S. was lifted at the end of December 2017,38 even though researchers announced in 2015 they had created a lab-created hybrid coronavirus similar to that of SARS that was capable of infecting both human airway cells and mice.
The NIH had allowed the controversial research to proceed because it had begun before the moratorium was put in place — a decision criticized by Simon Wain-Hobson, a virologist at Pasteur Institute in Paris, who pointed out that “If the [new] virus escaped, nobody could predict the trajectory.“39
Others, such as Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist and biodefence expert at Rutgers University, agreed, saying “The only impact of this work is the creation, in a lab, of a new, non-natural risk.“40
Wuhan is Home to Lab Studying World’s Latest PathogensIn January 2018, China’s first maximum security virology laboratory (biosecurity level 4) designed for the study of the world’s most dangerous pathogens opened its doors — in Wuhan.41,42 Is it pure coincidence that Wuhan City is now the epicenter of this novel coronavirus infection?
The year before, Tim Trevan, a Maryland biosafety consultant, expressed concern about viral threats potentially escaping the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory,43 which happens to be located just 20 miles from the Wuhan market identified as ground zero for the current NCIP outbreak.44 As reported by the Daily Mail:45
“The Wuhan lab is also equipped for animal research,” and “Regulations for animal research — especially that conducted on primates — are much looser in China than in the U.S. and other Western countries … But that was also cause for concern for Trevan.
Studying the behavior of a virus like 209-nCoV and developing treatments or vaccines for it requires infecting these research monkeys, an important step before human testing.
Monkeys are unpredictable though, warned [Rutgers University microbiologist Dr. Richard] Ebright. ‘They can run, they can scratch they can bite,’ he said, and the viruses they carry would go where their feet, nails and teeth do.’ ”
Coronavirus Outbreak Simulation Took Place in October 2019
Equally curious is the fact that Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored a novel coronavirus pandemic preparedness exercise October 18, 2019, in New York called “Event 201.“46 The simulation predicted a global death toll of 65 million people within a span of 18 months.47 As reported by Forbes December 12, 2019:48
“The experts ran through a carefully designed, detailed simulation of a new (fictional) viral illness called CAPS or coronavirus acute pulmonary syndrome. This was modeled after previous epidemics like SARS and MERS.”
Sounds exactly like NCIP, doesn’t it? Yet the new coronavirus responsible for NCIP had not yet been identified at the time of the simulation, and the first case wasn’t reported until two months later.
Forbes also refers to the fictional pandemic as “Disease X” — the same designation used by The Telegraph in its January 24, 2020, video report, “Could This Coronavirus be Disease X?“49 which suggests that media outlets were briefed and there was coordination ahead of time with regard to use of certain keywords and catchphrases in news reports and opinion articles.
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) is the biggest recipient of research grants from federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and Department of Defense and has received millions of dollars in research grants from the Gates Foundation.50 In 2016, Johns Hopkins spent more than $2 billion on research projects, leading all U.S. universities in research spending for the 38th year in a row.51
If research funded by federal agencies, such as the DOD or HHS is classified as being performed “in the interest of national security,” it is exempt from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.52
Research conducted under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is completely shielded from FOIA requests by the public.53 Additionally, agencies may deny FOIA requests and withhold information if government officials conclude that shielding it from public view “protects trade secrets and commercial or financial information which could harm the competitive posture or business interests of a company.“54
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that its mission is “to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S.“55 Clearly, it will be difficult to obtain information about government-funded biomedical research on microbes like coronavirus conducted at major universities or by pharmaceutical corporations in biohazard labs.
How likely is it, then, that the coronavirus outbreak making people so sick today “suddenly” emerged simply because people ate bats and snakes in a Wuhan market? It looks more like a biosecurity accident but, until more is known, inevitably there will be more questions than answers about whether this latest global public health emergency is a more ambitious tactical “sand table exercise,” echoing unanswered questions about the 2009 swine flu pandemic fiasco.
This time, there could be a lot more bodies left on the field, although some statisticians conducting benefit cost analyses may consider 65 million casualties in a global human population of 7.8 billion people56 to be relatively small when advancing medical research conducted in the name of “the greater good.”
6. Next, the program undertakes an examination 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.
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:
. . . . In the 1970s, Mercer programmed machine-learning artificial intelligences to process vast sets of data and so predict what was supposed to be the central mystery of capitalism, the movement of markets. And, well, they did–and still do. The hedge fund for which Mercer worked, Renaissance Technologies, has earned an average of 70 percent each year, making Mercer one of the richest men on the planet. . . .
7a. In addition to the Mercer/Bannon/investment consideration, we note that Steve Bannon [17]–at the epicenter of the anti-China movement [18]–is professionally aligned with an exiled Chinese billionaire and a wealthy Texas hedge fund manager positioned to make a great deal of money from a downturn in China’s markets.
- G News is disseminating disinformation about the coronavirus: ” . . . . On Jan. 25, G News published a false story [21] saying the Chinese government was preparing to admit that the coronavirus originated in one of its labs. It did not, but the article still racked up over 19,000 tweets and 18,000 Facebook engagements, according to social tracking website BuzzSumo. . . . ”
- 4chan and 2chan have been amplifying the disinformation about the coronavirus, echoing the falsehood that the Chinese government spread the virus. ” . . . . The website also published a questionable document [22] that fed a conspiracy that the Chinese military spread the disease deliberately. That document, which seems to have come from G News originally, has been popular on anonymous message boards like 4chan and 2chan. . . .”
- G News and its funder–Guo Wengui–are professionally associated with Steve Bannon. ” . . . . G News is part of Guo Media, a project funded by Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Kwok and Miles Guo. . . . In August 2018, Guo’s organization signed what Axios reported [23] to be a $1 million contract with Steve Bannon, former White House strategist and former chair of the hyperpartisan news site Breitbart. The contract required Bannon to make introductions to ‘media personalities’ and advise on ‘industry standards,’ according to Axios. Guo and Bannon frequently appear together in videos on G News that attack the Chinese government. . . .”
- Associated with Steve Bannon and G News is Dallas-based hedge fund manager J. Kyle Bass, who is positioned to make a great deal of money over a downturn in the Chinese economy. ” . . . . Another person connected to G News, hedge fund manager J. Kyle Bass, also spread a false coronavirus claim in a tweet. His hedge fund reportedly [24] had investments that will increase in value if the Chinese economy fails . . . . Bass has remained a China critic, frequently [25]echoing [26] Bannon.”
- Bass, too, is tweeting disinformation about the virus: ” . . . . ‘A husband and wife Chinese spy team were recently removed from a Level 4 Infectious Disease facility in Canada for sending pathogens to the Wuhan facility. The husband specialized in coronavirus research,’ Bass tweeted [27], linking to a CBC News article [28] that did not support his claim. . . .”
- Bass has no intention of removing his tweet, and is chairman of a foundation that advertises on G News. ” . . . . When asked about his tweet, Bass said he had no plan to remove it. ‘I am extremely concerned about the spread of misinformation about the coronavirus by the Chinese government,’ he said. Bass is the chair of the Rule of Law Foundation, a nonprofit that runs banner ads at the top and bottom of the G News website soliciting donations. . . .”
- Bass denies any link between the Rule of Law Foundation and the Rule of Law Fund, founded by Guo and Bannon, a claim of which we are skeptical. ” . . . . He also claimed that the Rule of Law Foundation was separate from the $100 million fund started by Guo and Bannon [29] called the Rule of Law Fund. . . .”
A website that published two false coronavirus claims, which painted China in a negative light, previously had a contract with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and was created by an exiled Chinese billionaire and critic of the ruling Communist Party.
On Jan. 25, G News published a false story [21] saying the Chinese government was preparing to admit that the coronavirus originated in one of its labs. It did not, but the article still racked up over 19,000 tweets and 18,000 Facebook engagements, according to social tracking website BuzzSumo. The story was debunked [41] by Facebook fact-checking partner PolitiFact.
The website also published a questionable document [22] that fed a conspiracy that the Chinese military spread the disease deliberately. That document, which seems to have come from G News originally, has been popular on anonymous message boards like 4chan and 2chan.
G News is part of Guo Media, a project funded by Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Kwok and Miles Guo. He fled China in 2014 and has been accused [42] of bribery, money laundering, and fraud by the mainland government. He has denied the charges, calling them politically motivated, and has become a vocal critic of Beijing.
In August 2018, Guo’s organization signed what Axios reported [23] to be a $1 million contract with Steve Bannon, former White House strategist and former chair of the hyperpartisan news site Breitbart. The contract required Bannon to make introductions to “media personalities” and advise on “industry standards,” according to Axios. Guo and Bannon frequently appear together in videos on G News that attack the Chinese government.
…
Another person connected to G News, hedge fund manager J. Kyle Bass, also spread a false coronavirus claim in a tweet. His hedge fund reportedly [24] had investments that will increase in value if the Chinese economy fails, but he told BuzzFeed News he no longer holds “any Chinese equity positions whatsoever.” Bass has remained a China critic, frequently [25] echoing [26] Bannon.
“A husband and wife Chinese spy team were recently removed from a Level 4 Infectious Disease facility in Canada for sending pathogens to the Wuhan facility. The husband specialized in coronavirus research,” Bass tweeted [27], linking to a CBC News article [28] that did not support his claim.
His tweet garnered almost 13,000 retweets and caused Canadian officials to issue a clarification [43] denying that coronavirus was stolen from the Winnipeg lab. “This is misinformation and there is no factual basis for claims being made on social media,” Eric Morrissette, the chief of media relations for Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, told CBC News [43].
When asked about his tweet, Bass said he had no plan to remove it.
“I am extremely concerned about the spread of misinformation about the coronavirus by the Chinese government,” he said.
Bass is the chair of the Rule of Law Foundation, a nonprofit that runs banner ads at the top and bottom of the G News website soliciting donations. He said he had no affiliation with the site.
“I have nothing to do with G News or its content,” he said. “Guo Wengui has no leadership position, operating control, or legal position with the Rule of Law Foundation.”
Bass added that he hadn’t “read any G News story. Period.” He also claimed that the Rule of Law Foundation was separate from the $100 million fund started by Guo and Bannon [29] called the Rule of Law Fund.
Aside from Guo’s site sharing false information during the coronavirus outbreak, he has been a source of controversy since arriving in the US. According to Politico [44], he is involved in a legal dispute stemming from his alleged hiring of a private investigation firm to dig up dirt on Chinese nationals.
After being exiled from China, he has faced accusations of both financial and sexual misconduct, including a rape allegation [45] from a former assistant. Guo has maintained his innocence, saying that allegations were politically motivated.
———-
7b. Supplementing the previous article about Bannon, J. Kyle Bass and Guo Wengui, we note 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 [30] 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 [30] the coronavirus as a boon to the United States.
We highlight key aspects of this discussion:
- Tommy Hicks is at the epicenter of Trump administration maneuvering that, ultimately, will hurt China economically (and will benefit the investments of J. Kyle Bass.) Hic Over the past two years, the Trump administration has been grappling with how to handle the transition to the next generation of mobile broadband technology. With spending expected to run into hundreds of billions of dollars, the administration views it as an ultra-high-stakes competition between U.S. and Chinese companies, with enormous implications both for technology and for national security. Top officials from a raft of departments have been meeting to hash out the best approach. But there’s been one person at some of the discussions who has a different background: He’s Donald Trump Jr.’s hunting buddy. . . .”
- 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. . . .”
- 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. . . .”
- Hicks is no co-chairman of the Republican National Committee. ” . . . . Hicks leveraged his Dallas financial network to become a top Trump campaign fundraiser in 2016 and a vice chairman of the inaugural finance committee; in January, he was named co-chairman of the Republican National Committee. . . . ”
- In addition to his relationship with Donald Trump, Jr., Hicks is networked with Jared Kushner. ” . . . . Even before becoming the second highest-ranking GOP official, Hicks was a frequent White House guest. He liked to have lunch in the White House mess with his half sister, who worked for a time in the communications operation. . . . Hicks would then stroll the halls, according to a former senior administration official, dropping in to offices for impromptu chats with various officials, including Jared Kushner. Those sorts of connections have given Hicks a convening power, the ability to call together multiple officials. . . . ”
- Again, Hicks networking can influence policymaking that could damage China economically and assist Bass. ” . . . . ‘He basically opened the door for having a conversation with people who I didn’t know but needed to know,’ said Robert Spalding, a former senior director for strategic planning at the National Security Council during the Trump administration. The efforts, detailed in hundreds of pages of government emails and other documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that Hicks had access to the highest levels of government to influence policymaking in ways that could lead to painful economic outcomes for the Chinese — and a potentially lucrative result for Hicks’ hedge fund friend, Bass. . . .”
- 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. . . .”
- 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. . . . ”
- 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. . . .”
- Official review did not examine possible business relationships between Hicks and Bass. H” . . . . 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. . . .”
- 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.’ . . . ”
- Hicks has networked with Wilbur Ross, who has openly celebrated the coronavirus outbreak. Ross is deeply involved with the 5G maneuvering.” . . . . Hicks’ work on the 5G initiative was extensive. . . . . he was part of an informal group led by then NSC official Spalding, that advocated for a strategy in which the federal government would plan out a national policy for 5G. . . . That same month Hicks attended a 5G meeting that he’d arranged with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Commerce plays a key role in the future of 5G since a division within the agency manages government spectrum and another maintains a list of companies the government believes are, or will become, national security threats. Companies that end up on that list can be effectively shut out from global deal-making. The meeting with Ross focused heavily on the threat of China, said Ira Greenstein, who served as a White House aide and was part of Spalding’s 5G crew. . . .”
- Hicks is networking with elements in Taiwan with regard to the 5G developments. ” . . . . It isn’t clear what influence, if any, Hicks had in those decisions. But his profile is only rising. In April, he led a Republican delegation to Taiwan alongside a U.S. government delegation. Hicks met with the country’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, who has lately been positioning her country’s corporations as safer providers of 5G equipment than those in China. Tsai thanked the U.S. for selling arms to Taiwan. She asked Hicks to convey her regards to the Trumps. . . .”
Over the past two years, the Trump administration has been grappling with how to handle the transition to the next generation of mobile broadband technology. With spending expected to run into hundreds of billions of dollars, the administration views it as an ultra-high-stakes competition between U.S. and Chinese companies, with enormous implications both for technology and for national security. Top officials from a raft of departments have been meeting to hash out the best approach.
But there’s been one person at some of the discussions who has a different background: He’s Donald Trump Jr.’s hunting buddy. Over the past two decades, the two have trained their sights on duck, pheasant and white-tailed deer [46] on multiple continents. (An email from another Trump Jr. pal characterized one of their joint duck-hunting trips to Mexico years ago as “muy aggresivo.”)
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.
Hicks’ financial interests, if any, in the matters he has discussed aren’t clear. The interests are much more apparent when it comes to at least one of his associates. 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.
Hicks is hardly the first private-sector power broker to emerge in a presidential administration, but he may represent a new subspecies: The Friend of the President’s Kid.
In fact, Hicks’ influence and career overwhelmingly hinge on two people: Trump Jr., his friend of about two decades, and, first and foremost, Hicks’ father. In a roughly 20-year career, Hicks has spent 17 of them working for investment funds and sports teams owned by his wealthy financier dad, Thomas Hicks Sr., and the other three working for a client of his father.
The generally privileged life of the younger Hicks has been speckled with occasional instances of misbehavior, one of them serious. At age 18, he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault, reduced from an original charge of felony aggravated assault, after he and two others were arrested in the beating of a fellow high school student at a party. (The victim was also kicked in the face during the assault, according to people familiar with the case. He told police that one of the three assailants — he didn’t say which — asked him, “What is your name, faggot?”) The criminal conviction did not prevent Hicks from being admitted to the University of Texas, where his father was an alumnus, a member of the Board of Regents and soon thereafter the first chairman of the University of Texas Investment Management Company, which manages the school’s endowment and other assets.
As an adult, friends say, Hicks’ carousing ways and occasional belligerent outbursts led some in his circle to bestow a heavily ironic nickname: “Senator Hicks.” His tenure as a director of the soccer team his father owned in Liverpool, England, a decade ago ended right after an email he sent to a heckling fan [47] — “Blow me fuc kface. Go to Hell. I’m sick of you.” — surfaced publicly.
Friends say Hicks has matured, particularly since he married and had three daughters. He has risen quickly in recent years. Hicks leveraged his Dallas financial network to become a top Trump campaign fundraiser in 2016 and a vice chairman of the inaugural finance committee; in January, he was named co-chairman of the Republican National Committee. His friends say he is motivated by patriotism.
Hicks also played a behind-the-scenes role, according to two people familiar with the matter and an account by a Turkish journalist, in the freeing last year of Andrew Brunson, an American pastor who was detained for two years by the Turkish government on what the U.S. government viewed as phony charges of spying and helping terrorists.
Even before becoming the second highest-ranking GOP official, Hicks was a frequent White House guest. He liked to have lunch in the White House mess with his half sister, who worked for a time in the communications operation. (The family is not related to Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director.) Hicks would then stroll the halls, according to a former senior administration official, dropping in to offices for impromptu chats with various officials, including Jared Kushner.
Those sorts of connections have given Hicks a convening power, the ability to call together multiple officials. “He basically opened the door for having a conversation with people who I didn’t know but needed to know,” said Robert Spalding, a former senior director for strategic planning at the National Security Council during the Trump administration.
The efforts, detailed in hundreds of pages of government emails and other documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that Hicks had access to the highest levels of government to influence policymaking in ways that could lead to painful economic outcomes for the Chinese — and a potentially lucrative result for Hicks’ hedge fund friend, Bass.
“When somebody comes in like this, a hedge fund manager who has an interest in the viability of China’s economy, you’re giving them an opportunity to influence policy,” said Virginia Canter, a former ethics lawyer at the Treasury Department who now serves as chief ethics counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group. (CREW has sued Donald Trump for accepting emoluments from foreign governments.) “The question is why?”
Hicks’ unusual role as a nongovernment employee who opened doors on behalf of both industry and others, Canter said, put him in a gray zone of ethics and lobbying regulations. “He’s acting in a lobbyist role when he may fall outside the lobbyist disclosure rules, and it’s not clear how he benefits financially,” she said. “So the question is: What’s he getting out of it? What are his friends getting out of it? And is the government processing it in a way that ensures the public benefits?”
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. They’ve owned shares of a publicly traded communications-technology manufacturer. And they were among the biggest creditors to the bankrupt law enforcement contracting company run by Chris Kyle, the ex-Navy SEAL portrayed by Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper.” The managing director of a new investment fund started by Hicks had previously advised Bass on the successful stock-shorting of a Texas real estate lender, according to corporate filings and court papers from a lawsuit in state court in Dallas.
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. “I’ve got to run. Let me see if I can get back to you,” Hicks said before hanging up. He didn’t call back.
Weeks later, after ProPublica followed up with questions to the RNC, a spokesman responded by emailing a “statement attributed to Tommy Hicks.” It read: “As a businessman, I passionately supported causes I believed in and, if appropriate, would sometimes meet with government officials to promote them. There is nothing wrong with that. I have taken every precaution during my time as Co-Chair of the RNC to ensure there is no conflict of interest between my job here and any personal businesses.” (The spokesperson also emailed a statement on behalf of the RNC: “Tommy has done an outstanding job working on behalf of President Trump and his agenda.”)
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. “I’m not interested in talking with you about my friends or any meetings I have or haven’t had privately with anyone,” he wrote in an email. In a subsequent message, Bass wrote that any suggestion “that we had corrupt intentions in meeting with Treasury officials… is categorically false and defamatory and could negatively affect our business.”
An administration official briefed on the Bass meeting at the Treasury downplayed it as “strictly a listening session.” He said Bass did not ask the attendees to take any actions, nor did the attendees divulge anything about U.S.-China policy. Government ethics officers vetted the federal employees for any conflicts and found none, the official said. He acknowledged that the review didn’t include an examination of any financial relationship between Hicks and Bass.
Spalding said the conversation centered primarily on Bass’ analysis of publicly available records on the Chinese financial system. “I think the thing that I’ve discovered over the past years is that the information in the private sector is better than anything we have in government,” Spalding said of Bass’ presentation. “You have to reach out to where the expertise is. In our country, that’s where the talent is.”
…
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.”
Hicks’ work on the 5G initiative was extensive.
Over just a few months in late 2017 and 2018, records show, he was part of an informal group led by then NSC official Spalding, that advocated for a strategy in which the federal government would plan out a national policy for 5G. One memo described their goal as the “equivalent of the Eisenhower National Highway System — a single, inherently protected, information transportation superhighway.”
The group conducted multiple meetings and briefings. For example, Hicks, Spalding and others traveled to Samsung Electronics’ Dallas-area offices for one meeting in January 2018.
That same month Hicks attended a 5G meeting that he’d arranged with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Commerce plays a key role in the future of 5G since a division within the agency manages government spectrum and another maintains a list of companies the government believes are, or will become, national security threats. Companies that end up on that list can be effectively shut out from global deal-making. The meeting with Ross focused heavily on the threat of China, said Ira Greenstein, who served as a White House aide and was part of Spalding’s 5G crew.
Hicks was one of a dozen nongovernment employees, including executives from Wells Fargo, Nokia, Ericsson and Google, that Spalding sent reading materials to ahead of a 5G discussion in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Copied on the email were top Commerce Department officials, a Booz Allen Hamilton contractor and a senior adviser for cybersecurity and IT modernization at the White House Office of Science and Technology. On the agenda? “Mid Band vs High Band” spectrum, “security,” “supply chain,” “financing” and other critical issues.
Hicks wasn’t just a passive observer. On Jan. 2, 2018, the managing director of OPIC, which provides financial backing to American companies expanding into foreign markets, emailed Spalding and others to say that the CEO of a satellite company called OneWeb had a plan to provide worldwide 5G coverage by 2027. Hicks fired back a note from his iPhone. “2027 is too late,” he wrote. “Let’s discuss as a smaller group tomorrow.”
Spalding was forced out of the West Wing in early 2018 after a draft 20-page briefing memo he authored proposing a government-organized national 5G network was leaked, then panned as an attempt to nationalize the wireless broadband industry. Trump has not pursued such an initiative, ultimately deferring to wireless carriers to bid on publicly maintained spectrum and develop their own networks as has traditionally been the case.
Still, the administration has made significant efforts to counter Chinese influence in 5G and related technologies, which are said to be critical for industries such as driverless cars, artificial intelligence, machine learning and much more. In May the Commerce Department barred Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei from doing business in the U.S. for national security reasons. And the top Department of Defense official in charge of acquisitions also recently announced the creation of a government-approved private marketplace to pair American private equity firms with U.S. technology companies producing products with national security applications to keep Chinese money out of 5G.
It isn’t clear what influence, if any, Hicks had in those decisions. But his profile is only rising. In April, he led a Republican delegation to Taiwan alongside a U.S. government delegation. Hicks met with the country’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, who has lately been positioning her country’s corporations as safer providers of 5G equipment than those in China. Tsai thanked the U.S. for selling arms to Taiwan. She asked Hicks to convey her regards to the Trumps.
8. The program concludes with the reading of headlines (and some text) from New York Times stories about the economic effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
. . . . The coronavirus outbreak seems defined by two opposing foces: the astoninishing efficiency with the travel industry connects the world and a political moment dominated by xenphobic rhetoric and the buildingof walls. . . .
. . . . The United States State Department nevertheless is denying entry to foreigners who have recently been to China, and is screening Americans who arrive home from China as well as asking them to self quarantine for 14 days. It has told Americans not to visit the country at all. British Airways, Lufthansa and all three major American carriers have halted all flights to China, while the cruise line Royal Caribbean is denying boarding to any person who has traveled to, from or through China or Hong Kong in the past 15 days. . . .
. . . . But what has motivated the response from governments? It doesn’t appear to be evidence. . . .
. . . . Coronavirus is different from other tourism disruptions in a significant way: The potential loss of tourism revenue will hurt not only China but also other countries. In the decade and a half since the SARS crisis, the number of Chinese travelers has soared, with China surpassing other nations in its volume of outbound travelers starting in 2012. In 2017, the Chinese made more than 143 million trips abroad; my colleagues at Skift Research predict that in 2029, that figure will be more than 286 million. Luxury retailers all over the world rely on Chinese travelers, and destinations develop sophisticated marketing strategies to cater to them. . . .
. . . . With the rhetoric surrounding coronavirus, however, however, it appears the astonishing growth of the Chinese travel market in the last 15 years did little to rid the industry of the impulse to treat Chinese travelers as “others” in the face of doubt and uncertainty. . . .
“Declaring Health Emergency, U.S. Restricts Travel from China” by Michael Corkery and Annie Karni; The New York Times; 2/1/2020; p. A1 [Western Edition.]
. . . . The travel restrictions and the airline’s announcements showed how rapidly concerns about the virus have escalated into a contest of the global economy, for which there is no precedent. Three weeks after the first virus-related death was reported, China has found itself cut off from its largest trading partner, the United States, and many other nations. . . .
“Governments Expand Restrictions on Travel to China as Cases Spike” by Paul Mozur; The New York Times; 1/29/2020; p. A6 [Western Edition.]
. . . . With China’s Lunar New Year holiday nearing its end, companies ordered workers to stay home and avoid travel. The economic impact of such measures pointed to a deeper political crisis, with many people accusing the Chinese authorities online of failing to act quickly to contain the virus, even as the government continues to struggle to contain its spread. . . .
. . . . Businesses that operate in China have issued warnings of their own. . . .
. . . . Investors in Asia were gripped on tuesdaywith fear about the health of the global economy for a second day, with a widespread sell-off continuing coninuing in the markets. Investos dumped stocks in companies thought to be most vulnerable to the effects of the virus.
“The corona virus is the No. 1 threat to financial markets currently as global investors are becoming jittery on the uncertainty.” said Nigel Green, founder of an investment company, the DeVere group . . .
“Trade Networks Face New Menace in a Coronavirus” China in Cross Hairs; by Peter S. Goodman; The New York Times; 2/3/2020; p. A1 [Western Edition.]
“China Reels From Virus, and Markets Are on Edge” by Alexandra Stevenson; The New York Times; 1/24/2020; p. B1 [Western Edition.]
“Outbreak Rattles Markets, Spurring Downturn Fears” by Matt Phillips; The New York Times; 1/28/2020; p. B1 [Western Edition.]
On same page, relevant to psychological warfare and online activity: “On Chinese Social Media, Anger over Virus” by Raymond Zhong; The New York Times; 1/28/2020; p. B1 [Western Edition.]
“OPEC Scrambles to React as Virus Imperils Demand” by Stanley Reed; The New York Times; 2/4/2020; p. B1 [Western Edition.]
“Virus Threatens an Oil Industry That’s Already Ailing” by Clifford Krauss With a Decline in China’s Demand sending Crude Prices Lowe, Cutbacks by American Companies May Be Coming; For Now, Drivers are benefiting; The New York Times; 2/5/2020; p. B1 [Western Edition.]
“Africa, With Growing Ties to China, Is Especially Vulnerable” by Simon Marks and Latif Dahir; The New York Times; 2/7/2020; p. A10 [Western Edition.]
“U.S. Plans Trade Talks With Kenya to Counter China’s Influence in Africa” by Ana Swanson; The New York Times; 2/7/2020; p. B4 [Western Edition.]
“China’s Command of 5G Is A ‘Danger,’ Barr Says” by Katie Benner; The New York Times; 2/7/2020; p. B7 [Western Edition.]
“Virus Fuels Anti-Chinese Sentiment Overseas” by Motoko Rich; The New York Times; 1/31/2020; p. A1 [Western Edition.]
. . . . In Japan, the hashtag #ChineseDon’tComeToJapan has been trending on twitter. In Singapore, tens of thousands of residents have signed a petition calling for the government to ban Chinese from entering the country.
In Hong Kong, South Korea and Vietnam, businesses have posted signs saying that mainland Chinese customers are not welcome. In France, a front-page headline in a regional newspaper warned of a “Yellow Alert.” And in a suburb of Toronto, parents demanded that a school district keep children of a family that had recently returned from China out of classes for 17 days. . . .
. . . . At a time when China’s rise as a global economic and military power has unsettled its neighbors in Asia as well as its rivals in the West, the coronavirus is feeding into latent bigotry against the people of mainland China . . .
“Virus Puts a Fractured Hong Kong on Edge” by Austin Ramzy; The New York Times; 1/29/2020; p. A1 [Western Edition.]
The two Hong Kong protesters were dressed head to toe in black, their faces coverd in masks. They smashed their Molotov cocktails into the lobby of a public housing estate, and flames and smoke began spewing out. . . .
“Virus Putting E.U. At Risk of Recession” by Jack Ewing; The New York Times; 2/12/2020; p. B1 [Western Edition.]
“Commodities Tumble as Epidemic Snarls Supply Chains” by Matt Phillips; The New York Times; 2/12/2020; p. B3 [Western Edition.]