Well, I was going to and, then, I didn’t …
Story of my life. I have it all mapped out in my head, exactly what I am going to do and when and, then … I get waylaid or distracted and end up doing something completely different. I sometimes wonder whether it is the subconscious at work, delaying the more difficult task? Of course, it is. I had today clear to write this but it was such a beautiful morning that – dropping Becca, late, at school to avoid another parking ticket – I went straight to the beach … and cleared it! No, in all seriousness, it was the way I like it, just the non-cocktail-swilling, non-thong-wearing (or commando, God forbid!) animal-loving locals with their dogs. Note to self: remember, early morning is the best time to go when the hangovers are still rendering the unsavoury housebound!
Now, when I have talked of my ability to clear the beach in the past, I was not referring to scaring the locals. However, this morning, the sight of me – at a distance – walking onto the sand, through the dunes, seemed to do exactly that. It was my sister-in-law, granted, but … I had driven past her already, striding along the grass with a dog in tow somewhere, and noticed, in my mirror, that she, immediately, changed direction and went down onto the beach. Did she think I was just out for a drive? Of course, I would end up on the sand but, recognising her white coat in the distance, she stopped and began to run in the other direction, barely stopping until she headed back through the dunes, obviously to her car! Cowardice? Guilt? Embarrassment? All three, I surmise. Whatever. One less body on my beach!
As the sun glistened on the water, the gentle waves lapping the shore, it was hard to reconcile the beautiful scene in front of me with the reality of the world today. Supposed to be writing my book, yesterday, I ended up listening to The Telegraph podcast, Planet Normal. Podcasts are it, now, and I understand why: namely, affording the ability to multi-task while listening to a debate apropos – to my mind – the potential demise of the world! For, while chopping and roasting vegetables in preparation for one of my gastric delights, I tuned in to this week’s (June 3rd) – entitled Chinese Whispers – but, more precisely, Allison Pearson’s full interview with Sir Richard Dearlove. The former head of MI6, he headed up the secret intelligence service between 1999 and 2004. The subject? The debate regarding the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, and the question of China’s involvement. Was it zoonotic – transmitted from animal to human – or was it leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology?
In March 2021, the WHO (World Health Organisation) released the results of a month-long investigation into that very subject, in partnership with Chinese scientists. No conflict of interest there, then! What’s more, it should also be noted that the Director-General of the WHO – elected for a five-year term in May 2017 – was the Chinese candidate, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Adept at schmoozing, he claimed he had been racially abused, mostly at the hands of the Taiwanese. That would do it … Unsurprisingly, the conclusions drawn weighed heavily in favour of a transmission to humans from wildlife, courtesy of an intermediate host: the ‘likely to very likely pathway’; while, the suggestion of a lab leak was ‘extremely unlikely’. The fact that, of the 413-page report, less than three mentioned the lab leak theory … Job done? Put to bed? Not quite. In the words of Sir Richard Dearlove, in the aforementioned podcast: ‘The WHO report was farcical and it’s clear, now, they are losing control of the narrative.’
Delve into the deep and distant past and remember how Trump was derided for supporting the Wuhan lab leak theory as he sought to direct blame for the pandemic onto China. As far back as April 2020, he said the government was looking into said premise and that it made ‘sense‘. Far from wavering, Trump’s confidence in the argument grew as he claimed he had seen evidence to back up his assertion. However, this was Trump and few were prepared to align themselves with this ‘outlandish’ president thus China slipped from the hook. Big mistake! Ironically, Sir Richard Dearlove, more or less, ends by saying history will remember Trump as being the one who forced the West to re-think its relationship with China. He was the catalyst, the trigger, and ‘what’s happening now is following on from the tough line Trump took, and was prepared to take in a very public fashion, with China and it’s been long overdue.’ All credit to him, too.
So, what has triggered this renewed interest in the lab leak theory? Sir Richard surmises it could be attributed to intelligence in the hands of the American administration but, notably, 18 prominent scientists had a letter published in Science (May 13th) calling for further investigation into the origin of COVID-19 and stating the theories of a lab leak remain ‘viable’. This would corroborate a State Department fact sheet, released in January by the Trump administration, which declared that Chinese researchers had taken ill in ‘the Fall’ of 2019 – without mention of hospitalisation. Cue the Wall Street Journal (24th May), which cited intelligence that three researchers at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology had to be hospitalised in November 2019! According to China, the first recorded case of COVID-19 was on the 8th December.
It appears, on this subject, President Trump is being vindicated as his successor, Joe Biden, last week ordered American intelligence officials to ‘redouble’ their efforts to identify the origins of COVID-19 and report back within 90 days. Meanwhile, a new study – conducted by British professor, Angus Dalgleish, and Norwegian scientist, Dr Birger Sorensen, claims that the virus was created in a lab and has ‘no credible natural ancestor’. The 22-page paper was published in the Quarterly Review of Biophysics Discovery.
Sir Richard Dearlove cites many of the findings of the study, each more sinister than the next. For example, after the event of the outbreak, China tried to establish a story which explained the zoonotic origin. ‘The study claims that Chinese scientists ‘retro-engineered’ the virus, in order to make it look like it evolved naturally.’. Who knew that, after the outbreak, all staff at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were sacked and replaced by military personnel? Let me hyperlink the article so that you can read the damning evidence for yourself: Covid-19 has ‘no credible natural ancestor, claims new research’.
Read of the accusations of deliberate destruction, concealment and contamination of data at the Chinese lab and, worse, the study, itself, also points to the silencing and disappearance of scientists who dared to speak out! What of the strong inference that this is a ‘Gain of Function’ virus, meaning it has been doctored, created and made highly infectious to humans? The People’s Republic of China (PCR) is a terrifying regime but it must be held to account. Much of the data may have gone but that makes the scientific analysis, now, even more important. Although it can’t prove the case 100%, the thorough biochemical analysis puts the weight of evidence on the side of this being a natural virus which was enhanced by manmade experiments …
Could it be that over three million people have lost their lives in a bid to save the face of the Chinese Government? What now? Sir Richard Dearlove believes, ultimately, China will pay for its sinister role in a pandemic which brought the world to its knees; a pandemic which only served to enhance the Chinese economy. Who, though, has the courage, strength but, moreover, the integrity to do so? Trump, certainly, had two out of three … and, in the words of Meat Loaf, that ‘ain’t bad’!
‘People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest.’
Hermann Hesse
This is Trish, signing off – exhausted and unchecked. Apologies!
