Comments | ontd_political: US blocks vote on UN's bid for global ceasefire over reference to WHO

soleiltropiques in ontd_political

US blocks vote on UN's bid for global ceasefire over reference to WHO

May 08, 2020 19:11

US blocks vote on UN's bid for global ceasefire over reference to WHO

Security council had spent weeks seeking resolution but Trump administration opposed mention of organization

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science does not work that way, factcheck, clusterfuck, world health organization, science, god save us from your followers, donald trump, medicine

Comments 4

weird putyourendtowar May 9 2020, 06:38:01 UTC

no comments yet..
yes, it's true, i don't think most people have even given it this much thought..
thanks for the references. would like to share, but share's turned off

amw May 10 2020, 12:36:16 UTC

I don't really buy the big tobacco angle, because the Chinese government makes a shit-ton of money off tobacco sales. I think they'd stand to lose a lot more than Trump and his cronies if there was a global anti-smoking push.

People are right to be critical of WHO for being in the pocket of the Chinese government. Aside from the Taiwan thing, one of the most egregious concessions early on was that the Chinese language translation of the COVID-19 advice "mysteriously" didn't include the warning against using non-scientific treatments. Of course the Chinese government wouldn't want that reported, because TCM is another huge money-maker for them.

Honestly, i think the Trump administration's games with WHO is just another branch of its China policy. I don't think the wisest way to approach it is to withdraw, because that just leaves an opening for the Chinese government to funnel in money and make the organization even more beholden to them, but it is consistent with his "take my ball and go home" style of diplomacy.

soleiltropiques May 10 2020, 23:44:18 UTC

"I don't really buy the big tobacco angle, because the Chinese government makes a shit-ton of money off tobacco sales. I think they'd stand to lose a lot more than Trump and his cronies if there was a global anti-smoking push."

...Well I was talking about the motivations of the *Trump administration* for wanting to re-orient the WHO's priorities. So I don't really see your point? The WHO have done a lot in the fight (global) against tobacco, as my discussion of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control suggests.

This is not to say that China has always been really hot at the idea, but on the other hand, they also LOSE a lot of $$ from non productive citizens who die as a result of tobacco so...

Again, not really understanding your comment, because that wasn't what the post was about.

soleiltropiques May 12 2020, 04:35:02 UTC

Another important point is that the U.S. is still (or was until Trump decided not to fund the WHO any longer) the largest donor to the WHO.(1, 2) So they still have considerable influence, which was an important part of my point ( ... )