Another question answered by Vince at Quora.
https://www.quora.com/Should-China-be-made-to-pay-compensation/answer/Vince-Dhimos Should China be made to pay compensation? Vince Dhimos, Editor-in-Chief at New Silk Strategies (2016-present) Modified since posting at Quora There is no precedent for any country being held accountable for an act of force majeure occurring in that country. In fact, in contract law, an act of force majeure, also called an act of God in legalese, is the only thing that can cause the legitimate dissolution of a valid contract between two parties through no fault of either party. For instance if a volcano covers a building site with ash and lava, a builder under contract to build a stadium on the site may be legally freed of his contractual obligations without penalty. Yet, today, absurdly, the US Establishment is turning the law on its head and pretending that such an act of God can be attributed to certain persons, who can be held liable for what God has wrought. If it were legitimate to blame a country that spreads disease to other countries, then the US could easily have been blamed for the spread of polio and AIDS to the rest of the world — even though these diseases did not necessarily originate in the US. The main carriers were Americans and in the case of AIDS, the US for many years made no attempt whatsoever to find a cure or in any way to stop the spread of that disease. Reagan, in fact, thought the virus was God’s punishment for homosexual behaviour and refused to allot funds to find a cure. But before the Trump administration came along, the world was at least in the hands of sensible individuals who knew that no one country could be held accountable for what was by all appearances a natural outbreak of a disease. Today, however, the world is in the hands of powerful people whose only accomplishment is the ability to pull political levers and convince the unthinking masses that they are justified in doing absurd things and bringing absurd charges against others based on the most tenuous of rationales and arguments that have no precedent in law, international or other. For example, though Iran had no hand in the planning and execution of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers—which were carried out by mostly Saudi citizens, US shysters in government and high courts managed to concoct a story that somehow, it was Iran, and not the Saudis, that caused the loss of life and damage to property in NY. This accusation was upheld by a crooked court and families were awarded billions of Iranian dollars for something that Iran clearly did not do! In fact, Iran would never cooperate with Saudi Arabia in anything remotely resembling this plot simply because the two countries are implacable enemies. Yet the US msm have trained their American subjects to ignore the obvious in favour of narratives that benefit the billionaires who control America and its satellites. And sadly, the grassroots happily comply with their own victimization. The US Establishment is a master of deception and that is being evidenced now like never before. The fact is, the Chinese and Russians both have their own suspicions about the true origin of the COVID-19 virus, but serious Western researchers and writers who delve into these suspicions and show that they are not at all unjustified have had their social media pages removed. Ron Unz, owner and operator of the respected Unz Review, is the latest victim. His entire collection of articles on serious subjects representing years of work was removed from a social media site without any attempt to explain why. Anyone who thinks the US is a democratic country that allows freedom of speech is seriously deluded. The differences between today’s West — where Julian Assange sits in a UK prison for telling the unvarnished truth about US crimes — and the defunct Soviet Union are paper thin! But the grassroots, who claim to love freedom, are cheering Assange’s persecutors. I have posted translations outlining the Chinese and Russian statements on the suspected origin of the pandemic: Vince Dhimos's answer to How do you see COVID-19? Is it a pandemic or a biological weapon of mass destruction? How will you see globalization in the future in this context? This is not to say that I necessarily subscribe to these theories but simply to let the reader know that the US does not have the only reason to blame a suspected perpetrator in this issue. The only reason the US has the ability to bring charges against China is that the US is the most powerful country in the world and has among its populace an amazingly high percentage of people who are willing to suspend disbelief on behalf of their political ideology and the politicians they worship without question (many even claim their president was chosen by God!). This is the most dangerous situation the world has faced since the 30s. Much foolishness and mischief still lie ahead. https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/448052/Iran-Venezuela-challenging-U-S-dominance-who-is-violating Iran, Venezuela challenging U.S. dominance, who is violating intl. law? by Ebrahim Fallahi May 19, 2020 - 14:30 TEHRAN – It has been few weeks since the rumors began spreading that Iran intended to ship several fuel consignments to Caracas to help alleviate Venezuela’s severe fuel problems. The rumors got closer to reality when last week, news agencies around the world reported that five tankers carrying Iranian fuel have set sail for Venezuela. Angry with Iran’s bold act of defiance, Washington is reportedly considering military measures in response to Iran’s fuel shipment to Caracas, and unconfirmed reports suggest that the U.S. intends to deploy its navy to the Caribbean. Now, considering the fact that Venezuela and Iran are both independent states and the dollar-free trade exchange between the two nations which is taking place through international free waters is completely legal, the question is under which law the U.S. is trying to interfere with a transaction that is, in fact, a humanitarian support from Iran to the Venezuelan people who are suffering in a situation that is a direct result of U.S. interference in their country. Who is violating international law? In an interview with the Tehran Times, International Energy Expert Mahmood Khaghani answers this question. Venezuela The Venezuelan oil industry is targeted by severe U.S. sanctions and the country’s refineries are mostly shut down due to maintenance problems. Earlier this month, under the U.S. pressure, the Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of the country’s oil and oil products trade and a significant share of crude production, announced that the firm was ending its operations in Venezuela and selling all of its assets in the country. The Latin American country is currently in desperate need of gasoline and other refined products to keep the country afloat amid the economic collapse resulted from the U.S. sanctions. According to Khaghani, in recent years, the U.S. has increased its pressures on Venezuela under the claims of democracy and diplomacy, however, the U.S. is, in fact, keeping Venezuela’s oil out of the market to shift the oil prices up. Back in June 2017, Trump announced the U.S.’s energy dominance strategy, Khaghani said, adding the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, which has one of the biggest oil reserves in the world, is an indication that Washington is clearly imposing that policy on the global energy market. Iran’s support Iran, for long, has been supporting Venezuela’s independence against the U.S. unilateralism and capitalism. The cooperation between the two countries, both of which are under U.S sanctions, expanded even more in recent years. Last month, Iran sent several consignments of refining materials via plane to Venezuela, in order to help the country overhaul its Cardon refinery. Earlier this month, Argus Media reported that Iran, China, and Venezuela have reached a tripartite agreement to carry out a major overhaul program for several Venezuelan refineries, including CIA and Cardon, which together have the potential to refine 75 percent of Venezuela's state oil. Iran’s supportive acts have clearly made the U.S. very angry and Washington is looking for ways of getting back to Iran through empty accusations. The Islamic Republic has repeatedly announced that Iran and Venezuela have had and will continue to have trade relations with each other according to international law and no country has the right to interfere with their legal trade transactions. The U.S. interference According to Khaghani, the U.S. is currently targeting Iran [and not Venezuela] because Iran is supporting Venezuela to keep its independence and stand against Washington interference. “Iran is, in fact, sending humanitarian support to Venezuelan people and this is not a trade transaction but a humanitarian act.” “The U.S. is not taking any actions against Venezuela because Washington does not want the world to see them as the “bad guy” who is blocking the help,” the expert said. Despite the fact that, so far, there has been no evidence of violating international law by Iran and Venezuela, the U.S. president, who failed to fulfill his election obligations in 2016, is clearly trying to unleash a new conflict in open international waters, to impress the Senate before the November elections in the United States. However, Trump should be aware that the slightest strategic mistake in dealing with Iran could end at the cost of his presidency, Khaghani said. It is clear to everyone that Iran and Venezuela are not under United Nations (UN) sanctions and that there are no international resolutions against them, and they are only subject to the unilateral sanctions by the United States. “Now, once again, I will ask the fundamental question of whether the legal movement of Iranian tankers in open waters is a violation of international law or the U.S. naval campaign in the Caribbean?!” EF/MA
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