What could possibly have gone wrong? We have not yet seen anything close to the full extent of the damage, and not just from the coronavirus.
“Incinerate 63 million masks to ‘make room’?!,” translated from “Incinérer 63 millions de masques pour ‘faire de la place’?!,” by Drieu Godefridi, Dreuz Info, April 5, 2020 (thanks to David):
“To govern is to foresee”: never since 1945, the news had reminded us so well of the truth of this apothegm.
Since the beginning of the Wuhan virus crisis, the Belgian federal government has struggled in the worst difficulties to obtain protective masks, not only for ordinary people, but for those doctors, nurses, staff hospitals and law enforcement officials who are, every day, and in a fairly heroic way we dare say, on the front line.
The virulence of the pandemic surprised the best experts. However, in principle, the resurgence of pandemics of this type, since the dawn of time, is as certain as the movement of the planets. This pandemic was therefore predictable in a strict and literal sense, and this is the reason that normally prudent governments stockpiled masks – often in insufficient number, but which had the merit of their precious existence at the beginning of this crisis.
How to explain the total absence of masks in Belgium at the start of the crisis? Why have our “rulers” proved to be much less far-sighted than the others?
In fact, until 2015, the Belgian federal government had proved remarkably forward-looking, because Belgium had built up a strategic stock of 63 million masks – 1,200 pallets carefully stored and guarded by the army in the Belgrade barracks (Namur).
63 million masks! Enough to equip the entire population within 48 hours of the occurrence of the problem, with direct, immediate and drastic effects on the spread of the disease in Belgium. With these 63 million masks, even “outdated” for some – the elastic sometimes loosens after a few years, nothing irremediable – Belgium could have given itself the “lead” in Europe and supply our less well-equipped neighbors.
The problem is that in 2015, Charles Michel’s federal government decided to incinerate these 63 million masks. Why? According to information published yesterday by Het Nieuwsblad, La Meuse, La Capitale, Sudinfo and La Nouvelle Gazette, 63 million masks were incinerated – the entire strategic stock of Belgium – to “make room” (sic) and house refugees.
Let’s not mix it all up: there is no question of mixing up the questions of masks and refugees here and stirring up the slightest hostility towards candidates for refugee status. It’s not these asylum seekers who burned a single mask.
Full responsibility lies with the head of the federal government and the ministers concerned. If the facts are proven – they seem to be, the Red Cross is quoted by the press organs – the responsibility of the ministers involved and of the State is engaged on the moral level and on the political level, but first and above all on the criminal level.
Not content with incinerating the strategic stock, the federal government decided not to replace it: from 63 million masks, Belgium thus went to zero. The last masks were burned at the end of 2018, exactly one year before the Wuhan virus was born.
To govern is to plan. When we exercise responsibilities, we must assume them.
Each member of the nursing staff poisoned by this virus, by default of the most basic protection – the mask – is justified in seeking the civil and criminal responsibility of the ministers involved and of the State before the courts.
munchenfez says
At some point retribution by the normal people against these ”leaders” must occur. The only question is will it be vigilante or judicial. The longer it takes the more likely it is to be uncontrolled. These scum must be made to pay and that right soon.
Terry Gain says
Does anyone know of a case where vigilantism worked to create peaceful reforms and it is never justified if the malfeasers can be removed from office Why are the normal people putting up with this level of incompetence and not voting them out. This story seems unbelievable.
gravenimage says
Just vote in some sane leaders. Going from silence to urging blood in the streets makes no sense.
James Lincoln says
Yes, gravenimage.
That’s a good middle-of-the-road position…
Badger says
My Goodness. What a breakthrough if criminal actions against those responible were to happen. For far too long have we tolerated inept and criminally negligent ministers and bureaucrats and allowed them off scot free, allowing the poor to do the suffering for the elite’s failures.
Carolyn Marlin says
Sir, in USA are dems are pro-crime? Sir is anti-Christian a sign of all gov leaders pro kains fathers children only?
jca reid says
They missed a chance. They could have sold them to the UK.
Hugh Fitzgerald says
Will Charles Michel and all the idiotic crew who made this unbelievable decision be forced to leave public life forever? is there any possibility that the families of those who have died in Belgium for lack of a mask will be able to sue and, one hopes, ruin them financially?
Ray Jarman says
How about bringing them to the Court in Den Haag for war crimes against their own citizens?
A Gnostic Agnostic says
COVID-19 is a premeditated jihad global jihad against all “unbelievers” on/of Islam.
The Muslim Brotherhood has already tacitly admitted this.
The destruction of masks happened all over the world, not only Belgium.
Globalism / Cabal / Deep State = Muslim Brotherhood
They are really good at hiding behind / blaming others.
gravenimage says
A Gnostic Agnostic, you keep making this claim. Why would you think that Muslims would be able to gin up a disease that is (so far) incurable? And how did they manage to release it in the middle of Communist China?
Islam is bad enough–no need to make things up.
Boromir's Horn says
Kathleen Sebelius, health and human services secretary during the Obama administration, is under the microscope. After the 2008, 2009 H1N1 epidemic, America used up all of it’s N95 masks and was told they needed to be resupplied. They didn’t do it. They used the appropriated money on shovel ready green new deals. True to form. She is now going on the offensive, blaming Trump. This according a story published by the Chicago Tribune
Terry Gain says
Boromir
Do you have a cite for that? I would like to post it on my Facebook page which is a cesspool of anti-trumpism. Canadians are abysmally ignorant about Trump.
Terry Gain says
As of 5AM this morning the modern state of Belgium had a COVID-19 death rate of 112 per million. The backwater to the south of Canada, run by Orange Man Bad, had a death rate of 26.8 per million.
Note to reader. I do not use this /s tag as my comments are directed to a discerning audience.
Here’s a good joke. It seems that social distancing is working. I am so grateful that President Trump was able to persuade America to do this prior to the FDA running clinical trials as to their efficacy.
somehistory says
This answers the question of : How stupid can people be?
Daniel Greenfield wrote about a similar thing happening in California regarding some medical equipment they had…and got rid of…and the question is “why?” Who profited in that case?
gravenimage says
What medical equipment was this? Do you have any links?
GreekEmpress says
“Pre Corona virus CA dismantled mobile hospitals”. March 27 LA Times. There was also an article in Politico and SacBee.
They all referred to the stockpile that Arnold Schwarzenegger accumulated for CA after he saw the suffering endured with hurricane Katrina. Next administration got rid of a lot of the supplies wouldn’t provide funding, etc.
I apologize for not knowing how to post links, but this should help you find some information.
Please stay safe, gravenimage. We need you to keep posting here!
somehistory says
Thank you, GE.
To post a link: when you are on a page to which you wish to link, put your cursor on the url at the top of the page. With mine, I just have to left click, which highlights the url and then I right click to copy. From there, just right click on the page where you would like to post the link and select paste.
Hope that helps.
GreekEmpress says
Thank you so much somehistory! Will give it a try.
Please stay safe and well!
somehistory says
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/point/2020/03/california-had-2400-mobile-ventilators-democrats-daniel-greenfield
“But it just wouldn’t pay for those ventilators and masks.
They were ready to roll whenever disaster struck California: three 200-bed mobile hospitals that could be deployed to the scene of a crisis on flatbed trucks and provide advanced medical care to the injured and sick within 72 hours.
Each hospital would be the size of a football field, with a surgery ward, intensive care unit and X-ray equipment. Medical response teams would also have access to a massive stockpile of emergency supplies: 50 million N95 respirators, 2,400 portable ventilators and kits to set up 21,000 additional patient beds wherever they were needed.
In 2006, citing the threat of avian flu, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the state would invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a powerful set of medical weapons to deploy in the case of large-scale emergencies and natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires and pandemics.
The state, flush with tax revenue, soon sank more than $200 million into the mobile hospital program and a related Health Surge Capacity Initiative to stockpile medicines and medical gear for use in outbreaks of infectious disease, according to former emergency management officials and state budget records.
And then the Democrats took over.
…in 2011, the administration of a fiscally minded Democratic governor, Jerry Brown, who came into office facing a $26-billion deficit.
That “fiscally minded” nonsense comes from the LA Times. There was plenty of money for all sorts of Dem priorities. Not for saving lives.And so, that year, the state cut off the money to store and maintain the stockpile of supplies and the mobile hospitals. The hospitals were defunded before they’d ever been used.”
gravenimage says
Foolish and short sighted. Thanks.
OREN WYSOCKI says
The government is simply checking to see if the majority of the people of belgium have been frightened enough to accept absolutely anything. Its the most rational explanation, I wont get into the insanity of pointing out that millions of face masks take as much room as housing 5 refugees in small rooms. They are testing them before greater horrors are inflicted, or the complete revocation of the people of belgiums freedoms. If they are to frightened by brown people in the world, then they dont deserve to have any right to vote on the affairs of the government. They need A master, with all the abuses and privileges it entails. Human beings can live as cowards, slaves who critisize those who fight for them or they can live as brave people, standing up for the truth, discussing threats to their freedoms, with dignity and rights. In G-d I trust.
gravenimage says
Pandemic preparations in Belgium: Government incinerated 63 million masks in order to make room for Muslim migrants
………………
Un-f*cking-believable.
Paul says
Correction from Belgium. It is not 63 million, but 6,3 million. Belgium has a population of only 11,5 million.
Godefridi says
It’s 63 millions not 6.3 millions.
UNCLE VLADDI says
“AH, LE BON BILGE!”
Aunty Podes says
Tell me – what type of government made these brilliant decisions? I have a sneaking suspicion it would be strongly socialist – it is precisely the sort of cock-up they are renowned for.
Dawne Swift says
Yes I’d say you’re exactly correct. Charles Michel (the PM at the time) headed a left leaning coalition. He’s a member of the “Liberal” party “The Reformist Movement”.
My guess is that these masks were stockpiled following the SARS scare in about 2005(?) and by 2015 had gone beyond their expiry date. Apparently N95 masks have a 5 year expiry. So somebody in the government decided to incinerate them and put the space over to the migrants. I have no love of Muslim migrants invading Europe but the article makes an important point that it was not the migrants who incinerated the masks.
The real problem for us in Europe (and I include the UK in that for now) is the quality of our leadership. None of these things would happen if we had halfway decent leaders/governments.
1. It was a stupid decision to incinerate the masks. The only piece of the mask that deteriorates (i.e. which causes it to have an expiry date) is the elastic which holds the mask in place. Which could easily have been replaced at a time of pandemic if the masks had been kept.
2. All western governments seem to have thought it a good idea to “outsource” their personal protective equipment manufacture to China – the country from which epidemics/pandemics routinely come and which has an authoritarian government known to milk every situation for its own benefit. Again, completely stupid thinking. In the UK even more stupid as the government plans to allow the Chinese state company Huawei to build its 5G network. Words fail me.
3. Despite the well-publicised problems with Muslim integration, western governments (I exempt Trump) still think it a good idea to keep allowing Muslim migrants (they are not refugees) to come en masse into our countries.
I could go on. How about the mass stupidity of western governments (again Trump excepting) who condemn the Indian government for attempting to shelter refugees of non-Muslim faiths from Muslim oppression in adjoining Muslim countries? My post is too long – but it’s infuriating and the average voter is totally powerless in this situation.
DazzleMe says
Well said Dawne Swift!
Mike says
Check PATRICK HOWLEY on HOWLEY REPORT or INFOWARS to see the inside news of Corona. Fauci , faux-cul , and Birx are 2 Gates pawns trying to bring down Trump. Both “doctors ” have work for Gates for years and received billions from him !!!! Under Obama Fauci was for hydrochloroquine but now he is against it . How come ?
DazzleMe says
I certainly believe you are correct about Fauci and Birx, I think they have been working against Trump the whole time. I have never trusted them especially since they care nothing about the economy.
Templer says
Belgium has not got 63millon peple in it but yep this leftest prate has killed belgem I have bean there many times on my way two Germany ,Switzerland ,and France,the islam partey is due to get in power in Belgum thank two there leftest Eu highest rate off belgum muslim in the Eu joing iDash Bruselsis finshed chirstmase and all chirstain tradishons are finshed thanks two the Eu and the leftey traters it’s to late for them know to many muzeys
Kenek says
Belgium is the home of the EU. Why is anybody even remotely surprised about this sick excuse of a “government”? The end of the EU might mean the saving of Europe and the western world, unless the damage they did was too great. The sooner the EU ends the better.