Paul McCartney performing in the Netherlands in 2009. (photo: Eddie Janssens)
In a recent phone interview with Howard Stern, Beatles legend Paul McCartney called out those in China who eat bats (and other exotic animals) in “wet markets,” which some experts believe played a prominent role in initiating the (COVID-19) coronavirus pandemic.
Stern and McCartney’s 50-minute-long talk covered a number of interesting topics and ideas, many of which quite naturally centered on the novel coronavirus. Notably, McCartney compared the current spirit of those in England to the overall mood during and after World War II, when the public rallied together against a common enemy.
The wet-market dialogue began when Howard said, “I don’t understand. The Chinese government, which is a communist government, that really can shut down anything. But for some reason, as your wife points out [in an email], they will not close down these wet markets that got us into this trouble in the first place. It’s mind-boggling, right?”
Paul McCartney agreed with Stern’s assessment of wet markets and the necessity of shutting them down. Then, the 77-year-old mentioned the other serious illnesses that have derived from China, as well as the role that he believes the Chinese government should assume in addressing the matter:
“It seems like, you know, SARS, and Avian [bird] flu, and all sorts of other stuff that’s afflicted us… I really hope that this will mean that the Chinese government — like you said, they’ve got power, it’s not like they’re powerless — Let’s hope that they will say, ‘Okay guys, we’ve really got to get super hygienic around here.’ I mean, let’s face it, come on, it’s a little bit medieval, eating bats.”
Following a brief pause, Howard Stern asked Paul if he’d stopped eating bats, and Paul jokingly responded that he had, but Ozzy (Osbourne) has not. Subsequently, McCartney said, “They [those who eat and sell bats at wet markets] need to clean up their act.”
Paul McCartney’s outrage with wet markets is likely dual-edged, as he’s been a vegetarian since 1975 and has long advocated for animal rights.
This week, said wet markets made headlines for beginning to reopen in China, despite the warnings and advisories of many health professionals and scientists. The seafood and animal market where the first COVID-19 cases emerged, in Wuhan, reportedly sold meat and live animals including wolves, rats, bats, and porcupines.
Notably, according to a recent report from The Washington Post, U.S. science diplomats visited a laboratory in Wuhan several times in 2018 and felt compelled to send two “sensitive but unclassified” wires back to Washington, warning of inadequate safety in the lab and, specifically, the identification of bat coronaviruses that could potentially be transmitted to humans.
Experts, though far from sure if this facility was the initial site of the coronavirus outbreak, have acknowledged that it’s a very real possibility.
The virus escaped from the Wuhan Coronavirus lab due to lack of safety procedures. Then, the ChiCom government covered it up with the assistance WHO and let the world get infected.
This is a conspiracy theory. You may be right, by guessing, but you may be wrong. Can you provide proof of what you claim?
i have people in China that have backed up Angelito claims. Yuri- feel free to go to Wuhan and get the proof you want. or you can let the communist we do no wrong chinese government feed you shit so you can doubt the truth. they were building a biological weapon and blamed it on the us military and then bat eating.
anyway, the chinese are on their way to owning the US music industry. wonder how Dr Sir Paul feels about that
Yeah, sure, I’m going to go to Wuhan to check this out. Get real.
Your response is irrational and shows no proof of your claim. I know a guy, who knows a guy…
Then you bring up communism as the red scare? Wow, you’ve lost it.
Until there’s proof, there is no proof.
You’re probably Angelito reposting under a different name.
no I’m the rabbi- not angelito- proof comes from the communist chinese government who cannot be trusted. so im not sure how you’re going to get proof unless you visit the bioengineering labs in wuhan. unless you don’t think they exist. you can check out the wet market and eat some dog. you really should go visit wuhan. oh wait chinese govmt doesn’t allow us in. wonder why. so where you getting the proof from?
keep believing it came from a bat.
Try reading. And, I do not mean CNN’s website.
Fail. Total fail on your part. I read all news – Fox, BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN and more. You can’t rely on one source or one side.
OK, DILLWEED. YOUR LEFTIST WAPO HAD AN ARTICLE TODAY SUPPORTING MY STATEMENT.
Again, read, dumfuk liberal.
Al Jazeera…..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
you are correct
The Rabbi is guessing. It may be from a lab. It may not. Until there is proof – real proof – then you just don’t really know.
I never stated what I believe, but you jumped to a conclusion. This further shows your irrational position. Come back when you actually have something real.
Whether or not it came out of a weapons lab or a bat/pangolin market, the fact remains that the Chinese are a very foul people. They are responsible for the destruction of elephants, rhinos, and every other exotic animal on earth, including everything in the ocean. They are impossible to criticize and the CCP might as well be the Borg from Star Trek. They are the enemy and they need to be backed the fuck up, and, if necessary, run out of the West, at least the ones that migrated in the last 25 years. F them if they need to save face. Whiners as bad or worse than the worst whiners on the planet, though they do know how to work, so it sucks they can’t get this right.
If this came out of a lab, you might be looking at a war between U.S. and China. Perfect opportunity for Trump (he might make false allegations like Bush did for Iraq). Full blown war pretty much guarantees re-election.
China does need to clean up its act. But so does the USA with its factory farms, and many other countries as well. Cruelty and exploitation of animal life, destruction of habitat, insane levels of pollution, all that and more. All countries need to improve. This crisis should be a wake-up call for all of us to change our ways.