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The WHO-China search for the origins of the coronavirus

technologyreview.com

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Re: The WHO-China search for the origins of the coronavirus

#81

Post by towergratis »

jkingsbery wrote: post #75

So, to summarize-the-summary: there are four possible theories: 1. Direct-jump from bat population 2. Started in bats, came to humans through intermediate animal 3. Came from frozen food outside of China 4. Lab accident. I used to think the lab accident theory was crazy, because it sounds like a science fiction movie. Not an impossible theory, just a crazy one. But according to this article, despite a year of investi…

> I used to think the lab accident theory was crazy

Accidents happen. Even if it was a lab accident, it's not a reason to be outraged with the Chinese government.

I think in parallel to searching for the origin, they should also look into the reports that Chinese government tried to hid it under the carpet and only admitting that it couldn't control it after it was already spread all over the world.

That's the real crime of the Chinese government in regards to Covid and that's what people should be outraged about.

But yeah, good luck getting an unbiased report on that.

Re: The WHO-China search for the origins of the coronavirus

#82

Post by stephenmcirl77 »

dimgl wrote: post #79

I was called a conspiracy theorist on Reddit last year for saying that this likely came from the lab in Wuhan. Now it's a possibility? It's getting incredibly frustrating to go online and be constantly attacked for having common sense views.

Did you have any evidence to back up your theory at the time? A broken clock is right twice a day after all.

Are you saying we should now listen to every conspiracy theory on the internet on the off chance it might be right?

Re: The WHO-China search for the origins of the coronavirus

#83

Post by williamdclt »

dimgl wrote: post #79

I was called a conspiracy theorist on Reddit last year for saying that this likely came from the lab in Wuhan. Now it's a possibility? It's getting incredibly frustrating to go online and be constantly attacked for having common sense views.

It might be because you were saying it was "likely" despite any evidence? Ending up being right isn't a to anybody's credit if the original assumption was groundless.

(I'm not attacking you, I don't know what was your exact argument)

Re: The WHO-China search for the origins of the coronavirus

#84

Post by williamdclt »

lordnacho wrote: post #80
djrogers wrote: post #74

> One problem with the lab leak theory is that it presumes the Chinese are lying or hiding facts, a position incompatible with a joint scientific effort. LOLOLOLOL Excuse me while I pick myself up off the floor. Doesn’t the default assumption about an authoritarian government have to be that it is lying and hiding facts that would harm it?

This is not even limited to authoritarian governments.

I think it mostly is, we're just not always happy about which countries actually are in the "authoritarian" bucket

Re: The WHO-China search for the origins of the coronavirus

#85

Post by AzzieElbab »

towergratis wrote: post #81
jkingsbery wrote: post #75

So, to summarize-the-summary: there are four possible theories: 1. Direct-jump from bat population 2. Started in bats, came to humans through intermediate animal 3. Came from frozen food outside of China 4. Lab accident. I used to think the lab accident theory was crazy, because it sounds like a science fiction movie. Not an impossible theory, just a crazy one. But according to this article, despite a year of investi…

> I used to think the lab accident theory was crazy Accidents happen. Even if it was a lab accident, it's not a reason to be outraged with the Chinese government. I think in parallel to searching for the origin, they should also look into the reports that Chinese government tried to hid it under the carpet and only admitting that it couldn't control it after it was already spread all over the world. That's the real c…

But the cover up is the only way Chinese government could react. This property is embedded and immutable in this type of government.

Re: The WHO-China search for the origins of the coronavirus

#86

Post by Touche »

sto_hristo wrote: post #65
Touche wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How exactly did the world "smile back and greet them"?

By not doing anything to counteract China's self-interest influence over the whole organization. China turned them in a personal PR agency that went as far as having WHO's head renaming the virus to something that doesn't mention its origins and everyone happily ate it without question. It's infuriating. The only entity of significant influence that offered some resistance was Trump, but his leadership was compromise…

This is about the name, I see.

Re: The WHO-China search for the origins of the coronavirus

#87

Post by [deleted] »

towergratis wrote: post #81
jkingsbery wrote: post #75

So, to summarize-the-summary: there are four possible theories: 1. Direct-jump from bat population 2. Started in bats, came to humans through intermediate animal 3. Came from frozen food outside of China 4. Lab accident. I used to think the lab accident theory was crazy, because it sounds like a science fiction movie. Not an impossible theory, just a crazy one. But according to this article, despite a year of investi…

> I used to think the lab accident theory was crazy Accidents happen. Even if it was a lab accident, it's not a reason to be outraged with the Chinese government. I think in parallel to searching for the origin, they should also look into the reports that Chinese government tried to hid it under the carpet and only admitting that it couldn't control it after it was already spread all over the world. That's the real c…

[deleted]

Re: The WHO-China search for the origins of the coronavirus

#88

Post by coding123 »

jkingsbery wrote: post #75

So, to summarize-the-summary: there are four possible theories: 1. Direct-jump from bat population 2. Started in bats, came to humans through intermediate animal 3. Came from frozen food outside of China 4. Lab accident. I used to think the lab accident theory was crazy, because it sounds like a science fiction movie. Not an impossible theory, just a crazy one. But according to this article, despite a year of investi…

What do all large countries not at war do? Prepare for war. Why would people think preparing for war be a crazy idea?

Re: The WHO-China search for the origins of the coronavirus

#89

Post by thowaway959125 »

Note that SARS-CoV-2 contains a unique furin cleavage site, unseen in other coronaviruses.

The first to point this out, in February 2020, was the Wuhan Institute of Virology:

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12250-020-002...

This strange furin cleave site allows the virus to bind to human ACE2 receptors. An interesting scientific reading on this, which does not rule out genetic manipulation in a lab:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/bies.2020002...

Re: The WHO-China search for the origins of the coronavirus

#90

Post by chmod600 »

jkingsbery wrote: post #75

So, to summarize-the-summary: there are four possible theories: 1. Direct-jump from bat population 2. Started in bats, came to humans through intermediate animal 3. Came from frozen food outside of China 4. Lab accident. I used to think the lab accident theory was crazy, because it sounds like a science fiction movie. Not an impossible theory, just a crazy one. But according to this article, despite a year of investi…

I think everyone knows that #4 is a plausible theory. But it's frustrating to see how the media played it as a conspiracy theory, which just discredits the media. Kind of like how they said that masks aren't helpful at first, with the ulterior (but noble) intention of preserving the mask supply for healthcare workers.

It just reinforces the idea that misinformation is fine as long as it gets people to behave the "right" way, and only bad if it could cause someone to do something wrong.

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