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Rising fascism in the US

 
 
hightor
 
  2  
Mon 27 Feb, 2023 03:27 pm
The OP, after years of accusing government agencies of deceptive practices and outright lying, now can hardly contain herself in trumpeting the assessments of two government agencies, the Energy Department (which has "low confidence" in the assessment) and her friends the FBI (which reports "moderate confidence") in a laboratory origin of the pandemic. I'm not surprised by the report, as people have been making the charge since April of 2020. What amuses me is how quick people are to accept this explanation as the final word in the controversy. We know that animal viruses have crossed into the human population before. We know that raccoon dogs left traces of the virus in their cages in the Wuhan market and we know that workers in the Wuhan lab shopped there. We don't know that the virus was "created" in the lab, and contrary to charges by Sen. Tom Cotton and the OP, we don't know that the virus was intended to be used as a bio-weapon. Given our abysmal relations with China and the characteristics of the Chinese state it seems more prudent to remain agnostic and recognize the difficulty in pinpointing the origin of the pandemic.

How seriously should we take the US DoE’s Covid lab leak theory?

Department of Energy’s updated report on origins of coronavirus pandemic jars with most scientists’ assessments

Quote:
What has the US energy department said about the origin of the Covid outbreak?

According to the Wall Street Journal, an updated and classified 2021 US energy department report has concluded that the coronavirus behind the recent pandemic most likely emerged from a laboratory leak but not as part of a weapons programme.

Does this report mean it is more likely Covid came from a lab?

Not necessarily. The report’s conclusion runs counter to that from several scientific studies as well as reports by a number of other US intelligence agencies. What’s more, experts are unable to scrutinise the evidence the US energy department report is based on.

Dr Filippa Lentzos, a reader in science and international security at King’s College London, said the origin question remained open.

“It could well have resulted from a natural spillover, but it could equally be the result of research-related activity, such as a lab leak or fieldwork incident. There simply is no hard evidence either way, just historical precedent and circumstantial evidence,” she said.

“While I believe the ‘lab leak’ theory a real possibility, I should point out that the DoE assessment has ‘low confidence’ in that assessment and their assessment did not change the minds of any of the other agencies.”

Lentzos added that according to guidance from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence: “A low confidence level generally indicates that the information used in the analysis is scant, questionable, fragmented, or that solid analytical conclusions cannot be inferred from the information, or that the IC has significant concerns or problems with the information sources.”

What do scientists make of it?

Tarik Jašarević, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization, said the agency had not received any information on this particular assessment.

“WHO and Sago [the Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens] will keep examining all available scientific evidence that would help us advance the knowledge on the origin of Sars-CoV-2 and we call on China and the scientific community to undertake necessary studies in that direction. Until we have more evidence all hypotheses are still on the table,” Jašarević said.

However, others have thrown cold water on the report.

“It is incorrect to frame this issue as scientifically undecided,” said Prof Angie Rasmussen of the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. “Two prior studies – one of which I co-authored – demonstrate clearly using multiple lines of evidence that the pandemic emerged into the human population at least twice over an approximately two-week period at or immediately upstream of Huanan market in association with the live animal trade,” she said.

“Any data suggesting a lab leak would have to be consistent with this evidence. So far, all competing hypotheses challenging our findings have failed to pass peer review. Since the DoE findings are described as ‘weak’ and ‘low confidence’, I’d be surprised if this new intelligence meets that bar.”

Prof David Robertson, who studies viral evolution at the University of Glasgow, raised concerns that “vague rumours of new information” were contributing to misinformation on the issue including how much was known about the origins of the virus. “It’s important to appreciate that we’ve lots of evidence for a natural origin for Sars-CoV-2, ie not just a single report but multiple lines of evidence which has steadily accumulated since 2020,” he said.

Dong-Yan Jin, a virology professor at Hong Kong University, agreed. “To me and other scientists who have common sense and who know well about the facts, the possibility of lab leak is extremely low. The story of lab leak in Wuhan is a fiction and it is as ridiculous as the counterclaim that Sars-CoV-2 comes from lab leaks in the US,” he said.

But Lentzos added that further work was needed. “I don’t take DoE’s new position as a ringing endorsement of the lab leak theory, but I do think we need to continue having an open mind on this issue and to continue pressing for an international forensic investigation – though I appreciate the chances of this happening, and of an investigation reaching a convincing conclusion, are exceedingly slim,” she said.

Why has it been so hard to say with certainty how the outbreak began?

One problem is that it is nearly always challenging to pinpoint the origins of a virus. For starters, finding the site of a “spillover” – where a virus hops from one species to another – is difficult and gets harder with time, while comparing the genetics of the virus in the first people infected with virus sequences obtained from animals to find a host is no mean feat. At present, the identity of the exact type of animal from which the virus jumped to humans remains unclear.

There is also a precedent for both laboratory accidents involving biologically hazardous organisms, and for coronavirus epidemics – and other diseases – to have known animal origins, while the Wuhan Institute of Virology being located in the same town as the wet market that has been at the focus of investigations has seemed, for some, too much of a coincidence.

The situation has not been helped by the debate becoming heavily politicised. However, a key issue has been transparency. “The ‘investigation’, or more accurately ‘WHO-China joint mission’, agreed to between WHO and China was not a forensic investigation with expertise to investigate both natural and research-related origins. It was set up to investigate a natural spillover,” said Lentzos, adding that Beijing heavily influenced what the mission could see, what data it had access to, who it could speak with and other factors.

“There was, and continues to be, lack of cooperation from Beijing,” she said.

guardian
0 Replies
 
hightor
 
  6  
Mon 27 Feb, 2023 04:22 pm
Anyone else notice the OP's silence with regard to the Fox Files?
Real Music
 
  3  
Mon 27 Feb, 2023 07:08 pm
@hightor,
1. I definitely notice the silence of the OP.

2. For a long time, I have believe the OP to be cut from the same cloth as (Laura Ingraham), (Sean Hannity),
and (Tucker Carlson).

3. I also suspect that her viewpoint and opinions are in line with (Newsmax) and that crowd.

4. I also suspect that she is a big supporter of (Vladimir Putin), (Donald Trump), (Marjorie Taylor Greene), (Jim Jordan), and that crowd.
0 Replies
 
glitterbag
 
  5  
Mon 27 Feb, 2023 07:51 pm
@hightor,
hightor wrote:

Anyone else notice the OP's silence with regard to the Fox Files?


She hasn't received her speaking notes yet.
0 Replies
 
Lash
 
  -3  
Tue 28 Feb, 2023 08:04 am
No trumpets were used by the OP, but biased, misleading propaganda techniques are definitely on display by hightor.
Walter Hinteler
 
  5  
Tue 28 Feb, 2023 08:40 am
@Lash,
Lash wrote:
propaganda technique[s]
Doesn't the cognitive dissonance in your posts count? (Besides the false claims etc.,I mean)
0 Replies
 
hightor
 
  4  
Tue 28 Feb, 2023 10:55 am
Notice the OP's confusion in mistaking a few observations by myself (which she was apparently unable to refute) and a cautionary article by a science reporter and a China expert from the Guardian as "propaganda"! But then she's always been one to over-dramatize any disagreement and assume the role of the injured party, like some poor misunderstood Cassandra, nourished by the thumb-downs of her alt-right political talking points and pitiful conspiracy theories.
0 Replies
 
vikorr
 
  4  
Tue 28 Feb, 2023 11:36 pm
@Lash,
Quote:
No trumpets were used by the OP, but biased, misleading propaganda techniques are definitely on display by hightor.
Was his assertion that you were quiet on the Fox Files somehow inaccurate?
0 Replies
 
Region Philbis
 
  2  
Wed 1 Mar, 2023 05:54 am

https://iili.io/HVuYW5g.jpg
Frank Apisa
 
  1  
Wed 1 Mar, 2023 06:12 am
@Region Philbis,
Region Philbis wrote:


https://iili.io/HVuYW5g.jpg


I agree with the people asking that of Rep. Frost. I think EVERYONE should stop calling DeSantis a "fascist"...BUT ONLY AFTER HE STOPS GOVERNING LIKE A GODDAM FASCIST.
0 Replies
 
hightor
 
  1  
Wed 1 Mar, 2023 06:24 am
New bill would eliminate Florida Democratic Party
revelette1
 
  1  
Wed 1 Mar, 2023 07:55 am
Quote:
Walt Disney World was given a dystopian makeover on Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The satirical news follows the very real law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that wrests control of the resort’s self-governing district.

In the clip, fireworks soar above Cinderella Castle as a voiceover declares: “We here at Disney Parks have received our marching orders and are thrilled to announce updates to our newly de-wokeified magical kingdom.”

As the camera pans to the park’s Hall of Presidents, viewers are informed that the attraction will “no longer include parts of American history Ron’s supporters don’t want to talk about” as an animatronic Abraham Lincoln caps his achievements to creating the Department of Agriculture. Other re-imagined horrors include an Animal Kingdom where guests can hunt, and costume characters with “realistic genitalia” so that their gender is “overtly apparent.”


https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/colbert-reimagines-disney-park-wokeified-054244341.html
0 Replies
 
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Lash
 
  -3  
Wed 1 Mar, 2023 08:47 am
https://thediplomat.com/2023/02/anti-china-rhetoric-is-off-the-charts-in-western-media/

Anti-China Rhetoric Is Off the Charts in Western Media
The mass hysteria reflects the biases inherent in the world’s most powerful media outlets.
By Chandran Nair
February 21, 2023
___________

A key feature of mainstream Western media today is the relentless China-bashing. It is off the charts and tiring, often involving regurgitated trivia or fabricated stories with no evidence to support callous statements about the country, demonstrating a deep lack of understanding. But such stories continue to be churned out with no end in sight.

Countering this in international media by offering more balanced views for a global audience is near impossible as censorship is rife. There almost seems to be a global compact to control the narrative, a propaganda war powered by today’s digital technology.

Just try looking for a positive story on China any day of the week in any of the leading global media outlets. Apart from reports in January about the Lunar New Year, there will hardly be any, and these too are likely to have a negative spin. It would appear there is a confidential memo circulating within Western media groups that guides reporters and editors to ensure there cannot be any positive news arising from a country with 1.3 billion people.

Typically, the negative stories adhere to three core ideas, which inform the unspoken guidelines within these press rooms when it comes to reporting on China.

First is the belief that China is a threat to the world and that this belief must be relentlessly reinforced at every available opportunity. How and why China is a threat is never explored; such is the deep-rooted and almost religious nature of the belief. Sound arguments do not matter. The basic tenets of good journalism are ignored when it comes to a China story. There is no need to explain or give evidence of why China is a global threat.

Left ignored is the plentiful evidence that shows China is not a global threat – even if one can point to mistakes and overreach in certain areas. China has not invaded any country in decades, or imposed sanctions that have devasted the lives of millions in poor countries, unlike the West, led by the United States.

Second is that China must be linked to every possible global event that affects the West. This provides an opportunity for the West to bash China while simultaneously burnishing its own credentials as the supposed arbiters of what is right and wrong in international relations. From the pandemic to the Russia-Ukraine war to carbon emissions; from rising sea levels to the scramble for rare earths; from the building of infrastructure in Africa to the production of vaccines – there must be an angle to demonize the country and instill fear in Western nations (and beyond).

Indeed, media outlets are reverting to the “yellow peril” of the late 1800s. There is no subtle and nuanced approach to instilling fear like this. It is full-on and very often blatantly racist – but it is now acceptable for one to be racist about the Chinese in Western media, despite the fact that Black-White relations are very carefully described.

The third part of this phenomenon, which is surprisingly not challenged by liberal readers of mainstream media, is the sentiment that everything must be done – even illegal and unfair methods – to arrest the rise of China. Never mind the rights of hundreds of millions of Chinese to have a better life after a century of poverty and deprivation.

Headline after headline that capture this sentiment have normalized the view that there is a need to curb the rise of China, and that this is a legitimate geopolitical objective. There is no explanation about why or if it is even morally acceptable. It has become a feature of Western commentary on China to say that its rise is a concern and a threat. With this assumption unassailably in place, the West has the right to galvanize – and even bully – its allies and ask the absurd question, “what should be done about China’s rise?” – as if China does not have the right to carve its own place in the new world.

There is even a school of thought in the United States that it was America that magnanimously allowed China its first baby steps into the globalized economy, and that in hindsight the U.S. was too nice to China. This view betrays everything that is imperial about the West and why it is unable to come to terms with the legitimate rights of other nations to grow and become powers in their own right. The assumption is that the rise of others is a gift from the West, and accordingly they must never challenge its supremacy. The deeply entrenched view in the West from centuries of domination is that it will decide which nations will be permitted to be participants in the global economy according to its self-serving “rules-based order.”

Indeed, Western media seem wholly tied to the hegemonic competition view of geopolitics, constantly referencing the “Thucydides Trap” and being stuck in the Western canon as if there are no other ways of looking at geopolitics and world order. This view assumes conflict is inevitable and helps to demonize China while justifying the hegemonic position of the West – and the United States in particular – as a globally stabilizing force.

Needless to say, this is an extremely belligerent position to take, and not something media should be egging on. Whatever happened to promoting multilateralism? And why are people who speak to multilateralism side-lined as idealists or China apologists? This flies in the face of fair reporting.

So, how to fix this?

First, people in China and the non-Western world must realize that when it comes to the workings of the mainstream media we are in a new era – a propaganda war the likes of which the world has never seen before, powered by today’s digital technology. The media war is real, and tech-driven, and it is not a fight for eyeballs to deliver fair, honest, and educational news. It is almost everything else but that, especially when it comes to China or enemies of the West.

On one side is sheer propaganda aimed at the preservation of Western power. Participants include the most well-known brands in the Western media world, which are household names across the world.

The idea that Western media is run by fair-minded people who are independent, driven only by a desire to talk truth to power, is a mirage. It is a myth, and it is a bitter pill that needs to be swallowed. The idea that the Western journalist is a paragon of virtue also needs to be banished from the minds of consumers of media.

That is the first stage in enabling one to step out of the propaganda mist we are engulfed in on a daily basis, so that one can examine different viewpoints as news is consumed. This is not easy, given the current dominance of Western media outlets and their apparently collective mission.

Walter Hinteler
 
  2  
Wed 1 Mar, 2023 09:20 am
@Lash,
Certainly it's interesting to read the view from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China about this.
Lash
 
  -2  
Wed 1 Mar, 2023 09:31 am
@Walter Hinteler,
Yes, you should acquaint yourself with their opinion since they may be renaming your city in a few years.
Region Philbis
 
  3  
Wed 1 Mar, 2023 09:52 am
@Lash,

wow, you've really gone off the deep end... it's sad to see...
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  2  
Wed 1 Mar, 2023 10:25 am
@Lash,
Lash wrote:
Yes, you should acquaint yourself with their opinion since they may be renaming your city in a few years.
Most probably the Russians will have me already detained by that time for making anti-war statements.
 

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