- Hot
- New
- Categories...
- Producer's Lounge
- Producer's Vault
- The Gulch: Live! (New)
- Ask the Gulch!
- Going Galt
- Books
- Business
- Classifieds
- Culture
- Economics
- Education
- Entertainment
- Government
- History
- Humor
- Legislation
- Movies
- News
- Philosophy
- Pics
- Politics
- Science
- Technology
- Video
- The Gulch: Best of
- The Gulch: Bugs
- The Gulch: Feature Requests
- The Gulch: Featured Producers
- The Gulch: General
- The Gulch: Introductions
- The Gulch: Local
- The Gulch: Promotions
- Marketplace
- Members
- Store
- More...
Screaming about Chinese biological weapons?
First, there must be a smoking gun. Iron-clad proof. There is none evident at this time.
Second, many other countries have programs that are at least similar on the surface to the one the Chinese have. Those countries won't point the finger at China because without iron-clad evidence, they could be accused of being just as guilty as China.
On that note, how long until the Democrats start blaming Russia? My partially tongue-in-cheek guess would be the moment polls show Trump favorability going up because of it.
The said, I'm not terribly concerned about SARS-CoV-2. I've chosen to follow the details and data and the media and politicians are overplaying it - again. It would be comical if it weren't so consequential that you see people say we can't trust the Chinese data and claim orders of magnitude more are infected than is reported, then "trust" the mortality rate - because you can scare people with that.
But fear sells as well as sex when it comes to media. Telling people to be more cleanly and cautious sin interactions, avoid travel when necessary, and clean their rooms is not as salacious as "OMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE/GET SICK".
Indications are that the mortality rate is under 1% and possibly as low as .5% or less in countries w/a proper infrastructure. The R0 is not as high as many other outbreaks and pandemics - meaning it isn't as contagious as the media wants to claim. The "OMG it might have a there week incubation period!!1!" cries are bunk as well. In the data, 95% of confirmed cases are symptomatic within 11 days, and half of confirmed cases have them symptomatic in 2-5 days.
Personally, I do suspect there are big problems w/the data in China - but of a different type. I suspect they are too high. While the Chinese government has tried to fiddle with data, there is a big flaw in their criteria. The vast bulk of their "confirmed" cases are "confirmed" via symptom - not virology tests.
This matters because this started in and has run through their flu season, and the primary major symptoms are identical to flu. You can walk in, present your flu symptoms, and be "confirmed" as having SARS-CoV-2 in China. Now on the one hand, basic treatment is basically the same. On the other, that skews data.
That isn't to even remotely say we should dismiss it, just use a healthy dose of skepticism for the big claims.
I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.
That being said, I am curious why we aren't trying to expose the origins of the virus. I've seen some suggestions that it was stolen from a US facility and then modified in Wuhan. I've seen others claiming it was stolen from a Canadian facility and then modified in Wuhan. There's no question it is a man-made virus and it shares similarities to several others which have also - not coincidentally - started in China.
My hope is that this will be the final straw and the US will revoke Most Favored Nation trade status with China. It was a mistake to grant it in the first place given their theft of intellectual property, cyber warfare, and currency manipulation. Maybe we can finally use it to encourage them to come into the 21st century.
We have had pandemics in my field. I am a 1968 graduate from veterinary school. In the late seventies we had a Parvo epidemic in the canine species. Some of you my age may remember. Without getting too deep in the weeds we recognized where it came from and what it did to our patients. A lab test was developed early on to confirm or rule out the disease. Multiple vaccine companies sprung into action to develop an effective vaccine to protect the dogs. It worked. While I have other issues with these companies they did a great job bringing a product to market that stemmed the tide. This took months, not years, AND without the government mucking things up. Strictly private enterprise and capitalism doing what it does best - solving problems.
Watching Fox News last night, me dino learned of an Italian mayor who stated that everyone should go out of their way to hug a Chinese person. That was a month ago. Now he is infected by the Coronaviris.
On the flip side of common sense was the Bernie Sanders idiocy about China travel bans being "racist," and how the "remain in Mexico" policy for asylum seekers was "criminal." Every single imbecilic thing out of his mouth about the corona virus was a strategy for the fastest spread of the disease possible.
34,000 dead of flu in the US since flu season began, mostly a yearly event. No crisis there. After all, it's only the flu, right?
Blaming Trump sounds like political desperation with media assistance. Blaming slow response is also inaccurate because actions were taken much sooner than Obama ever did to any of the "pandemics" he faced during his administration.
The long time director of the CDC seems to be saying they were not as prepared as they could have been. Instead, he should be saying "mea culpa" since he was in charge all along and didn't prepare. Trump should be saying "You're fired".
Since no one has really had any exposure to this virus (and thus no vaccine to counteract it), no one has immunity to it.Therefore, the suggestion to wash hands thoroughly, sanitize surfaces, avoid crowds, etc. is valid.
By Bob Fredericks New York Post March 12, 2020
"... Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian claimed Thursday that the US military might have brought the COVID-19 virus to the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak emerged in December.
" 'When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!' Zhao tweeted in English in one of a series of tweets critical of the US..."
https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/chinese...
I'm not so sure China created this to happen now. I think more likely they were experimenting with weaponizing a flu virus and it got out.
In times of national emergency from an external cause the country typically rallies behind the president. After 911 the left deferred to that, backed off, and then heavily lost. They don't seem willing to make that "mistake" again.
mccannon01: "I'm not so sure China created this to happen now. I think more likely they were experimenting with weaponizing a flu virus and it got out."
It would not be surprising if they did something deliberately, but there is no evidence for it and it remains another speculative conspiracy theory. "Never automatically ascribe conspiracy to what is easily explained by incompetence." The Moratorium on Brains is in effect.
"Never automatically ascribe conspiracy to what is easily explained by incompetence." Nice. I like that.
Aren't alarm systems great? My dogs are better!