They arrive at this with "low confidence". The rest of the intelligence community - outside of the FBI - still lean towards human origins. 

 

33 minutes ago, JohnSnowsHair said:

They arrive at this with "low confidence". The rest of the intelligence community - outside of the FBI - still lean towards human origins. 

 

Not much confidence from anyone to be honest and this group is the one that handles research labs so they carry a bit of weight.  We may never know for sure.

Chinese bio weapons lab or Laotian bat? 

The reaction to the virus by the entire developed world was so vigorous and hasty that it reeked of desperation. I'm not sure what other virus has ever prompted such a panic-induced full court press by the entire world to develop counter measures in such a short time. Coronavirus has been with us forever, and along with rhinovirus, has always been one of the top causes of the common cold. This version however, frightened every government and prompted world wide travel bans and population quarantines.

Great fear causes that behavior and a threat that is unknown inspires great fear. Novel viruses are found in nature with regularity, yet none of those cause world wide panic, shut downs, quarantines, and a shift of massive resources for a vaccine on a timetable of weeks, or other effective treatments. 

Coronavirus, in it's many natural permutations, has been well understood for decades, so why the sudden shift to great fear? I suspect that it's because nobody knew anything about this version, and that was likely because no one outside of that bio weapons lab in Wuhan knew in what way(s) it's DNA was twisted, spliced, and otherwise modified or mangled.

We'll never get the truth from China, but the circumstantial evidence for a lab leak is strong, and the world's behavior in response to Covid-19 is the best evidence to support that theory. At the end of the day, where human beings are involved, behavior matters most, and the world's behavior was clear. Laotian bats weren't the enemy.

Dude, the first iteration of COVID was highly deadly. The response in March/April 2020 was absolutely warranted.

Go back and look at reports and photos from Italy, Spain, then NYC early on. It's sobering.

The current Covid strain is the result of multiple mutations that have resulted in reduced severity, coupled with immunity derived from vaccines and naturally. It's very different from the original strain.

54 minutes ago, PoconoDon said:

Chinese bio weapons lab or Laotian bat? 

The reaction to the virus by the entire developed world was so vigorous and hasty that it reeked of desperation. I'm not sure what other virus has ever prompted such a panic-induced full court press by the entire world to develop counter measures in such a short time. Coronavirus has been with us forever, and along with rhinovirus, has always been one of the top causes of the common cold. This version however, frightened every government and prompted world wide travel bans and population quarantines.

Great fear causes that behavior and a threat that is unknown inspires great fear. Novel viruses are found in nature with regularity, yet none of those cause world wide panic, shut downs, quarantines, and a shift of massive resources for a vaccine on a timetable of weeks, or other effective treatments. 

Coronavirus, in it's many natural permutations, has been well understood for decades, so why the sudden shift to great fear? I suspect that it's because nobody knew anything about this version, and that was likely because no one outside of that bio weapons lab in Wuhan knew in what way(s) it's DNA was twisted, spliced, and otherwise modified or mangled.

We'll never get the truth from China, but the circumstantial evidence for a lab leak is strong, and the world's behavior in response to Covid-19 is the best evidence to support that theory. At the end of the day, where human beings are involved, behavior matters most, and the world's behavior was clear. Laotian bats weren't the enemy.

The global response to the Spanish Flu was no different a century ago, but by your logic, that one must've been a bioweapon too. Just like smallpox, right? Someone clearly twisted and mangled the DNA of that also? What about the bubonic plague? Rats weren't the enemy there either, yeah? 

As for the article, the report hasn't been released, nor has the scientific community yet seen the purported evidence that led the DoE to that conclusion. 

 

The new report highlights how different parts of the intelligence community have arrived at disparate judgments about the pandemic’s origin. The Energy Department now joins the Federal Bureau of Investigation in saying the virus likely spread via a mishap at a Chinese laboratory. Four other agencies, along with a national intelligence panel, still judge that it was likely the result of a natural transmission, and two are undecided.

 

The Energy Department’s conclusion is the result of new intelligence and is significant because the agency has considerable scientific expertise and oversees a network of U.S. national laboratories, some of which conduct advanced biological research.

The Energy Department made its judgment with "low confidence,” according to people who have read the classified report.

 

 

1 hour ago, PoconoDon said:

Chinese bio weapons lab or Laotian bat? 

The reaction to the virus by the entire developed world was so vigorous and hasty that it reeked of desperation. I'm not sure what other virus has ever prompted such a panic-induced full court press by the entire world to develop counter measures in such a short time. Coronavirus has been with us forever, and along with rhinovirus, has always been one of the top causes of the common cold. This version however, frightened every government and prompted world wide travel bans and population quarantines.

Great fear causes that behavior and a threat that is unknown inspires great fear. Novel viruses are found in nature with regularity, yet none of those cause world wide panic, shut downs, quarantines, and a shift of massive resources for a vaccine on a timetable of weeks, or other effective treatments. 

Coronavirus, in it's many natural permutations, has been well understood for decades, so why the sudden shift to great fear? I suspect that it's because nobody knew anything about this version, and that was likely because no one outside of that bio weapons lab in Wuhan knew in what way(s) it's DNA was twisted, spliced, and otherwise modified or mangled.

We'll never get the truth from China, but the circumstantial evidence for a lab leak is strong, and the world's behavior in response to Covid-19 is the best evidence to support that theory. At the end of the day, where human beings are involved, behavior matters most, and the world's behavior was clear. Laotian bats weren't the enemy.

Also, it's pretty clear that you haven't read the article because if you had, you'd have seen that the report, assuming you're willing to take it at face value, reaffirms this was not a result of a bioweapons program. As I've said many times over the past three years, the term "lab leak" is not mutually exclusive with zoonotic spillover. A field researcher just as easily could've been infected while attempting to collect a sample from a horseshoe bat or other intermediate host. 

 

Despite the agencies’ differing analyses, the update reaffirmed an existing consensus between them that Covid-19 wasn’t the result of a Chinese biological-weapons program, the people who have read the classified report said.

 

58 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

The global response to the Spanish Flu was no different a century ago, but by your logic, that one must've been a bioweapon too. Just like smallpox, right? Someone clearly twisted and mangled the DNA of that also? What about the bubonic plague? Rats weren't the enemy there either, yeah? 

This. Covid was not the first pandemic to sweep through a population of humans or plants or animals. Viruses have been here since the beginning. Might as well say that the next bad hurricane is the result of a lab leak conspiracy. 

2 hours ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Also, it's pretty clear that you haven't read the article because if you had, you'd have seen that the report, assuming you're willing to take it at face value, reaffirms this was not a result of a bioweapons program. As I've said many times over the past three years, the term "lab leak" is not mutually exclusive with zoonotic spillover. A field researcher just as easily could've been infected while attempting to collect a sample from a horseshoe bat or other intermediate host. 

 

Despite the agencies’ differing analyses, the update reaffirmed an existing consensus between them that Covid-19 wasn’t the result of a Chinese biological-weapons program, the people who have read the classified report said.

 

The report was boring. Just like Sunday without football. At least the post sparked a little response here and there.

2 minutes ago, PoconoDon said:

The report was boring. Just like Sunday without football. At least the post sparked a little response here and there.

When government is boring it's at its best.

Just now, JohnSnowsHair said:

When government is boring it's at its best.

Or at its most inept, but the difference is difficult to identify.

1 minute ago, PoconoDon said:

Or at its most inept, but the difference is difficult to identify.

Boring govt is easier to criticize than to understand for what it is.

If govt is working correctly you should barely notice it.

1 minute ago, JohnSnowsHair said:

Boring govt is easier to criticize than to understand for what it is.

If govt is working correctly you should barely notice it.

True and true.

5 minutes ago, PoconoDon said:

The report was boring. Just like Sunday without football. At least the post sparked a little response here and there.

Reality is often boring. A bioweapons lab is a far more exciting narrative, but life isn't a Tom Clancy novel. 

Just now, we_gotta_believe said:

Reality is often boring. A bioweapons lab is a far more exciting narrative, but life isn't a Tom Clancy novel. 

At least "lab leak" is still kind of alive to entertain the masses.

15 minutes ago, PoconoDon said:

At least "lab leak" is still kind of alive to entertain the masses.

At least you've walked back your false dichotomy from earlier.

Just now, we_gotta_believe said:

At least you've walked back your false dichotomy from earlier.

At least you were happy to be taken in. After all, no conspiracy theory is entertaining at all without the theory, and the more unlikely, the better.

4 hours ago, JohnSnowsHair said:

Dude, the first iteration of COVID was highly deadly. The response in March/April 2020 was absolutely warranted.

Go back and look at reports and photos from Italy, Spain, then NYC early on. It's sobering.

The current Covid strain is the result of multiple mutations that have resulted in reduced severity, coupled with immunity derived from vaccines and naturally. It's very different from the original strain.

It did exacerbate a lot of underlying conditions, and a lot of people did die with Covid. Unfortunately we’ll never know how many truly died from Covid.

1 hour ago, PoconoDon said:

At least you were happy to be taken in. After all, no conspiracy theory is entertaining at all without the theory, and the more unlikely, the better.

Yeah you totally got me by pretending you were dumb enough to believe in a bioweapon conspiracy theory. 

1 hour ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Yeah you totally got me by pretending you were dumb enough to believe in a bioweapon conspiracy theory. 

This from a vaxxer.

🤣🤣🤣

Woody Harrelson Sparks Controversy With ‘SNL’ Monologue That Has Elon Musk Calling It A "Good One”

The True Detective alum took the stage and made remarks calling out mandates over the Covid vaccine.

"The biggest drug cartels in the world get together and buy up all the media and all the politicians and force all the people in the world to stay locked in their homes, and people can only come out if they take the cartel’s drugs and keep taking them over and over,” Harrelson said about an alleged film script he read.

Harrelson’s punchline followed with the host adding, "I threw the script away. I mean, who is going to believe that crazy idea? Being forced to do drugs? I do that voluntarily all day long.”

The actor ended the joke by saying he didn’t need the mandate to take the drugs the cartels were forcing him to take.

In the past, Harrelson has called out the government and pharmaceutical companies profiting from the Covid pandemic and many people on social media assumed his SNL monologue was another one of those instances.

Twitter CEO, Elon Musk, called Harrelson’s monologue a "good one,” as a debate sparked on social media following the late-night show airing.

In another tweet, Musk congratulated the NBC show tweeting, "So based. Nice work @nbcsnl!”

2 hours ago, The_Omega said:

It did exacerbate a lot of underlying conditions, and a lot of people did die with Covid. Unfortunately we’ll never know how many truly died from Covid.

With all due respect, as someone who lost people from Covid, you're better than this. Stop letting politics cloud your humanity.

I wonder if the announcement of it was intentionally released right before they want to aggresively go after China for supplying Russia.

This info release feels like a warning shot.