Republican House of Foreign Affairs Hypothesis on the Origin of Covid

In case you can't read in full, the conclusion below:

It is the opinion of Committee Minority Staff, based on the preponderance of available information; the documented efforts to obfuscate, hide, and destroy evidence; and the lack of physical evidence to the contrary; that SARS-CoV-2 was accidentally released from a Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratory sometime prior to September 12, 2019. The virus, which may be natural in origin or the result of genetic manipulation, was likely collected in the identified cave in Yunnan province, PRC, sometime between 2012 and 2015. Its release was due to poor lab safety standards and practices, exacerbated by dangerous gain-of-function research being conducted at inadequate biosafety levels, including BSL-2. The virus was then spread throughout central Wuhan, likely via the Wuhan Metro, in the weeks prior to the Military World Games. Those games became an international vector, spreading the virus to multiple continents around the world.
 
Muttley said:
GOP.

They are still dangerously wedded to Trumpian rhetoric. Even the "conclusion" is filled with "may be" and likely and sometime...

Hard to take seriously frankly.
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It's science, not maths :)

It's normal in science to say in conclusion things like 'suggests that...' and 'appears to be...' etc etc

The words 'beyond any doubt whatsoever' are rarely, if ever, used

I suggest you read the whole article, then make up your mind
 
"With dangerous research like this conducted at safety levels similar to a dentist’s office, a natural or genetically modified virus could have easilyescaped the lab and infected the community."

This was debunked a long time ago - presumably from their first report.

Reading between the lines, the whole thing is very political.

They have their conclusion and they've been looking for anything that could be evidence.

I'm still not going to rule out a leak from the Wuhan Lab but this isn't the smoking gun you're looking for.
 
Scrote said:
"With dangerous research like this conducted at safety levels similar to a dentist’s office, a natural or genetically modified virus could have easilyescaped the lab and infected the community."

This was debunked a long time ago - presumably from their first report.

Reading between the lines, the whole thing is very political.

They have their conclusion and they've been looking for anything that could be evidence.

I'm still not going to rule out a leak from the Wuhan Lab but this isn't the smoking gun you're looking for.
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Page 58 - is where they give their actual hypothesis on how it escaped the lab.

I've had a quick glance and lots of it does sound like it could have been what happened but clearly I'm no expert so could just be guilable as to how plausible their theory is. I won't pretend to know how well it stands up or how truthful some of their sources are like the people who attended the military games.

But like most things - you believe what you want to believe. So who knows what the truth really is? What I did find interesting though is the claims about the militiary games in Wuhan. If people from around the world got ill after attending that event then there surely should be lots of evidence for it? Blood samples etc?
 
Scrote said:
"With dangerous research like this conducted at safety levels similar to a dentist’s office, a natural or genetically modified virus could have easilyescaped the lab and infected the community."

This was debunked a long time ago - presumably from their first report.
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Is that the best you can do :D

Read the whole report, then try again
 
It's certainly plausible, yes. There's too much fishy behaviour for suspicions not to be inevitably aroused. Whilst I'm no scientist, and don't wish to give credibility to the Hawkish US Right, my feeling is that on this one they're probably correct
 
red_harrington said:
Read the whole report, then try again
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Try what again?

If one part of the first few pages is flawed then it's highly unlikely there won't be other flaws throughout.

In point of fact, the very next paragraph is dodgy. The traceless DNA modification is about whether you can see the joins between original and modified areas. It has nothing to do with tracing the origins of DNA strands, which is heavily implied. And I don't claim to be an expert in any of this - just wary of the use (or misuse) of language. "Man-made" vs "minor genetic modification in pursuit of a specific, documented goal" are very different beasts, politically.

The whole structure of the language around the first dozen pages is highly political and anti-PRC.

Even the glossary - Gain-of-Function Research: “Research that improves the ability of a pathogen to causedisease.” – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

That's a very liberal interpretation of what GoF is and does. It might be technically correct but it's in the same league as saying that the phone/laptop you're typing on is "a calculator". It's not a lie as such. In fact it's perfectly true - but it's misleading.

Why wouldn't you ensure there was no ambiguity if you weren't hiding an agenda?

Dr Ralph Baric has responded to some of this previously: here & here.
 
Just because they have an agenda doesn't mean they're wrong. In fact, replace the word 'agenda' with 'hypothesis'.

Of course the report has to be worded strongly, they have to stress the point against an obfuscating Chinese regime that is in denial.

Surely you will agree that China isn't exactly the most transparent and compliant of countries?

And when accused of causing untold worldwide havoc by releasing this virus, they're even less likely to admit fault.
 
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red_harrington said:
Just because they have an agenda doesn't mean they're wrong.

Of course the report has to be worded strongly, they have to stress the point against an obfuscating Chinese regime that is in denial.

Surely you will agree that China isn't exactly the most transparent and compliant of countries?

And when accused of causing untold worldwide havoc by releasing this virus, they're even less likely to admit fault.
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That may well be the case, but do you also think the WHO are obfuscating, as that is the extended accusation.

Would US labs open up unconditionally to Chinese inspectors if there was a suspected viral pandemic leak there?

Would the US admit fault? For anything?
 
red_harrington said:
In case you can't read in full, the conclusion below:

It is the opinion of Committee Minority Staff, based on the preponderance of available information; the documented efforts to obfuscate, hide, and destroy evidence; and the lack of physical evidence to the contrary; that SARS-CoV-2 was accidentally released from a Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratory sometime prior to September 12, 2019. The virus, which may be natural in origin or the result of genetic manipulation, was likely collected in the identified cave in Yunnan province, PRC, sometime between 2012 and 2015. Its release was due to poor lab safety standards and practices, exacerbated by dangerous gain-of-function research being conducted at inadequate biosafety levels, including BSL-2. The virus was then spread throughout central Wuhan, likely via the Wuhan Metro, in the weeks prior to the Military World Games. Those games became an international vector, spreading the virus to multiple continents around the world.
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There have been reports of the French team from said military world games all experiencing the exact same symptoms as the ones we are told about on a daily basis.
 
Randy said:
There have been reports of the French team from said military world games all experiencing the exact same symptoms as the ones we are told about on a daily basis.
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Surely there's been more than enough time to prove (a) that the athletes contracted covid, and (b) that the games was the source (as opposed to picking it up later).

The fact a cursory google search finds no links to any reports proving the above, one can only assume that there isn't one...
 
red_harrington said:
It's science, not maths :)

It's normal in science to say in conclusion things like 'suggests that...' and 'appears to be...' etc etc
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That report isn't science, there isn't anything provable. The scientific method is missing from that report, it's an opinion piece masquerading as science.....and that in itself is telling.

I mean the bit where they show increased hospital admissions in the vaccinity of the WIV in September, along the tube lines, a) doesn't have robust data to support the supposition, and most importantly b) doesn't have a control set of data, ie hospitals further afield without high rates of admission. This isn't a scientific report at all, any scientist that claims this is proof of anything other than completely their own objective views should be automatically ignored as a political crank.

They don't even provide evidence of said increased hospital admissions with covid-like symptoms. This report could be absolutely picked apart if I could be arsed.
 
Scrote said:
That may well be the case, but do you also think the WHO are obfuscating, as that is the extended accusation.

Would US labs open up unconditionally to Chinese inspectors if there was a suspected viral pandemic leak there?

Would the US admit fault? For anything?
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You can't compare a western democracy with a free press to a totalitarian communist state with a state-censored press and restricted internet etc etc.

This is the same regime that murdered and crushed its own citizens with tanks in Tianamen Square.
 
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red_harrington said:
In case you can't read in full, the conclusion below:

It is the opinion of Committee Minority Staff, based on the preponderance of available information; the documented efforts to obfuscate, hide, and destroy evidence; and the lack of physical evidence to the contrary; that SARS-CoV-2 was accidentally released from a Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratory sometime prior to September 12, 2019. The virus, which may be natural in origin or the result of genetic manipulation, was likely collected in the identified cave in Yunnan province, PRC, sometime between 2012 and 2015. Its release was due to poor lab safety standards and practices, exacerbated by dangerous gain-of-function research being conducted at inadequate biosafety levels, including BSL-2. The virus was then spread throughout central Wuhan, likely via the Wuhan Metro, in the weeks prior to the Military World Games. Those games became an international vector, spreading the virus to multiple continents around the world.
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It would explain why it’s linked to bats but why it isn’t circulating amongst bats now
 
Scrote said:
That may well be the case, but do you also think the WHO are obfuscating, as that is the extended accusation.

Would US labs open up unconditionally to Chinese inspectors if there was a suspected viral pandemic leak there?

Would the US admit fault? For anything?
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When who is funded by countries and requires funding their integrity could be tested. As all walks of life, money talks
 
Personally , it's hard to think of an alternative. Not too sure of the details but it's one hell of a coincidence that a bat with flu caused it.
 
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