It bears saying that the current green environmental ecoterrorism movement includes very many high profile figures who openly discuss the need to remove most of the human infestation from the planet and who would joyously welcome some new virus that wipes out 95% of the worlds population.
From there it’s not very far to a Tom Clancy novel about a bunch of these people setting out to do just that.
They truly believe they would be doing gods work.
All you have to do is watch Discovery channel for a week to catalog all the “after human” and apocalypse porn these people thrive on.
Casting a shadow over this controversy is the fact that, even if gain-of-function research to make pathogens more deadly were internationally outlawed, it's almost certain that there will be governments that will continue or initiate such research in secret, ignoring any international law, in order to develop new and more effective bio-weapons.
My response to those who say governments would be insane to do that dangerous research (with which I would agree), is that they would justify their research by saying (at least to themselves) that they must do so in order to develop vaccines and cures to prepare for the possibility that their enemies may secretly conduct such illegal gain-of-function experiments if they themselves don't. The same thing happened with development of nuclear weapons that could cause extinction of all human life.
An overriding all our efforts to prevent such research is the experience of humanity that it's impossible to stop scientific research in any area by outlawing it. "If we don't do it someone else will" has, so far, always proven true.
It is looking for trouble where none exists. My mother would say playing with fire, except we get burnt and not the perpetrators. Don't they have enough work to do in curing existing disease?
Kind of makes sense why Peter Daszak (EcoHealth Alliance), Fauci and Collins immediately circled the wagons early in the pandemic to denounce a lab leak as a conspiracy, unfounded and racist to boot!
Answer to title question: "Insanity." Tell us what the difference is between Fauci and the Nazi "gain of function," and tell us what the Nazis "contributed."
GOF research is not "worth the risk" because it serves no public health purpose. The idea that a random mutation in the wild, or a bioweapon unleashed by an adversary, will exactly or almost exactly match what we have come up with is vanishingly small. And with current techniques, we can genetically analyze any new pathogen in a matter of days and then craft vaccines and/or treatments.
GOF serves two purposes: (1) It gives researchers a great toy to pay with to get publications, and be big shots with their research budgets. And, (2) to produce bioweapons while denying that is what you are doing.
That is it.
Fauci, Collins, Daszak, the Chinese "Bat Lady" (Zheng Shi, iirc) and others are guilty of at least negligence and at most mass murder, and plenty in-between.
After reading Alina Chan and Mat Ridley's "Viral" it was clear to me that the preponderance of evidence points to a lab leak after Gain of Function (insertion of furan cleavage site) was performed on SARS viruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. A natural/zoonotic origin of Sars-CoV-2 lacks evidence where it is usually straightforward to find. As the article points out, the risks of Gain of Function research far outweigh the benefits. Gain of function research should be banned and the loopholes closed.
There is no evidence for zoonotic origin, thus stating that as an alternative theory is unethical and unscientific. It would be just as valid to say aliens placed it on Earth and had an over/under betting pool on human deaths.
GOF and PPR research , purposely creating viruses in order to study them and develop vaccines is the handiwork of unscrupulous (mad) scientists and the governments they work for. That the likely source of Covid-19 was the lab in Wuhan, China funded by the USA is at once ironic and tragic. The US is developing virulent viruses with an avowed enemy? This is the definition of immorality and insanity. GOF and PPR make nuclear weapons look like children’s play . Somewhere Orwell weeps.
"...the bald obfuscations from government officials and the willingness of scientists to disregard the risks...
There is an efficacy to gain-of-function research. It can give us better understandings of how our world works. Catalogue this as primary research of inestimable value.
I am appalled, however, by the willingness Dr. Fauci and his associates to manipulate opinion. bury pertinent facts, and, at first sign of disagreement, to abandon the basic tenets of science and research.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a 40-year veteran in the field of viral research, has established himself as deep state personified.
Senator Paul was right to drag him over the coals, and I sincerely hope the new majority in the House of Representatives brings criminal charges against these liars.
To me it boils down to the lack of accountability across government. I was a grant manager for a federal agency for almost 10 years before leaving to go to academia (now with tenure, so I guess I'm the worst of both worlds). A basic part of the job was oversight of the grantees and understanding how they proposed to spend the money, and then how they actually spent the money. This was true with subgrantees, too. The grantee was responsible for ensuring any subgrantees complied with all the terms of the grant and reported on it. We could do site visits and did regular audits.
But the whole culture of government has devolved, in both executive agencies and Congress. Look at how many executive employees either refuse to answer questions posed by oversight committees, play dumb, or actually rebuke the committee members (at least of the minority party) for daring to ask real questions. And Congressional leaders don't hold them accountable, either by restricting funding or pressuring the agencies to fire them. We're not in a parliamentary system, so it is sad that legislative leaders don't hold the executive branch, even when held by their own party, more accountable for incompetence, mismanagement, and failure. At best, they allow them to say "I accept responsibility" with no further consequences. Such statements are pointless, and really insulting to the public.
At best, they allow them to say "I accept responsibility" with no further consequences. Such statements are pointless, and really insulting to the public.
Canada has a parliamentary system and Trudeau has done this many times without penalty.
A complement to this article is the outstanding conversation between Jordan Peterson & Matt Ridley on the origins of covid 19. They touch on the "politics" of identifying the origin & of journal publications & scientific inquiry in general, as well as Fauci's plausible deniability around "gain of function." A rich 2-hr conversation between two great minds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEh5JyZC218&ab_channel=JordanBPeterson
A strong NO to the format. I do not want to have to come to the website. The deal is: I pay for content and you send it to me without advertisement and without tracking or measuring my behavior. Don't change that fundamental agreement.
I don't want any of your chats, podcasts, events or whatever. I signed up for written journalism in my inbox. Nothing more and nothing less.
We should stop all GOFROC (AKA ePPP) immediately. The risks already experienced (millions of deaths, economies devastated, untold numbers driven into poverty and starvation, mental health catastrophe, educational deficits, etc.) cannot possibly be counterbalanced by the totally theoretical and as of yet unrealized benefits. In addition, we can never provide one dime of funding to authoritarian countries (can you say China). If a lab leak happens in an authoritarian country, the involved scientists can either inform the world of the catastrophe, or they can keep quiet and protect themselves and their family from certain imprisonment or more likely death. Not ideal conditions under which to conduct GOFROC research!!
“”Almost like arguing with an anti-vaxxer,” Racaniello said. “ - idiots. The whole lot of them.
It bears saying that the current green environmental ecoterrorism movement includes very many high profile figures who openly discuss the need to remove most of the human infestation from the planet and who would joyously welcome some new virus that wipes out 95% of the worlds population.
From there it’s not very far to a Tom Clancy novel about a bunch of these people setting out to do just that.
They truly believe they would be doing gods work.
All you have to do is watch Discovery channel for a week to catalog all the “after human” and apocalypse porn these people thrive on.
Casting a shadow over this controversy is the fact that, even if gain-of-function research to make pathogens more deadly were internationally outlawed, it's almost certain that there will be governments that will continue or initiate such research in secret, ignoring any international law, in order to develop new and more effective bio-weapons.
My response to those who say governments would be insane to do that dangerous research (with which I would agree), is that they would justify their research by saying (at least to themselves) that they must do so in order to develop vaccines and cures to prepare for the possibility that their enemies may secretly conduct such illegal gain-of-function experiments if they themselves don't. The same thing happened with development of nuclear weapons that could cause extinction of all human life.
An overriding all our efforts to prevent such research is the experience of humanity that it's impossible to stop scientific research in any area by outlawing it. "If we don't do it someone else will" has, so far, always proven true.
It is looking for trouble where none exists. My mother would say playing with fire, except we get burnt and not the perpetrators. Don't they have enough work to do in curing existing disease?
Kind of makes sense why Peter Daszak (EcoHealth Alliance), Fauci and Collins immediately circled the wagons early in the pandemic to denounce a lab leak as a conspiracy, unfounded and racist to boot!
Preemptive attack yes.
Criminals all
Answer to title question: "Insanity." Tell us what the difference is between Fauci and the Nazi "gain of function," and tell us what the Nazis "contributed."
GOF research is not "worth the risk" because it serves no public health purpose. The idea that a random mutation in the wild, or a bioweapon unleashed by an adversary, will exactly or almost exactly match what we have come up with is vanishingly small. And with current techniques, we can genetically analyze any new pathogen in a matter of days and then craft vaccines and/or treatments.
GOF serves two purposes: (1) It gives researchers a great toy to pay with to get publications, and be big shots with their research budgets. And, (2) to produce bioweapons while denying that is what you are doing.
That is it.
Fauci, Collins, Daszak, the Chinese "Bat Lady" (Zheng Shi, iirc) and others are guilty of at least negligence and at most mass murder, and plenty in-between.
After reading Alina Chan and Mat Ridley's "Viral" it was clear to me that the preponderance of evidence points to a lab leak after Gain of Function (insertion of furan cleavage site) was performed on SARS viruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. A natural/zoonotic origin of Sars-CoV-2 lacks evidence where it is usually straightforward to find. As the article points out, the risks of Gain of Function research far outweigh the benefits. Gain of function research should be banned and the loopholes closed.
There is no evidence for zoonotic origin, thus stating that as an alternative theory is unethical and unscientific. It would be just as valid to say aliens placed it on Earth and had an over/under betting pool on human deaths.
GOF and PPR research , purposely creating viruses in order to study them and develop vaccines is the handiwork of unscrupulous (mad) scientists and the governments they work for. That the likely source of Covid-19 was the lab in Wuhan, China funded by the USA is at once ironic and tragic. The US is developing virulent viruses with an avowed enemy? This is the definition of immorality and insanity. GOF and PPR make nuclear weapons look like children’s play . Somewhere Orwell weeps.
"...the bald obfuscations from government officials and the willingness of scientists to disregard the risks...
There is an efficacy to gain-of-function research. It can give us better understandings of how our world works. Catalogue this as primary research of inestimable value.
I am appalled, however, by the willingness Dr. Fauci and his associates to manipulate opinion. bury pertinent facts, and, at first sign of disagreement, to abandon the basic tenets of science and research.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a 40-year veteran in the field of viral research, has established himself as deep state personified.
Senator Paul was right to drag him over the coals, and I sincerely hope the new majority in the House of Representatives brings criminal charges against these liars.
To me it boils down to the lack of accountability across government. I was a grant manager for a federal agency for almost 10 years before leaving to go to academia (now with tenure, so I guess I'm the worst of both worlds). A basic part of the job was oversight of the grantees and understanding how they proposed to spend the money, and then how they actually spent the money. This was true with subgrantees, too. The grantee was responsible for ensuring any subgrantees complied with all the terms of the grant and reported on it. We could do site visits and did regular audits.
But the whole culture of government has devolved, in both executive agencies and Congress. Look at how many executive employees either refuse to answer questions posed by oversight committees, play dumb, or actually rebuke the committee members (at least of the minority party) for daring to ask real questions. And Congressional leaders don't hold them accountable, either by restricting funding or pressuring the agencies to fire them. We're not in a parliamentary system, so it is sad that legislative leaders don't hold the executive branch, even when held by their own party, more accountable for incompetence, mismanagement, and failure. At best, they allow them to say "I accept responsibility" with no further consequences. Such statements are pointless, and really insulting to the public.
At best, they allow them to say "I accept responsibility" with no further consequences. Such statements are pointless, and really insulting to the public.
Canada has a parliamentary system and Trudeau has done this many times without penalty.
A complement to this article is the outstanding conversation between Jordan Peterson & Matt Ridley on the origins of covid 19. They touch on the "politics" of identifying the origin & of journal publications & scientific inquiry in general, as well as Fauci's plausible deniability around "gain of function." A rich 2-hr conversation between two great minds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEh5JyZC218&ab_channel=JordanBPeterson
And yet: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/07/evidence-covid-origin-spillover/
A strong NO to the format. I do not want to have to come to the website. The deal is: I pay for content and you send it to me without advertisement and without tracking or measuring my behavior. Don't change that fundamental agreement.
I don't want any of your chats, podcasts, events or whatever. I signed up for written journalism in my inbox. Nothing more and nothing less.
We should stop all GOFROC (AKA ePPP) immediately. The risks already experienced (millions of deaths, economies devastated, untold numbers driven into poverty and starvation, mental health catastrophe, educational deficits, etc.) cannot possibly be counterbalanced by the totally theoretical and as of yet unrealized benefits. In addition, we can never provide one dime of funding to authoritarian countries (can you say China). If a lab leak happens in an authoritarian country, the involved scientists can either inform the world of the catastrophe, or they can keep quiet and protect themselves and their family from certain imprisonment or more likely death. Not ideal conditions under which to conduct GOFROC research!!