(May 31, 2024 at 1:49 pm)Mister Agenda Wrote: I hear Trump's speech at the Libertarian Party Convention did not go over well.

It was like an arsonist speaking to the volunteer fire brigade.

Boru

COVID-19 Likely Lab-Created: New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024...=url-share

Shared from my NYT account so link will expire.

"The pandemic could have been caused by any of hundreds of virus species, at any of tens of thousands of wildlife markets, in any of thousands of cities, and in any year. But it was a SARS-like coronavirus with a unique furin cleavage site that emerged in Wuhan, less than two years after scientists, sometimes working under inadequate biosafety conditions, proposed collecting and creating viruses of that same design.

While several natural spillover scenarios remain plausible, and we still don’t know enough about the full extent of virus research conducted at the Wuhan institute by Dr. Shi’s team and other researchers, a laboratory accident is the most parsimonious explanation of how the pandemic began."

(June 3, 2024 at 9:31 am)Nanny Wrote: COVID-19 Likely Lab-Created: New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024...=url-share

Shared from my NYT account so link will expire.

"The pandemic could have been caused by any of hundreds of virus species, at any of tens of thousands of wildlife markets, in any of thousands of cities, and in any year. But it was a SARS-like coronavirus with a unique furin cleavage site that emerged in Wuhan, less than two years after scientists, sometimes working under inadequate biosafety conditions, proposed collecting and creating viruses of that same design.

While several natural spillover scenarios remain plausible, and we still don’t know enough about the full extent of virus research conducted at the Wuhan institute by Dr. Shi’s team and other researchers, a laboratory accident is the most parsimonious explanation of how the pandemic began."

As a scientist, Dr. Chan should understand the difference between conjecture and evidence.

Boru

It's not clear in what way a lab leak is more parsimonious than a human-animal crossover. I'd say the opposite is true as there aren't any preconditions upon it and it requires no additional events beyond those known to exist to have occurred. It sounds like the author has engaged in some motivated reasoning.

(June 3, 2024 at 12:54 pm)Angrboda Wrote: It's not clear in what way a lab leak is more parsimonious than a human-animal crossover.  I'd say the opposite is true as there aren't any preconditions upon it and it requires no additional events beyond those known to exist to have occurred.  It sounds like the author has engaged in some motivated reasoning.

At this point I don't think it matters all that much.

In a Covid Relief fraud trial, someone left a bag full of $120,000 with a juror's father, saying there'd be more if she voted to acquit. I'm guessing they didn't get a receipt.

<link>

Sothern Germany is suffering from heavy rain for two weeks now. Danube (and its tributaries) turned into Amazonas. Cities of Regensburg and Passau have declared state of emergeny, their historic city centers are flooded.

French and British troops are re-enacting the landing by sea on Omaha Beach in Normandy and the parachute jumps at the 80th anniversary of D-day. There is actually about 100 British D-Day veterans who are still alive today. And some of them are attending the events.

Boeing Starliner launches, reaches orbit, en route to the ISS. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boeing-star...ght-space/


It never feels routine to put human beings into space. Perhaps someday it will be commonplace.