O/T:- ⚠️Impressed with the leadership [The UK Party Politics Thread]

[upthemaggies]

Well, my understanding that it's at least possible that the virus escaped from a lab but as you say, there's no evidence for that.

I think it's widely accepted now that it did come out of a lab, aside from the New York Times running a story earlier this year based on a garbage paper that's been thoroughly debunked as totally unscientific.
To have a virus of this type occur in nature and move from animal to human and then immediately spread like wildfire with no evolutionary process involved is apparently ridiculously low, that's why they've been doing the gain of function research, to speed that process up, in the area of China that hardly anybody disagrees this virus arose from, naturally or otherwise. I've listened to discussions on this and I'm quite satisfied that the nature theory was an attempt at a cover up. It's now a question of how it got out the lab, not if.

[Magpies1959]

It makes a change to watch a news channel where both sides of the story are heard, in a sensible debate, and the public can have their views heard as well. It is no wonder the lefties on here don't like it, as if they hear anything they don't agree with they will try and cancel it.

As I have said on here before, I have no political allegiance, left and right both have good and bad ideas, but in my eyes GB News has brought some balance to the reporting of news and tells some news stories that the BBC, ITV and Sky would want to keep hush hushed.

They also have a light hearted programme looking at the news headlines, which takes the p*ss out of both Tory and Labour, very refreshing. A bit like Have I Got News for You, before it became a bash the Tories vehicle.

[Newish Pie]

I think it's widely accepted now that it did come out of a lab, aside from the New York Times running a story earlier this year based on a garbage paper that's been thoroughly debunked as totally unscientific.
To have a virus of this type occur in nature and move from animal to human and then immediately spread like wildfire with no evolutionary process involved is apparently ridiculously low, that's why they've been doing the gain of function research, to speed that process up, in the area of China that hardly anybody disagrees this virus arose from, naturally or otherwise. I've listened to discussions on this and I'm quite satisfied that the nature theory was an attempt at a cover up. It's now a question of how it got out the lab, not if.

No, it's not widely accepted among reputable scientists that the virus came from a lab. That's absolutely not the scientific consensus.

[Bushwacka]

I see NCM's own Brendan Clarke-Smith has been cited amongst a group of MP's (the usual suspects, Dorries, Rees-Mogg, Fabricant, Goldsmith etc.) accused of intimidation and interference into an official Commons investigation (Johnson's lying to Parliament).

Why do these people hate our country so much?

[drillerpie]

No, it's not widely accepted among reputable scientists that the virus came from a lab. That's absolutely not the scientific consensus.

I think anyone who doesn't consider it a serious possibility is burying their heads in the sand.

Even the Guardian has backpedalled from calling it 'Donald Trump's racist conspiracy theory' to talking about it as a very realistic hypothesis.

I don't have time to look for it now but if anyone can post a link to Sam Harris's podcast from a few months ago on the topic, it makes a very compelling case.

In case anyone wants to head that off by saying the sources are not credible, Sam Harris is a pro-vaccine ultra rationalist and one of his guests is an acclaimed science writer and ex member of the House of Lords who sat on scientific select committees.

[drillerpie]

I see NCM's own Brendan Clarke-Smith has been cited amongst a group of MP's (the usual suspects, Dorries, Rees-Mogg, Fabricant, Goldsmith etc.) accused of intimidation and interference into an official Commons investigation (Johnson's lying to Parliament).

Why do these people hate our country so much?

Because they are childish people playing silly games for short term personal gain, and they either can't see or don't care about the long term damage to the country.

[Jampie]

IIRC the US intelligence community is still split on whether it came out of a lab or evolved naturally, and so am I based on available evidence (not conclusive either way).

Mind you I understand the instinct to disagree with everything Trump says, he's got a spectacular track record of being dead wrong about nearly everything, but particularly about covid-19...

[Elite_Pie]

I see NCM's own Brendan Clarke-Smith has been cited amongst a group of MP's (the usual suspects, Dorries, Rees-Mogg, Fabricant, Goldsmith etc.) accused of intimidation and interference into an official Commons investigation (Johnson's lying to Parliament).

Why do these people hate our country so much?

I don’t think they particularly hate the country. They just want to keep it a country where those with wealth and privilege tell the rest what to do, and do the opposite themselves.

[Magpies1959]

Of course the virus spread from a pangolin to a human in a Chinese wet market in Wuhan. How grateful should we be that those caring thoughtful Chinese, should happen to have all the PPE the rest of the world needed, on tap, ready and waiting.

[Newish Pie]

I think anyone who doesn't consider it a serious possibility is burying their heads in the sand.

Even the Guardian has backpedalled from calling it 'Donald Trump's racist conspiracy theory' to talking about it as a very realistic hypothesis.

I don't have time to look for it now but if anyone can post a link to Sam Harris's podcast from a few months ago on the topic, it makes a very compelling case.

In case anyone wants to head that off by saying the sources are not credible, Sam Harris is a pro-vaccine ultra rationalist and one of his guests is an acclaimed science writer and ex member of the House of Lords who sat on scientific select committees.

Don't disagree with that. It's a possibility that shouldn't be completely discounted, though there's no direct evidence for it at the moment and nothing in the virus that points to genetic engineering.

My point was just that the theory that it might be a lab leak is not widely accepted by scientists, or even anywhere close.

But I definitely agree that the mood music around it has changed over the years in exactly the way that drillerpie describes, and it's now taken more seriously.