Gorilla, 800#, 1 Each

h/t Silicon Graybeard

On SiG's blog last night, this excerpt and ensuing discussion, sourced to commenter and fellow-blogger LL:

"President Xi went on the record, essentially saying that it was an accidental release from their own bug factory yesterday. Some media outlets picked it up. If the White House suggests that it's an engineered product, I think that the DJI will tank and drag a lot of stocks with it."

RTWT. Including LL's original post on the topic.

That may be what happened, and what will, but I think ascribing this as any sort of admission by Xi - yet - goes a teeny bit beyond what can be sourced.

But there's a much bigger problem if the underlying assumption is true, and that China has let a bio-weapon slip past the goalie and hit the streets, worldwide.

Such would pretty much open the ball on economic and diplomatic sanctions and other retaliation against China amongst nuclear powers and expulsion from the UN Security Council, for openers. And then things get ugly.

But let's grant LL's premise, arguendo.

Nota bene the dearth of any authoritative scientific commentary from the CDC, HHS, ASAMRIID, Korea, Japan, Oz, Italy, or WHO, et al, about something that should be rapidly confirmable with nothing more complicated than microscopy and basic biolab analysis, and something that was or should have been known to them all nearly two months ago.

So there would be two possibilities:

A) TPTB are capable (and did) recognize an obvious bio-engineered virus escape into the world at large.
B) TPTB are not capable (and did not) recognize the escape of an obvious bio-engineered virus into the world at large.

Either way, the follow-on conversations should be breathtaking.

I'll grab some chips and a cold drink.
Talk amongst yourselves.



And we repeat for emphasis:
Regardless of the biological effects of this virus, and the potential for direct pandemic results, or not, the second- and third order effects are likely to be far, far more significant, far-reaching, and long-lasting.

If you aren't mentally playing 14D chess with this stuff in your heads, you're already behind the curve.