Comments by "L.W. Paradis" (@l.w.paradis2108) on "China BACKS DOWN On 'Zero-Covid' After Massive Protests, Cites Weaker Variants And Vaccination Rates" video.

@davesears9681 Oh. So we do agree. Though I'm less pessimistic about the last part. I'm old enough to remember a time when this could not have passed. That change in our culture is what worries me the most by far.
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@rsaggar All on the table, sure. Even intelligent speculation is better than pretending that the questions are not well founded.
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@rsaggar The saddest part for me was how easy this was. People in the US simply went along, or, in some cases, became crazed. But a lucid, measured, and principled opposition? I didn't see much evidence of that.
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@rsaggar So well said. Thanks for this great conversation.
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Amen. But you won't get up votes for asking real questions.
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@mkhud50n They are almost certainly hiding the origins of the virus. They did hide the initial outbreak. I'm more interested in what else they are not telling the rest of the world, that they have an obligation to tell. I was opposed to the lockdowns, by the way. Early (by Feb 1), short, and really hard may have made a difference. Mid-March to June 1 was just torment and economic ruin for millions, with very limited benefit, if any, and side effects we are still suffering from, including poor mental health, irrational fear, and the willingness to do anything they tell us to do to avoid another lockdown. The unethical and probably illegal vaccine mandates were a product of the irrational fear of COVID and of new lockdowns.
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Defending them? She asked an excellent, very pointed question: do the Chinese know something about this virus that they are not sharing? Because we have very good reason to believe there is at least one thing they knew and didn't share, namely how the virus originated. Notice how in your rush to call out Briahna, you missed the question and the fact that we don't know the answer. Robbie was the one blathering, rather than acknowledging that China is an authoritarian country and that COVID's origins -- time, place, and manner -- may not be all they are covering up, still.
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@giamhecl She isn't defending them. She asked a very good question. What do they know that they are not sharing? Is there something important that they are still hiding, and that they need to be telling the rest of the world about? Does it seem to you like the answer is no?
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@davesears9681 Timestamp that. So, we rely on CHINA to tell us the truth? I thought we had superior intelligence capabilities, technology and all that. Wow, a suspicious husband knows to hire a private detective, but we need China to answer our questions.
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@davesears9681 I think most of us who are deeply suspicious of the origins of the virus, and the wisdom of the response in literally every country (why did Sweden and China represent extremes, and what can we learn from each), and the fact that certain vaccines were licensed only in certain countries and not others (for this huge, epic emergency where people were coerced and "every minute counted") have a lot of common ground.
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@davesears9681 Anyway, I still have a lot of questions, as you can tell. Not that I'm holding my breath, either, but . . . well.
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@davesears9681 I don't know, and don't think so, but I don't like this whole picture. Unacceptable risks, likely undertaken because of corruption, an accident, and very serious incentives to hide the accident and then to find ways to use the event as an opportunity -- sure. It would hardly be a new phenomenon. This kind of the game plan. FTX and the 2008 financial crisis both worked a lot like that, and they had nothing to do with viruses. It's a very generic pattern, isn't it? FTX likely had more intent behind it than a legitimate accident would, but 2008 definitely has these features. The BP GoM spill, too, had a few of these features. Tony Hayward became a commodities trader after that and made vastly more money. Perverse incentives are structured that way. But anyway, an actual grand conspiracy, instead of mini-conspiracies to cover up misdeeds along the way, is not impossible. I don't think there was anything like that going on, but I would never say you're wrong. I keep questions open until I'm really satisfied that I have a true answer, or that I'll never have an answer. :/
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@davesears9681 The Fauci-Collins emails are exactly what I mean. They had a huge incentive to cover up any inquiry concerning Wuhan once people raised the question. I mean, you can consider this type of research itself as "conspiratorial" in one sense, because ordinary people are never consulted or even informed, and yet Fauci et al. know full well they are making decisions with asymmetric risks and benefits -- more risk for us, more benefit for them. As soon as Obama paused funding of gain of function research, the busy bees looked for ways to define what they were doing as being outside the moratorium, and they all agreed it was (moratorium on funding is the weakest control anyway, if you can call it control). A lot of people made money from this tragedy. Follow the money. They were poised to take advantage of it from the start.
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@davesears9681 I also want to know why China has rejected mRNA vaccines. Are they alone in this decision? I don't assume they had a good scientific reason, I wouldn't know that and wouldn't want to speculate. I just want to know the reason. Some reports have said that the Chinese vaccines are almost as effective and considerably safer than the ones used in the US and EU. Some have said the same about Sputnik V. I don't have an opinion. I'd like some facts; it could be interesting to have some. Why is a global emergency so politicized?
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@davesears9681 See what happens when you start asking questions. They multiply like rabbits.
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@rsaggar Irony: I saw your post while listening to Alina Chan being interviewed by Russell Brand. She is a molecular biologist at Harvard and MIT, and received a number of death threats for stating the obvious about where the virus may have originated. There was a concerted campaign by some affiliated with the Chinese government to discredit her as well. A lot of what has happened here has the flavor of an experiment, to see how far they can push us. :/ As far as Briahna's commentary on this video goes, my focus went straight for the important stuff: do they know more about the virus that they need to be sharing, even if it is something we can find out anyway, through our own research or our intelligence services? Do they have some non-political reason for not approving mRNA for use in their country? I can believe that the answers are no and no -- if indeed they are.
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@rsaggar Agreed completely about origins; not as sure about vaccines, as I have family in an area that offered a variety of vaccines, including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, and Sinovac, and many chose Sinovac. My family got Pfizer as soon as they could, had no hesitancy at all about getting vaccinated, and now acknowledge the vaccines were a disappointment. Doctors in their region do not recommend boosters for the time being except for those with comorbidities or, of course, for those age 70 and older. They live in a non-ideological society in southern Europe, where saying stuff like this is not a cause for controversy, much less "cancellation." This is all "matter-of-fact" for them. The safety/efficacy profile of each of the major vaccines is still something we don't have enough solid information about. You have got to wonder why. Great talking to you, and it is heartening to hear that people still remember that brave Chinese doctor who went public, then died.
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I also wonder why China instituted actual, complete lockdowns, as you see done in prisons. Do they know something about the virus that they are not sharing? I mean, apart from its origins (which they probably knew all along). I love how no one can ask questions. All questions are "questions." All questions have to be probed for their "subtext," so that we can categorize the speaker and call them out.
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Bri is asking a question. I also wonder why China instituted actual, complete lockdowns, as is done in prisons. Do they know something about the virus that they are not sharing? I mean, apart from its origins. Is that possible? Americans can't ask questions anymore, apparently. Separate the question from the person and what you think of her.
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It is never ignorant to ask a pointed question. I also wonder why China instituted actual, complete lockdowns, like you see in prisons. Do they know something about the virus that they are not sharing? I mean, apart from its origins, which they probably knew all along. I love how no one can ask questions. All questions are "questions." All questions have to be probed for their "subtext," so that we can label the speaker and call them out. In the meantime, funny how we missed the fact that we don't know the answer. Robbie was the one blathering, rather than acknowledging that China is an authoritarian country, that they have very likely covered up the virus origins, and that COVID origins may not be all they are covering up.
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@onefreepalestine Exactly. I also wonder why China instituted actual, complete lockdowns, as you see done in prisons. Do they know something about the virus that they are not sharing? I mean, apart from its origins, which they probably knew all along. I love how no one can ask questions. All questions are "questions." All questions have to be probed for their "subtext," so that we can categorize the speaker and call them out -- and bury the question in the meantime. It's about personal condemnation, not about learning the truth about anything. This isn't working out too well. I'm waiting for one of these freedom fighters to grasp what they're actually doing.
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Thinks what? She asked a good question. I also wonder why China instituted actual, complete lockdowns, as is done in prisons. Do they know something about the virus that they are not sharing? I mean, apart from its origins.
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@mkhud50n You'd have to timestamp that. I latched on to the important stuff -- like how much are they failing to share.
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@vainezaiven6677 Okay. And I do think the questions are very much worth asking. I don't presume they do or don't know more than they are sharing -- I don't know either way. I don't expect answers from China, but I do from our intelligence services. The notion that they have certain scientific details on point because their lab was the origin of the virus strikes me as possible. That they did before anyone else, even more so.
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@vainezaiven6677 I saw your post while listening to Alina Chan being interviewed by Russell Brand. She is a molecular biologist at Harvard and MIT, and received a number of death threats for stating the obvious about where the virus may have originated. There was a concerted campaign by some affiliated with the Chinese government to discredit her and smear her as a scientist. Chan talks about all the data that China to this day refuses to share, though its relevance appears to be primarily related to virus origins. The issue has been so politicized here as well that I'm no longer so sure that those who need certain information have it, or are treating the information they do have objectively and dispassionately. Pretty much our worst suspicions are being confirmed daily. That's how I think about this.
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I also wonder exactly why China had literal lockdowns. Do they know something about the virus that we don't?
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@vainezaiven6677 I think that's nonsense. A regime that oppressive has no conscience -- if any political leaders ever do.
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@vainezaiven6677 That makes sense.
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Not what she said. I also wonder why China instituted actual, complete lockdowns, like the kind you see in prisons. Do they know something about the virus that they are not sharing? I mean, apart from its origins, which I suspect they know. Apparently, no one can ask questions anymore. All questions are "questions." Great, keep it up. It's worth it, to get another dig in at Bri.
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Well, you are far from being in charge of your own destiny if this is the fable you spin from Briahna's comments. Someone put you up to that. It is never ignorant to ask a pointed question. I also wonder why China instituted actual, complete lockdowns, like you see in prisons. Do they know something about the virus that they are not sharing? I mean, apart from its origins, which they probably knew all along. Robbie was the one blathering, rather than acknowledging that China is an authoritarian country, that they have very likely covered up the virus origins, and that COVID's origins may not be all they are covering up. I love how no one can ask questions. All questions are "questions." All questions have to be probed for their "subtext," so that we can label the speaker and call them out. In the meantime, funny how we missed the fact that we don't know the answer.
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I also wonder why China instituted actual, complete lockdowns, as you see done in prisons. Do they know something about the virus that they are not sharing? I mean, apart from its origins, which they probably knew all along. I love how no one can ask questions. All questions are "questions." All questions have to be probed for their "subtext," so that we can categorize the speaker and call them out.
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I also wonder why China instituted actual lockdowns, as is done in prisons. Do they know something about the virus that they are not sharing? I mean, apart from origins.
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