Society's Child

Writing in top science journal, experts call for new investigation into origins of covid-19

Noah Carl
Lockdown Sceptics
Tue, 18 May 2021 08:50 UTC

The Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China.

There are two main theories for SARS-CoV-2's origin. One maintains that the virus originated in bats, and then jumped to humans, most likely via an intermediate host species. The other states that the virus originated in a lab, but then accidentally escaped, perhaps due to inadequate safety protocols.

It should be noted that there are two slightly different versions of the latter, "lab leak" theory. One says the virus that escaped was of wholly natural origin; the other says it had been genetically engineered beforehand. In the diagram below, A corresponds to the first version of the lab leak theory and C corresponds to the second; B corresponds to the natural origin theory:

The lab leak theory, you'll recall, was initially dismissed as a "conspiracy" - even though the location of the first outbreak (in proximity to the Wuhan Institute of Virology) suggested it was by no means implausible.

Comment: See also: Tracking the origin of Covid — following the clues

Inside the military's secret undercover army

William M. Arkin
Newsweek
Mon, 17 May 2021 10:30 UTC

© Timothy A. Clary, AFP via Getty Images
Inside the largest undercover force the world has ever known: the one created by the Pentagon, with tens of thousands of soldiers, civilians and contractors operating under false names, on the ground and in cyberspace.

The largest undercover force the world has ever known is the one created by the Pentagon over the past decade. Some 60,000 people now belong to this secret army, many working under masked identities and in low profile, all part of a broad program called "signature reduction." The force, more than ten times the size of the clandestine elements of the CIA, carries out domestic and foreign assignments, both in military uniforms and under civilian cover, in real life and online, sometimes hiding in private businesses and consultancies, some of them household name companies.

The unprecedented shift has placed an ever greater number of soldiers, civilians, and contractors working under false identities, partly as a natural result in the growth of secret special forces but also as an intentional response to the challenges of traveling and operating in an increasingly transparent world. The explosion of Pentagon cyber warfare, moreover, has led to thousands of spies who carry out their day-to-day work in various made-up personas, the very type of nefarious operations the United States decries when Russian and Chinese spies do the same.

Newsweek's exclusive report on this secret world is the result of a two-year investigation involving the examination of over 600 resumes and 1,000 job postings, dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests, and scores of interviews with participants and defense decision-makers. What emerges is a window into not just a little-known sector of the American military, but also a completely unregulated practice. No one knows the program's total size, and the explosion of signature reduction has never been examined for its impact on military policies and culture. Congress has never held a hearing on the subject. And yet the military developing this gigantic clandestine force challenges U.S. laws, the Geneva Conventions, the code of military conduct and basic accountability.

Comment: See also:

Ride of your life - SFO robot taxicab escapes handlers

Eric Worrall
Watts Up With That
Wed, 19 May 2021 01:14 UTC

Citizen reporter Joel Johnson documenting some of his hair raising experiences in San Francisco robot taxicabs. Includes video.

Waymo self-driving robotaxi goes rogue with passenger inside, escapes support staff

We speak to man who experienced and recorded wild ride first hand

Thomas Claburn in San Francisco Mon 17 May 2021 // 20:51 UTC

A Waymo self-driving car got stuck several times, held up traffic intermittently, and departed unexpectedly when assistance arrived. The wayward autonomous vehicle was finally commandeered by a support driver.

Joel Johnson has recorded several dozen videos documenting his rides in Waymo robotaxis which he posts to his website and YouTube Channel.

...

Johnson is advised to remain seated with his seat belt fastened in case the car starts moving again, which it does: about four minutes later, the car decides to turn into the unblocked lefthand southbound land, only to swerve back into the right hand lane between two traffic cones after passing the "Keep Left" sign that directs drivers not to be in that lane.

"Oh, I don't think it was supposed to do that," Johnson said to the Waymo operator, still on the line. "...Oh now, it's blocking the entire road."

A few minutes later, the car reverses into the open left-hand lane.

"Okay, so we 're backing out," said Johnson. "Very interesting."

"So it backed out...," the operator said.

"And then now it's blocking the whole lane instead of half of it," Johnson replied.

Read the rest of the article.

'Amazon Unbound' perfectly charts Bezos' journey from bookselling nerd to untamable egomaniac whose mission is to 'save mankind'

Damian Wilson
RT
Tue, 18 May 2021 23:24 UTC

A new book explains how the world's richest man is pursuing wild interplanetary plans funded by an army of Chinese online sellers, sponsored adverts and Hollywood movies. It'll make you want to cancel your Prime subscription.

When megabucks gazillionaire Jeff Bezos began including helicopter pads in the building plans for Amazon's ever-expanding property empire, it was a sure sign that the man who turned bookselling into the biggest business on the planet had broken free of his moorings.

Bug-eyed Bezos was smitten with the new woman in his life, TV host Lauren Sanchez, a newly-qualified helicopter pilot, so it meant plans for a second Amazon headquarters in Long Island City - a decision later reversed - and even the massive luxury yacht being built for the couple under close guard in Rotterdam just simply must have space to land a helicopter.

Of course the game was up instantly, as author Brad Stone notes in the freshly-published "Amazon Unbound", because while the business giant had untold reach across the internet, provided cloud services worth billions and produced hit Hollywood movies, there were no helicopters within his company. After all, what sort of frugal, down-to-earth, man-of-the-people uses a helicopter for that commute to work?

But Bezos was no longer that man, despite what the huge staff of Amazon's PR department might wish anyone to believe. And it's not the TV star girlfriend, the newly-pumped biceps or the wish to soar above the choking traffic of the poor people below that signalled Jeff Bezos had arrived on a different plane.

Social media platform Parler returns to Apple's app store

Ryan Lovelace
The Washington Times
Mon, 17 May 2021 23:41 UTC

The conservative social media platform Parler is again available for download in the App Store, several months after Apple booted the platform's app off its service.

Apple and Google removed Parler from their app stores in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, citing concerns about future violence. Amazon Web Services took Parler offline.

Parler has since returned to the web and returned to Apple's App Store on Monday.

Apple said in an April letter to Congress that it was preparing for the app's return but stood by its ban as the correct decision.

The app was popular with supporters of former President Donald Trump, who remains booted from more prominent platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Facebook's Oversight Board this month pushed the company to reassess its ban of Mr. Trump within six months.

Steven Crowder may win his fight with YouTube... but it won't be a turning point for censored conservatives

Micah Curtis
RT
Tue, 18 May 2021 23:14 UTC

Conservative comedian Steven Crowder is suing YouTube for removing his videos. He may have a credible case, but until Section 230 protection is removed, the outcome is unlikely to help others on the right who've been targeted.

Over the course of the last decade, Steven Crowder has become one of the biggest names in conservative media. Hosting one of the few shows anywhere that could be considered a conservative alternative to late night TV, Crowder's main platform has been YouTube, as opposed to a major network. However, as time has passed, there have been more and more problems between Crowder and the platform.

Since making a big comeback this year after some health issues, Crowder has found himself with several strikes against his channel, based on the YouTube terms of service. Crowder himself is disputing YouTube's claims, and his cases do appear to have some merit.

The first dispute was in regards to a video he did on election fraud. During the course of it he pointed out several voting discrepancies, but his video was flagged as spreading misleading information about the 2020 presidential election. However, he did not state in the video that he felt the election result needed to be overturned. The purpose of the video simply seemed to be to point out how the American voting system could be manipulated, which has been a major worry of many conservatives.

Matt Gaetz associate pleads guilty to 6 federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a minor

Mychael Schnell
The Hill
Mon, 17 May 2021 22:48 UTC

Joel Greenberg, an associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), pled guilty to six federal crimes on Monday, including sex trafficking of a minor, and has entered into a plea deal with prosecutors to cooperate in the Justice Department's investigation into Gaetz.

Greenberg, a former Seminole County, Fla., tax collector, is at the center of the legal investigation looking into Gaetz and allegations against him involving sex crimes.

Greenberg admitted, as part of his plea deal, that he recruited women for commercial sex acts and paid them more than $70,000 between 2016 and 2018, sometimes sending money through digital payment services like Venmo.

Prior to the plea agreement, Greenberg had been facing 33 federal criminal charges.

Greenberg also admitted to paying at least one underage girl to have sex with him and other men.

In the plea agreement, prosecutors also revealed that Greenberg introduced the underage girl to others who "engaged in commercial sex acts" with her as well. The document, however, does not identify the other individuals.

Gaza death toll hits 200 - Biden continues blocking UN call for ceasefire - Palestinians call for general strike UPDATES

Mondoweiss
Mon, 17 May 2021 00:00 UTC

The Latest:

Gaza death toll hits 212, including 61 children and over 1,400 injuries, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health; 17 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank.
10 Israeli casualties, including one child.
According to UN OCHA on May 16, there are 38,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) seeking protection in 48 UNRWA schools across Gaza. Over 2,500 people have been made homeless due to the destruction of their homes.
The Biden Administration is reportedly blocking a UN Security Council statement calling for a ceasefire for the third time. This reflects a traditional pattern on the part of the U.S.: Israel "feels it needs" to destroy a certain amount of opposition in Gaza before the U.S. will join calls on it to cease fire, Barbara Plett Usher observed on BBC today.
Thirty Senators, almost all Democrats, have signed a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire "to prevent any further loss of civilian life and to prevent further escalation of conflict in Israel and the Palestinian Territories."
That letter and the news and political climate in the United States are "dangerous" signs to Israel about its operations, Chuck Freilich, a former national security aide in Israel, said today on i24 News. The letter equates Israel's actions and Hamas's, a sign of a "collapse" in sympathy for Israel on the Democratic side in the U.S. Today it is hard to find a young Democrat who supports Israel, and a similar trend is occurring inside the Jewish community, Freilich warned.

- updated 6:41 pm GMT

Palestinians call for massive general strike throughout historic Palestine on May 18:

Comment: And the carnage in Gaza continues unabated as Hamas fights back:

Update 16/5/2021 12:16 Israel stages new round of heavy airstrikes as Hamas continues to fire rockets from Gaza.

© Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images.jpg
Gaza City after Israeli airstrike Monday, May 17, 2021
Sunday's airstrikes hit a busy downtown street of residential buildings and storefronts over the course of five minutes just after midnight. The Gaza Health Ministry said 16 women and 10 children were among those killed, with more than 50 people wounded. The main coastal road west of Gaza City, security compounds and open spaces were among the targets hit and damaged a line feeding electricity from the only power plant to large parts of southern Gaza City. It was was the deadliest single attack.

Update 17/5/2021 8:01 Israel downplays Palestinian response:

Israeli military claimed only 60 rockets had been fired at Israeli cities from Gaza a decrease from 120-200 the previous nights. Recent Israeli airstrikes destroyed 15 kilometres of militant tunnels and the homes of nine alleged Hamas commanders, though they were unlikely to be home at the time due to going underground when the fighting began.

Update 17/5/2021 10:08 Blinken claims he has yet to see evidence of Hamas operating from the media building struck down by Israel:

Blinken, while delivering remarks in Copenhagen, said he has asked Israel for evidence to bolster its claim that Hamas was operating in the building, according to the AP. He said that he personally has "not seen any information provided."

Netanyahu, in a Sunday interview, told host John Dickerson on CBS's Face the Nation that an intelligence office for Hamas, that plots and organizes the terror attacks against Israeli civilians, was housed in that building "so it is a perfectly legitimate target."

Update 17/5/2021 11:32 Israeli Air Force and Navy attack Hamas submarine off the coast of Gaza:

The IDF released footage showing the destruction of an "unmanned diver vessel" in the northern Gaza Strip, with the footage said to be filmed Monday.

Update 17/5/2021 11:56 Netanyahu vows no end to conflict as a a top Islamic Jihad commander is killed by Israeli airstrike:

Israel claims: It has neutralized more than 130 terrorists in the last week, while Palestinian militant groups had fired more than 3,150 missiles at Israel, killing 10. IDF said that Hussam Abu Harbeed, Islamic Jihad's northern division commander of 15 years, had been killed in an airstrike. The tweet was accompanied by a video of the attack on Abu Harbeed's compound:

Update 17/5/2021 14:11 Mixed message. US Secretary of State claims US is working behind the scenes to end violence while intending to sell $735M worth of bombs to Israel:

Blinken announced on Monday the Biden administration was working "intensely," in a "behind the scenes" effort to restore peace to the region. "We are ready to lend support if the parties... seek a ceasefire," as the Biden administration is pressing ahead with a massive arms sale to Israel.

The bulk of the shipment consists of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMS) kits. These kits bolt onto ordinary 'dumb' bombs, transforming them into precision-guided munitions. Lawmakers have 20 days to object. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin): "US aid should not be funding" Israel's military activities.

Update 17/5/2021 14:18 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeals to Pope Francis to help end the massacre as Tehran weighed in:

Erdogan told the Pope that:
"all of humanity should be united against" Israel and should punish it for its "savagery. Palestinians will continue to be subjected to a massacre unless the international community punishes Israel... with sanctions."
Pope Francis described the mounting death toll as:
"terrible and unacceptable." "In these days, violent armed clashes between the Gaza Strip and Israel have taken over, and risk degenerating into a spiral of death and destruction."
Tehran reiterated its support for Palestine:
"The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the new round of brutal aggression by the Zionist regime against the defenseless people of Palestine and the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in the martyrdom of dozens of civilians, including women and children, and the destruction of many residential buildings."

Update 17/5/2021 14:34 Lavrov condemns the attacks pledging help with peace negotiations:

© Said Khatib/AFP/Sputnik/Press Service of the Russian Foreign Ministry
Russian FM Sergey Lavrov • Israeli airstrike on Rafah, Gaza Strip

"We condemn the strikes that are being launched from the Gaza Strip to residential areas [in Israel']. We also, of course, condemn the completely unacceptable strikes on civilian targets in the Palestinian territories.

"Now, everything depends on the negotiability of the parties and their goodwill. We will do everything to help them find agreements to calm down the present, extremely dangerous, hot phase of the conflict and to start direct negotiations as soon as possible."

Update 17/5/2021 17:44 Tel Aviv supposedly gave US 'smoking gun' evidence of Hamas presence in razed media tower according to The Jerusalem Post and anonymous sources, however this is not verified.

The owner of the building was left with rubble.

US approves release of oldest Guantanamo prisoner

Ben Fox
Navy Times
Mon, 17 May 2021 00:00 UTC

A 73-year-old from Pakistan who is the oldest prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center was notified on Monday that he has been approved for release after more than 16 years in custody at the U.S. base in Cuba, his lawyer said.

Saifullah Paracha, who has been held on suspicion of ties to al-Qaida but never charged with a crime, was cleared by the prisoner review board along with two other men, said Shelby Sullivan-Bennis, who represented him at his hearing in November.

As is customary, the notification did not provide detailed reasoning for the decision and concluded only that Paracha is "not a continuing threat" to the U.S., Sullivan-Bennis said.

It does not mean his release is imminent. But it is a crucial step before the U.S. government negotiates a repatriation agreement with Pakistan for his return. President Joe Biden's administration has said it intends to resume efforts to close the detention center, a process that former President Donald Trump halted.

Paracha's attorney said she thinks he will be returned home in the next several months. "The Pakistanis want him back, and our understanding is that there are no impediments to his return," she said.

A Pentagon spokesman had no immediate comment.

French federation says men can play women's rugby

RFI
Tue, 18 May 2021 18:42 UTC

The French rugby federation (FFR) announced on Monday it will allow transgender women to play women's rugby as of next season, despite guidelines to the contrary from rugby's world governing body. This comes as France and other countries around the world mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

World Rugby, the global governing body for the sport, said last year that after months of research, it had "concluded that safety and fairness cannot presently be assured for women competing against trans women in contact rugby".

It did, however, authorize national federations to implement their own grassroot policies.

The governing body for French rugby, the FFR, has stipulated nonetheless that transgender women "must certify that they have been on hormonal treatment for at least 12 months" and "must not exceed the testosterone threshold of 5 nanomole/litre".

Transgender women still transitioning will therefore be allowed to play women's rugby.

Unanimous decision

The board voted "unanimously" in favour of the authorisations, making the FFR the first of France's national sports federations to allow transgender women to take part in elite sport.

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Society's Child

Writing in top science journal, experts call for new investigation into origins of covid-19

Inside the military's secret undercover army

Ride of your life - SFO robot taxicab escapes handlers

'Amazon Unbound' perfectly charts Bezos' journey from bookselling nerd to untamable egomaniac whose mission is to 'save mankind'

Social media platform Parler returns to Apple's app store

Steven Crowder may win his fight with YouTube... but it won't be a turning point for censored conservatives

Matt Gaetz associate pleads guilty to 6 federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a minor

Gaza death toll hits 200 - Biden continues blocking UN call for ceasefire - Palestinians call for general strike UPDATES

US approves release of oldest Guantanamo prisoner

French federation says men can play women's rugby

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