Tag: Transparency

The Last–And Only–Foreign Scientist in the Wuhan Lab Speaks Out + The US is concealing its research on deadly viruses — while criticizing China’s secrecy over the Wuhan lab

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The Last–And Only–Foreign Scientist in the Wuhan Lab Speaks Out

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The US is concealing its research on deadly viruses — while criticizing China’s secrecy over the Wuhan lab

But the relentless focus on China-based research, and what may have gone wrong there, misses a deeper and more disturbing truth. The vast majority of virology — including the Wuhan study and other gain-of-function research conducted outside the US — is supported by American funding. The training, ethical guidelines, and standards for bioscience adhered to by top researchers worldwide are dominated by US institutions. If it becomes demonstrably true that a cutting-edge laboratory caused a pandemic, either now or in the future, America would deserve the blame, regardless of which country happens to be hosting those experiments.

The U.S. is funding dangerous experiments it doesn’t want you to know about

Near Misses at UNC Chapel Hill’s High-Security Lab Illustrate Risk of Accidents With Coronaviruses

Ex-Google boss slams transparency rules in Europe’s AI bill

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Ex-Google boss slams transparency rules in Europe’s AI bill

The former executive sought to distance himself from the government body he leads, saying “I’m speaking for myself, not for the Commission.” But Schmidt’s criticism echoes divergent approaches to AI by the U.S. and the EU, with the former applying less stringent rules to the tech and its applications than Brussels.

Schmidt said the EU should be an “innovation partner to the U.S.,” in order to be able to compete with China. Instead, “the EU did regulation first and I think that’s a mistake.”

Transparency is bad because then you’ll know that we still spy on you?! 🤷🏼‍♀️

New records show Trump’s DOJ rushed a no-bid contract for lethal injection drugs

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

New records show Trump’s DOJ rushed a no-bid contract for lethal injection drugs

Since then, DOJ has continued full steam ahead despite public resistance and legal challenges, and conducted its business largely in the dark. So far, eight people have been executed since the Trump administration resumed the federal death penalty in July, and five more executions are scheduled before the start of the Biden administration. Rushing these executions in a pandemic has made matters worse: only two of the first seven men put to death had their attorneys present at United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, where executions are being held, during their execution. At least 19 BOP staff and prisoners have contracted COVID-19, as well as two lawyers representing Lisa Montgomery, who is scheduled to be executed on December 8th (a judge has temporarily halted the execution in response). Documents obtained by the ACLU show that the rush of executions likely caused a COVID-19 spike. In July, the ACLU sued to delay the executions, arguing that they were superspreader events. DOJ proceeded anyway.

Evidence the U.S. Is a Dictatorship, Not a Democracy

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Evidence the U.S. Is a Dictatorship, Not a Democracy

By accepting corruption (as conservatives do, since they are devoted to the free market), a person accepts one-dollar-one-vote government, and rejects one-person-one-vote government — one accepts a dictatorship by wealth, and rejects a democracy by the people: by the nation’s residents. So: this difference in support for the aristocracy — the holders of the vast majority of the nation’s wealth — might explain the differences between Republicans and Democrats.