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>> We are not going to let this ruin trade relations even more ($$$ LOL) so you're just going to have to forget about it. > If lab leak is confirmed the correc

>> We are not going to let this ruin trade relations even more ($$$ LOL) so you're just going to have to forget about it. > If lab leak is confirmed the correct course of action is to design new systems and protocols to prevent such a thing from happening again in the future I'm not sure why people choose to assume their simple solutions are somehow insightful. You aren't going to be able to reach into most countries to intervene in any other way than simple sanctions at best. The protocol of "asking country X please knock it off" is not productive, as it's not going to result in any specific change, it hurts trade, and every country is doing it to some degree despite previous agreements on the world stage (basic Game Theory). This is what the GP described, yet someone still thinks that nobody involved, understands "basic engineering". Very smart people do this kind of work with money and lives at stake. Let's give a little rope to people with big responsibilities, to try to understand the motivations rather than assume they are ignorant.

zdragnar 4y ago
If, hypothetically, it did leak from a lab, there are two important things that should happen: 1- China has suffered more than enough to revaluate protocols around virus handling. The pandemic has done more to undermine confidence in their government than anything else in decades. They've got plenty of reason to be invested in change if change is warranted 2- The US government could put stronger regulations in place around funding companies that turn around and fund foreign labs (such as ecohealth) unless those projects can demonstrate compliance with new, safer protocols. What you call simple sanctions, I call the power of the purse. All of this happens only if we determine whether the existing protocols, or lax enforcement of them, gave rise to the spread of the virus. Just shrugging it off and saying "meh, it's hard so why bother" is a recipe for future man-made disasters.

zdragnar 4y ago

If, hypothetically, it did leak from a lab, there are two important things that should happen: 1- China has suffered more than enough to revaluate protocols around virus handling. The pandemic has done more to undermine confidence in their government than anything else in decades. They've got plenty of reason to be invested in change if change is warranted 2- The US government could put stronger regulations in place around funding companies that turn around and fund foreign labs (such as ecohealth) unless those projects can demonstrate compliance with new, safer protocols. What you call simple sanctions, I call the power of the purse. All of this happens only if we determine whether the existing protocols, or lax enforcement of them, gave rise to the spread of the virus. Just shrugging it off and saying "meh, it's hard so why bother" is a recipe for future man-made disasters.