1:30 PM 8/21/202 - Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks: A Defense Expert Explores Whether The Covid-19 Coronavirus Makes A Good Bioweapon - Forbes
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| A Defense Expert Explores Whether The Covid-19 Coronavirus Makes A Good Bioweapon |
Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks℠ | In Brief |
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| Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks | |||||||||||||
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| A Defense Expert Explores Whether The Covid-19 Coronavirus Makes A Good Bioweapon | |||||||||||||
Dr. Mark Kortepeter, a physician and biodefense expert who formerly worked at the U.S. Army hot zone research lab, looks at what kind of diseases make for a good biological weapon and whether Covid-19 falls into that category.
Chinese authorities allowed reporters into the Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratory last week in a belated attempt to disprove conspiracy theories that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, originated in the lab. However, such openness, months after the pandemic has spread across the globe may do little to allay the conspiracy theories that the release was a deliberate act of bioterrorism by China. Whether or not someone believes these conspiracy theories, it is instructive to consider whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus would make a so-called good biological weapon. Many countries around the world (including the United States, Iraq, former Soviet Union, United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada) used to have biological weapons programs, and some others (China, North Korea, and Iran) are suspected of continuing to develop biological weapons. Biological warfare involves the use infectious pathogens or toxins from living organisms to cause death or disability in humans, animals, or plants. Deployment of a weapon can range from something as simple as contaminating an adversarys water source with feces or a dead carcass, to spraying a highly sophisticated engineered pathogen across a battlefield. Although we often consider humans as the targets, bioweapons can also be employed with devastating economic effects on animals or plants. Just imagine the potential impact from wiping out an adversarys pig production or wheat fields on its ability to feed its army.
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MORE FROM FORBESDid Covid-19 Come From A Lab? Was It Deliberate Bioterrorism? A Biodefense Expert Explores The CluesBy Mark KortepeterToday, I will focus solely on bioweapon use against humans. Although there are thousands of pathogens that infect humans, there are only a few that make the cut as good weapons. The CDC categorizes the highest threat agents for bioterrorism as Category A. Diseases in this category have the ability to exact a large public health toll, thus requiring an investment in response measures. Many of the names on the list are readily recognizable for the human suffering they have caused over centuries: anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fevers (including Ebola and Marburg viruses).Some of the agents listed above share certain properties that state-funded programs considered desirable for use as a weapon. Soviet scientists even had a scoring system for these properties. Heres what those properties are, and how SARS-CoV-2 lines up within them. Easy To Access: Except for smallpox, which has been eradicated and is now locked up in freezers at the CDC in Atlanta and in Russia, all of the category A threats are relatively easy to get ahold of. This is certainly the case for SARS-CoV-2, currently readily available across the world. Easy To Manufacture: Most category A agents can be manufactured in large quantities so they can be sprayed over a battlefield or large population. Making biological weapons requires either fermentation technology (similar to whats used to make beer) or production in cell culture. Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 are harder to grow than bacteria (like anthrax spores), but it can be done. Stable In The Atmosphere. This is a key property for a bioweapon in order for it to be used on a battlefield or against a large population (though not as important for smaller attacks or assassination attempts). SARS-CoV-2 fails when it comes to this criterion. Although it appears to spread very efficiently in indoor environments, it does not appear to survive well outdoors, especially in sunlight. Only A Small Number Is Needed To Spread Widely. If a small number of viruses, bacteria or fungi are needed to infect a single person and therefore cause a widespread infection, thats ideal for making a weapon that can cover a larger area. Right now, the jury is still out on how many organisms are needed to infect with SARS-CoV-2, so its not clear how it lines up. A High Percentage Of Infected People Become Ill. One key aspect of any weapon is predictability. If only a few people who are infected become ill, the effect of the pathogen is not reliable enough to base military response plans on it. SARS-CoV-2 virus doesnt fare well on this property. A high percentage, up to 40% or so, appear to have asymptomatic infection. In addition, individuals aged 18-24, which make up a large proportion of the military population, may only be mildly affected. That means, an army couldnt spray the opposing forces on a hilltop with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and expect them to get sick enough to allow for an easy attack. Users Of The Bioweapon Can Be Protected. Use of biological weapons can be unpredictable. If one is released in the air and the wind blows in the wrong direction, ones own forces could be infected. Hence the need to have a vaccine or treatment to protect your forces. Currently we have no magic bullet for COVID-19 and no vaccine. Although Russia announced recently that it has a vaccine, whether it actually protects against infection is another story. Many other vaccine candidates are currently at various stages of human testing around the world. The Threat Of Use Can Cause Panic. This can be effective if the intent is to cause havoc from the threat alone. Certainly, we have seen the devastating social impact that has occurred as a result of SARS-CoV-2, as people fear getting infected in the workplace, schools, or in other community areas, so it gets a plus for this property. It Is Contagious. This property can be a double-edged sword. Once released, a bioweapon can be the gift that keeps on giving as it spreads efficiently through the opposing army or nation. It also means the pathogen can spread back to the country that released it if it doesnt have a countermeasure. We have witnessed this challenge firsthand with SARS-CoV-2, and how difficult it has been to contain once it gets into a population. Overall, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has some desirable properties as a bioweapon, but probably not enough to make it a good choice for military purposes. Regardless, it has certainly reminded us of our vulnerabilities as a society to a new pathogen, and how crippling a pandemic can be, as we continue to watch the entire world grappling with how to contain it. I have no doubt that our adversaries have been taking notes on how challenging it has been for the US to respond effectively. The other important thing this pandemic has demonstrated is that once the genie escapes the bottle, it is nearly impossible to put it back in. We lose control and the results are unpredictable. This is one reason the US got out of the bioweapon business when President Nixon shut down the weapons development program in 1969 and decided to focus solely on defensive measures. It is only a matter of time until we face this type of challenge again either from mother nature or an adversary. Now is the time to shore up the vulnerabilities in our preparedness and response that this pandemic has laid bare. Time is not on our side. 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And the cost of a potential weapon such as this is close to zero. ... that the global coronavirus outbreak may increase the use of biological weapons by ... | |||||||||||||
| Saved Stories None: Pigs appear to be immune to SARS-CoV-2 | |||||||||||||
Its caliphate has fallen but the ideology is Google Alert CoronaVirus as Biological Weapon Saved Stories Disease » Saved Stories Disease X ... | |||||||||||||
| 'Achieve-of-Operate' Experiments Lie at Root of the Pandemic | |||||||||||||
However as investigative reporter and bioweapons skilled Sam Husseini ... The creation of COVID-19, engineered by repeatedly passaging a bat ... | |||||||||||||
| Facebook sued over fact-check messages on anti-vaccination posts | |||||||||||||
See also: Facebook pulls video from Trump's page labelling it as COVID-19 ... schemes, and the creation of the novel coronavirus as a bioweapon. | |||||||||||||
| Facebook algorithm 'contributed to fake coronavirus and health news being viewed 3.8bn times' | |||||||||||||
... was criticised after adverts featuring claims 5G phone signals have caused the coronavirus, links to allegations the virus is an escaped bioweapon, ... | |||||||||||||
| A Defense Expert Explores Whether The Covid-19 Coronavirus Makes A Good Bioweapon | |||||||||||||
Dr. Mark Kortepeter, a physician and biodefense expert who formerly worked at the U.S. Army hot zone research lab, looks at what kind of diseases ... | |||||||||||||
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An Italian decree states that people are not allowed to dance in public through Sept. 7, 2020 due to coronavirus concerns. U.S. bases in the country ... | |||||||||||||
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Primarily, the virus is driving the member states apart. Lehne this week was visiting his summer home in the Italian hilltop town of Orvieto. When he ... | |||||||||||||
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| Forensic assessment may be based on common sense assumptions rather than science. | |||||||||||||
Int J Law Psychiatry. 2020 Jul - Aug;71:101607 Authors: Areh I Abstract Forensic assessments must be scientifically founded, because courts should obtain expert evidence with acceptable evidential value. In Slovenia, professional guidelines of forensic personality assessment are too general and not always in line with international professional recommendations. Thus, experts have no strict guidelines which would lead them to scientifically grounded expert opinions. The aim of the research was to establish which tests are employed in forensic assessment in Slovenia and to what extent the professional guidelines for expert opinions are followed. A total of 166 forensic personality assessments were reviewed, representing the majority of expert opinions issued in the period 2003-2018. The results of the analysis revealed that questionable projective tests are most commonly used. Typically, an expert opinion was rendered based on two tests, at least one of which was projective. What is more, expert opinions did not include hypotheses, in-text citations, reference lists, or proof of the expert witness's competence. The tests and their results were mentioned briefly and inadequately, without mention of their reliability and validity. Possible malingering of the person being evaluated was not detected. Professional guidelines were not followed and non-standardized tests without normative values and of questionable scientific merit were predominantly used, despite lack of proof that they truly measure what they claim to be measuring. These findings significantly differ from the results of similar research, raising serious concerns over the credibility of expert opinions in Slovenia. PMID: 32768107 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] | |||||||||||||
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| 7:09 AM 8/20/2020 - Warren at DNC: "our economic system has been rigged to give bailouts to billionaires" - Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks | |||||||||||||
From: CBSNewsOnline
Duration: 05:27 7:09 AM 8/20/2020 Warren at DNC: "our economic system has been rigged to give bailouts to billionaires" __________________________________________________________________ Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks | In Brief | -
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| Hillary Clinton at DNC: "I wish Donald Trump had been a better president" | |||||||||||||
From: CBSNewsOnline
Duration: 06:45
2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton slammed President Trump in her speech on Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention, and said that "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are going to give us so much more to vote for." "Let's set our sights higher than getting one man out of the White House," she said. Watch her speech.
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| California wildfires force tens of thousands to flee their homes | |||||||||||||
From: france24english
Duration: 01:28
Crews worked in blistering heat Wednesday to beat back wildfires that ignited across Northern California, sending thousands of people from their homes into smoky air, briefly halting traffic on an interstate and killing a pilot on a firefighting mission.
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| Russian opposition leader Navalny in coma after allegedly being poisoned | DW News | |||||||||||||
From: deutschewelleenglish
Duration: 02:46
A spokeswoman for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says he's in a coma in hospital after apparently being poisoned. Navalny was on a flight back to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk when he started feeling unwell, prompting the plane to make an emergency landing.
The lawyer and anti-corruption activist, who is well known for his outspoken criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has served several stints in prison for organising anti-Kremlin protests. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish?sub_confirmation=1 For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/ Follow DW on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dw_stories/ Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/channel/deutschewelle #Navalny #Russia  | |||||||||||||
| Russian opposition leader Navalny in serious condition after suspected poisoning | |||||||||||||
From: france24english
Duration: 02:23
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is in a serious condition in a Siberian hospital after suffering symptoms of what his spokeswoman on Thursday said she believed was a deliberate poisoning.
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| Belarus protests: EU says it does not recognise August presidential results | |||||||||||||
From: Euronews
Duration: 06:14
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