AM Grind: Let's Take a Deep Look at Bio-Labs
AM Grind: Let's Take a Deep Look at Bio-Labs
Not just in Ukraine or Russia . . . WORLDWIDE.
March 16th AM Grind Twitter Space, hosted by Patrick Rafferty, brought to the listeners news from here, there and everywhere plus a particular couple in Congress we need to keep a close eye on.
Though this came in at the end it is quite an eye-opener!
h/t to Chris CRISPR.
Image Credit: GlobalBioLabs.org
A looming biological threat
Boom in labs handling dangerous pathogens not matched by biosafety and biosecurity regulation
According to Dr Filippa Lentzos, Reader and Director MA Science & Int’l Security, King's College London:
The number of labs handling dangerous pathogens has risen to more than
100 around the world but has not been accompanied by sufficient oversight,
raising biosafety and biosecurity concerns.
—-
Our new report, Global Biolabs Report 2023, documents for the first time the current picture around the world and sets out clear recommendations to help address current shortcomings that need to be implemented at the local, national and international level.
There are four types of labs:
Credit image: consteril.com/biosafety-levels-difference
Biosafety Level 3 laboratories, or BSL3 labs, are for work that is supposed to be strictly controlled and registered through the appropriate government agencies. This is where you find testing on: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, certain types of encephalitis viruses, SARS-CoV-1 and -2, MERS-CoV, several species of Brucella, yellow fever virus, West Nile virus just to name a ‘few.’ However, there’s a new lab that adopt additional precautions when carrying out especially risky research.
The report also highlights the rise in use of a new type of high-containment lab, known as 'BSL3+' or ‘BSL3-enhanced’ of which there are 57 around the world – mainly in Europe and most in urban centers. These labs adopt additional precautions when carrying out especially risky research, but there are few guidelines for what constitutes a BSL3+ lab and no evidence that the measures being taken in these facilities are adequate for the research they carry out.
BSL-4 labs work with highly dangerous and exotic microbes - think Ebola and Marburg viruses. Infections from these are fatal and have no known treatment or vaccines. Very few labs of this sort existed until recently.
Global BioLabs Report 2023 found the number of BSL4 labs in operation, under construction or planned has grown by 10 in two years, from 59 across 23 countries in 2021 to 69 across 27 countries. Three quarters of these are in urbanized areas exacerbating
the impact of any accidental releases of pathogens.
AM GRIND NEWS
==>Tragedy continues:
Turkey's death toll from the February 6th 7.8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks is now estimated at 48,000, easily pushing the toll for that quick a month back well above 50,000.
==>It’s still a “Who-done-it” mystery
IF you recall during our original analysis of the Nord Stream pipeline explosions we reported on the significant evidence that the United States was behind the explosions. The U.S. Government rejected it outright as conspiracy and MSM is dutifully ignoring it.
On March 7th, US Intelligence Sees 'Pro-Ukraine Group' behind Nord Stream sabotage.
It started with a boat.
German officials had identified the boat suspected to have been used in the attack, according to the broadcasters ARD, SWR and weekly magazine Zeit.
The yacht in question was said to have been rented out by a company based in Poland, belonging to two Ukrainians, per the German report, which referred only to sources in multiple countries.
However, Brave’s AI scrapped that idea:
US officials have seen new intelligence that indicates a "pro-Ukrainian group" was responsible for the sabotaging last year of the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines, the New York Times reported Tuesday. However, there is no evidence implicating Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in this incident. Brave AI, 03.16.23
Now China has piped up.
Russia-leaning RT International has come out with an article that China is suspicious of 'Ukrainian' Nord Stream sabotage theory. Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was asked about the Ukrainian theory that points to the U.S. and Norway as the culprits:
“We have noted that some Western media have been mysteriously quiet after Hersh reported that the US was behind the Nord Stream blast. But now these media are unusually simultaneous in making their voice heard. How would the US account for such abnormality? Is there anything hidden behind the scene?” Wang said.
President Putin’s response?
Likewise unconvinced. He dismissed as “complete nonsense” the notion that non-state actors could be behind the complex act of sabotage. The attacks could have only been “carried out by specialists and supported by the entire power of a state possessing certain technologies,” he said.
Germany was tagged in the new theory. What say them?
German official raises specter of ‘false flag’
The timing of a new New York Times report putting the blame for pipeline explosions on a rogue "pro-Ukrainian group" is questioned today. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius “warned against premature accusations of responsibility for the attacks. It may just as well have been a false flag operation staged to blame Ukraine, an option brought up in the media reports as well.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock “echoed the same caution, saying investigations by the relevant authorities must be concluded first,” saying Berlin would not “jump to conclusions” until the federal prosecution’s investigation is concluded.
==>We’re not done with Russia yet:
Follow-up to the Russia jets vs US drone:
U.S. European Command said the drone, an MQ-9 Reaper, was flying over international waters when two Russian fighter jets pursued it. The agency said one flew in front of the drone and dumped fuel on it, and one damaged the drone’s propeller, forcing it down
Russian Defense Ministry said the drone intruded in a region near Crimea that it had said is off limits. The ministry said the fighter jets did not fire any weapons, did not come into contact with the unpiloted drone and returned safely to their base.
“As a result of a sharp maneuver, the MQ-9 drone went into unguided flight with a loss of altitude and crashed into the water,” the ministry said.
Remember the sanctions? Are they working?
From PBS Report, Are sanctions against Russia making a difference?, United States Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass:
“While Western-led sanctions may be eroding Russia’s economic base, they have not come close to persuading Putin to reverse his policy.” Some experts say this absence of coercive effectiveness indicates a broader flaw in the sanctions approach, arguing that sanctions too often inflict economic pain on normal citizens without causing the desired behavioral changes in target governments.
The RT also had an article regarding the same subject with a more emotional title, The West thought it would destroy Russia's economy with 'sanctions from hell,' here's why the plan failed:
Moscow has long been accustomed to sanctions pressure, going back to the Soviet days . . . that pressure reached a whole new level last year after Putin launched the military campaign in Ukraine, making Russia the most sanctioned country in the world, ahead of Iran. [verified, see chart] . . . measures have not been enough to cripple the Russian economy. Western officials have conceded that the decisions made by the Russian government to push back against sanctions have helped the country's fiscal base hold up in spite of the challenging environment.
==>A Power Couple worth watching:
Speaker McCarthy & Congressman Fitzpatrick:
House Speaker John McCarthy is hosting a lobbyist fundraiser for Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick on March 29th.
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
~ Jim Rohn, Motivational Speaker
Republican Fitzpatrick introduced, H.R. 715, “Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2023”, a National Gun Registration, along with 181 Democrats. Does one Republican - Fitzpatrick - make it bipartisan?
Bad company corrupts good character.
~ 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)
A picture is worth a thousand words:
==> Some Banking News since Silicon Bank crisis
Fears of new global banking crisis after Credit Suisse turmoil
Tech Stocks Appear to Be a Haven From the Banking Crisis, for Now
Patrick Rafferty reports:
Total Silicon Valley startup investments in 2021, last year for which data are available, were 307 billion. Lots of cash was flowing into companies that are floundering. Bank of England is looking at bank stocks as well, so, we'll have to watch our colleagues on the other side of the pond.
Now for a few comments from Twitter
If other party is always wrong
And your party is always right
You are at least partly wrong
One thing must be understand: Russia is only recovering the former Soviet Union territory. Yes, NATO can fight by proxy, but we all saw how well this tactics worked in Afghanistan and Syria
Thanks for the good vibes, too!
Ramadan starts on March 23, 2023, this year...
To read: When is Ramadan 2023 and how is the moon sighted?
The month-long observance see Muslims fasting from sunrise-to-sunset,
reciting verses from the Quran and attending prayer sessions.
For many of those observing Ramadan, it is a time to become closer to God.
It is also a time of joy and for spending time with one’s family,
and giving to charity and those in need.
Sunday, March 19th 11am EST: Join America Mission’s Twitter Space
for the #GarbageFail Journalist Reveal!
The America Mission Twitter Account (@AmericaMission_) will reveal the 64 tournament entrants and their respective NFTs on Sunday March 19th. A series of polls will be used to determine tournament seeding based on the total number of votes received.
