Slack / Private Message Drop — page 866

[Robert Garry] Couple of points. If this origins thing was some sort of game [it's not], we'd still be in the first half or the early innings. As has been said, it's a long game. USG, WHO etc. realize they are not going to get any cooperation from China on any type of lab leak investigation. USG (yesterday's WH brief} has said they can't lead an so-called "investigation." Investigate what is the question. Notebooks from Shi's lab, sick days of WIV personnel, freezer inventories of mysterious samples? IMO World Health Assembly is not going to pass any resolution to have WHO investigate "lab leak" or alter the trajectory of WHO's current origins study. [2021-05-25 03:41:56] [Robert Garry] @Eddie Holmes yes - I'd turn over the emails to Tony F. Remind him to "follow the animals." TF needs to turn them over to the other Tony --- Blinken Sec of State who will pass them to the CIA and the China watchers. Hopefull TF tells TB to "follow the animals." [2021-05-25 03:46:17] [Andrew Rambaut] [thread - ID: 2021-05-25 03:46:17] Need to nail down the bit in the letter about the FCS - having the human viruses as examples is open to a comeback. The MERS one is cool though because it is a nearby RxxR motif in the right site but it is not a human virus [2021-05-25 03:47:07] [Andrew Rambaut] [thread - ID: 2021-05-25 03:47:07] The point is that it exists in nature in various coronaviruses in non-human animals. But seems to be important for H2H transmission. [2021-05-25 03:47:37] [Robert Garry] The Chinese absolutely positively 100% KNOW it did not come from any of their labs. But (as discussed in-channel], they are prefectly content to let Murdoch media rant and take the lead about a "lab leak." It distracts from having anyone discuss "gamey taste" and the multibillion dollar wildlife trade that they find highly embarrassing for whatever reason. [2021-05-25 03:48:31] [Robert Garry] [thread - ID: 2021-05-25 03:46:17] @Andrew Rambaut Yes - spot-on! [2021-05-25 03:48:47] [Andrew Rambaut] [thread - ID: 2021-05-25 03:47:07] @Andrew Rambaut I think the presence in human CoVs probably talks more to the bias towards spillovers from viruses that already have the FCS rather than it evolving in humans [2021-05-25 03:53:12] [Robert Garry] Shi releases mine virus sequences. Hey no problem - the goalposts are highly mobile. [shared file(s): image.png] [2021-05-25 06:51:32] [Robert Garry] [thread - ID: 2021-05-24 19:06:16] @Kristian Andersen "Every moment in which American politics is occupied with MAGA myths about covid-19 is a Chinese victory." All the Parisites and Bloomshitters need to read this. [2021-05-25 06:55:21]