concrete_baby

I don't like the normalizing of using "woke" to describe progressives.

Is this on Wikifeet yet?

That's not correct. This is the origin report under the Biden administration from the Intelligence Community. This is the summary:

[...] the IC was able to reach broad agreement on several other key issues. We judge the virus was not developed as a biological weapon. Most agencies also assess with low confidence that SARS-CoV-2 probably was not genetically engineered; however, two agencies believe there was not sufficient evidence to make an assessment either way. Finally, the IC assesses China’s officials did not have foreknowledge of the virus before the initial outbreak of COVID-19 emerged.

After examining all available intelligence reporting and other information, though, the IC remains divided on the most likely origin of COVID-19. All agencies assess that two hypotheses are plausible: natural exposure to an infected animal and a laboratory-associated incident.

• Four IC elements and the National Intelligence Council assess with low confidence that the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection was most likely caused by natural exposure to an animal infected with it or a close progenitor virus—a virus that probably would be more than 99 percent similar to SARS-CoV-2. These analysts give weight to China’s officials’ lack of foreknowledge, the numerous vectors for natural exposure, and other factors.

• One IC element assesses with moderate confidence that the first human infection with SARS-CoV-2 most likely was the result of a laboratory-associated incident, probably involving experimentation, animal handling, or sampling by the Wuhan Institute of Virology. These analysts give weight to the inherently risky nature of work on coronaviruses.

• Analysts at three IC elements remain unable to coalesce around either explanation without additional information, with some analysts favoring natural origin, others a laboratory origin, and some seeing the hypotheses as equally likely.

• Variations in analytic views largely stem from differences in how agencies weigh intelligence reporting and scientific publications and intelligence and scientific gaps.

The IC judges they will be unable to provide a more definitive explanation for the origin of COVID-19 unless new information allows them to determine the specific pathway for initial natural contact with an animal or to determine that a laboratory in Wuhan was handling SARS-CoV-2 or a close progenitor virus before COVID-19 emerged.

Empire: A bland comedy spacecapade stuck between two (strange new) worlds

Hollywood Reporter: Not Even Michelle Yeoh Can Save Paramount+’s Subpar Spinoff Movie

New York Times: Set the Phasers to Shun

Los Angeles Times: ‘Star Trek: Area 31’ is diverting, but it’s more pilot episode than film (weird and glaring typo in the headline)

Space.com: It isn't classic 'Trek', but the Paramount+ exclusive offers some flashy fun

Engadget: An embarrassment from start to end

The article doesn't say it's happening. This is from another source:

Mao Xiangdong, vice-president of the Shanghai Institute of Technology and a member of the standing committee of the municipal people’s congress, proposed the idea during Shanghai’s ongoing legislative sessions, according to a post by China Development News, a newspaper under the National Development and Reform Commission.

It is not clear when the post was put online but it was removed on Friday morning

Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3295169/unplug-great-firewall-boost-chinas-competitiveness-shanghai-lawmaker-says

CNN++?

I had the same thought when NFTs became popular, but no longer. NFTs are artificial scarcity, since they have no inherent value and the uniqueness of each should therefore hold no inherent value. But the hype's gone now. Nobody cares about NFTs because everyone knows their value is artificial. I think that is what's gonna happen when replicators are invented. There will be brief periods of hype to create artificial scarcity, but they will pass.

They tried rolling back birthright citizenship, which is a constitutional right, so I believe everything and anything is possible.

Why would China want to sell the lucrative secret TikTok algorithm to the US government?

This is more circlejerk from Von der Leyen. Before Trump became president, she was talking about de-risking from China, reducimg economic reliance on other countries, including Russian energy, and now somehow, all of a sudden, she is boasting the EU's ability to trade with Mexico and China?

Seriously, the EU can't compete with the US because it cares about its people. Its superior economic, human, social, and civil rights come at the cost of strictly regulating businesses, which kills off innovation and profit making by big businsses. The American syatem rewards monopoly, the lack of labor rights, and increasing wealth inequality by not regulating enough. That breeds big tech, big pharma, big tobacco, big oil, and Wall Street, but that's what's driving the American economy. The EU is too ethical for that.

Oh, how thoughtful.

Mike McMahan had an idea that S5 could be the last season before the news was announced, so there was probably some pressure to tie some loose ends instead of focusing on the season arc.