Consider that Japan ran a bioweapons program during WWII, mostly located in China.  They actually dropped bioweapons on Chinese villages to determine the best delivery methods and track the spread.  I've wondered almost since the start if this wasn't some leftover effect from that. 

A home brewed Chinese program doesn't seem any less plausible.

The other thing which occurred to me is that China doesn't have the same controls in place for genetic modification as the US and European countries.  The technology exists to modify a person's genome.  There are genetics compacts in place to prevent human experimentation and testing here and in Europe, but not in China.  Its estimated that several thousand people in China have already had their genomes edited.  The primary reason we and other countries have proceeded with such caution is concern about unknown side effects.  Creating a virus either on purpose, or by accident, is relatively simple compared to permanently changing a person's DNA.  The technology is amazing, and could literally cure about every disease we know, but at what cost? 

Author Dean Koontz wrote a novel called "The Eyes of Darkness," originally published in 1981, describing a killer virus that somewhat echoes the current coronavirus outbreak. In Wuhan China an RDNA lab, develops a bio-weaponized virus. The virus escapes lab containment (smuggled out) and spreads across the globe.
I've always enjoyed reading Koonz

Tubo

Tubo wrote:

Author Dean Koontz wrote a novel called "The Eyes of Darkness," originally published in 1981, describing a killer virus that somewhat echoes the current coronavirus outbreak. In Wuhan China an RDNA lab, develops a bio-weaponized virus. The virus escapes lab containment (smuggled out) and spreads across the globe.
I've always enjoyed reading Koonz

Tubo

Twilight Eyes was probably my favorite of his.  His work often gets overshadowed by Steven King's, but I always found his work superior. 
 

I'm not sure I believe the bio-weapon stuff as I feel this is simply the result of a hyper-connected world. Not hyper-connected by the Internet, but by the ease of travel and the difficulty of stopping said travel. What once would have been a regional (or even smaller depending on the point in history) issue is now the whole world's problem. This is simply a modern fact of life as we all pack closer and closer together and can travel so easily. I've always wanted a cabin on 100 acres in Montana, makes me want it even more...

Last edited by Raymond_B (3/17/2020 2:32 PM)

Raymond_B wrote:

I'm not sure I believe the bio-weapon stuff as I feel this is simply the result of a hyper-connected world. Not hyper-connected by the Internet, but by the ease of travel and the difficulty of stopping said travel. What once would have been a regional (or even smaller depending on the point in history) issue is now the whole world's problem. This is simply a modern fact of life as we all pack closer and closer together and can travel so easily. I've always wanted a cabin on 100 acres in Montana, makes me want it even more...

Agreed.  The biggest reason for the spread is that people don't even know they are sick for on average 5 days, sometimes as much as two weeks, and occasionally even longer.  That's FOREVER at the pace of life today.  You can travel halfway around the world in a day, unknowingly contaminating everything in your path. 

I too have often thought about that cabin in Montana.  I miss being able to just go target shoot off my deck anytime I want.  Used to be able to do that at a family compound on the Chesapeake when I was a kid. 

The more you research it its the world we've always lived in.  Our modern understanding of pathogens and vaccinations had simply led us to believe its occurrence in our modern world was at best unlikely.  The first recorded plague pandemic hit in the 6th century (with recurrences until the 8th), the second in the 14th (with recurrences until the 17th), and the third in the 19th.  These were world altering events claiming millions of lives.

Even in the 14th century the world was connected enough that all of Europe and large portions of Asia were effected.  Today, with air travel and global commerce its probably amazing that this is all with which we've had to deal.  Compared to plague COVID-19 is basically a strong cold.  More virulent, though actually weaker than common rhinovirus. 

Exactly!  I am Legend was an update of a novel turned film called The Omega Man.  The original stared Charlton Heston, and was based on a book from '71 where the Cold War escalates into biowarfare.

I am Legend is a well done modern update of this tale, and its exactly what I was talking about.  Another doctor had created a cancer cure using genetic manipulation.  Its a retrovirus that mutates and starts either killing everyone, except for about 10% of the population who turn into basically vampires.  The last parts obviously fiction, but the concern about the mutation of viruses due to genetic modification is very real.

I have to say, its a great movie too.  Definitely worth a watch.  Its one of Will Smith's best performances, and Alice Braga plays a great hopeful counterpoint to Smith's frustrated anger at what's happened to the world and its cause. 

Its time to be smarter than the market.  Let it bottom and buy in big.  Quality stocks are going to recover.  These situations are actually where fortunes are made.  You can't make big money in an up economy.  Is the stock market an actual reflection of the economy?  No, by no means.  Instead, people used this pandemic as an excuse for massive selloffs, taking their profits, and holding that money for future reinvestment.  Rest assured, when this thing is over the market it going to race to like 30,000 so fast it'll give you whiplash. 

Yeah, China.  Archaeologists have found plague in remains in China dating back before the first plague pandemic (6th century).  They can't say for 100% certain that it originated there (The Tian Shan mountains in China and a couple of the Stans), but it sure looks that way.  It seems it was brought to the near east and Europe by nomads.  So traveling by horse or Airbus it seems it might be in our best interest to avoid such contact...
 

Another up side of this the interest rates for a new home or to refinance are way low. I am planning a move in the real near future, That means I can afford a bigger place , more land and be able to build a shop. I am not going to be a negative nelly, things happen for reasons and we need to look at the silver lining on this.
  

TKOPerformance wrote:

The Black Death brought about the end of feudalism in Europe, and likely spurred the Renaissance.  Just sayin'...

Yabutt...are we due for a Renaissance?

TKOPerformance wrote:

Its time to be smarter than the market.  Let it bottom and buy in big.  Quality stocks are going to recover.  These situations are actually where fortunes are made.  You can't make big money in an up economy.  Is the stock market an actual reflection of the economy?  No, by no means.  Instead, people used this pandemic as an excuse for massive selloffs, taking their profits, and holding that money for future reinvestment.  Rest assured, when this thing is over the market it going to race to like 30,000 so fast it'll give you whiplash. 

Yeah, China.  Archaeologists have found plague in remains in China dating back before the first plague pandemic (6th century).  They can't say for 100% certain that it originated there (The Tian Shan mountains in China and a couple of the Stans), but it sure looks that way.  It seems it was brought to the near east and Europe by nomads.  So traveling by horse or Airbus it seems it might be in our best interest to avoid such contact...
 

I've been wondering about the same thing TKO... when the market bottoms, I wonder how much of an investment is needed to make a tidy sum on the way back up...

William O'Neal...Investors Business Daily...preached, and probably still does if he's still around, that one should never take more than an 8% hit.  It drops 8% you get out.  He always reminded his readers that it takes a 100% rise to break even on a 50% drop.