I find it quite fascinating that the media is now beginning to accept the theory that COVID’s origins could be attributed to a laboratory leak in Wuhan, as we had been on asserting that possibility in early 2020.
The Chinese mishandling of infectious agents is merely one in a long list of potentially deadly scientific missteps. There have been several news stories in the last few weeks and months that show disturbing and potentially catastrophic failures of many engineering projects.
Last year, experts questioned the massive Three Gorges Dam’s safety, warning that it could collapse at any moment due to summer rains. Unfortunately, we do not know if anyone resolved the engineering issues associated with that structure with the summer rainy season approaching.
More recently, officials evacuated and closed the 1,167-feet SEG Plaza in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen as the skyscraper began to wobble.
The Shenzhen government said on its microblog that no additional swaying had been detected since Tuesday, when the moving building caused objects on desks in the building to move and workers were evacuated from the tower.Panicked pedestrians could be seen fleeing the area after the rocking began in videos shared to social media. Several nearby buildings were also evacuated, as police and fire crews sealed off the surrounding area.“Based on an analysis, any seismic event has been ruled out as a possible cause,” the Shenzhen government said, adding that the building’s infrastructure, windows and other architectural features appeared undamaged and there were no signs of cracks in the surrounding streets.
A little closer to home, the Boston Globe reported the mounting issues facing the new line of Red and Orange Line subway cars built by Chinese-state owned company CRRC for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).
The MBTA announced earlier this month that the delivery of the 400+ rail cars for the two lines would be a year late, with the last set of trains now set to be delivered in late 2024. The Globe’s investigation highlights a myriad of reasons why, from missing supplies and parts sent to the wrong worksite to installation and vehicle testing delays to unfinished cars stalling on the assembly line.It gets worse:“…two full train sets had to be taken out of service to diagnose a loud rubbing noise near the carriages. Moreover, there was a problem with the first set of replacement parts that further set the fix back, an ‘unacceptable’ development that fuming Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials said was an ‘example of CRRC’s poor-quality management.’”All of this has led to the project is falling significantly behind schedule.
Now China is promoting the success of its Mars rover, which is now sending back pictures. I would like to point out that in 2018, Chinese spies hacked 45 separate US entities….including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Two Chinese nationals associated with the Chinese government — with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.The hackers waged their cyber campaign for more than a decade, starting in 2006, according to prosecutors, and stole secrets from businesses and governments around the globe, including more than 45 technology companies and US government agencies, such as the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab. Prosecutors also allege that the hackers stole “confidential data” from the US Navy, including information on more than 100,000 personnel.
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