u/provider305

Scott Wiener is a Jewish California State Senator serving San Francisco. He is now running for to succeed the outgoing Nancy Pelosi in California’s 11th Congressional District.

In a January 2026 forum at UC Law San Francisco, Wiener debated his opponents. During a “lightning round” question format, the candidates were prompted to answer whether they think Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians. Only Wiener did not answer affirmatively (he did not respond at all).

This caused explosive backlash online. I assume we’re not allowed to link to Reddit threads here but you can find such discussions easily.

Later, he posted to X the following statement accompanied by a video:

>For years, I’ve condemned Netanyahu and his extremist government and the devastation they’ve inflicted on Gaza. It’s why I’ve been clear I won’t support U.S. funding for the destruction of Palestinian communities. I’ve stopped short of calling it genocide, but I can’t anymore.

So he atoned. After that, the discourse entirely changed. Wiener was now being championed for his legislative success as a State Senator. He was warmly accepted by the pro-Palestinian crowd. Nothing stood between him and succeeding Pelosi in the United States House of Representatives.

Just kidding…

He can’t even show his face in San Francisco. On at least two separate occasions, he has since been publicly harassed.

First, while sitting to eat at a restaurant in the Mission District, he was confronted and threatened by a screaming lunatic calling him a Zionist and demanding he say “Free Palestine” (Video on X - tough watch). Then, at today’s Trans March in San Francisco, Wiener was physically surrounded by an angry, hysterical shouting mob that forced him to leave the event (Video on X - discretion also advised).

Regardless, Wiener did advance to the general election in the open primary. He is still the betting man’s favorite to win (per Kalshi, the “Scott Wiener Yes” contract is worth 71c).

Scott is proof that capitulating to the mob does not prevent antisemitic attacks (as if we needed more evidence). Of course, I don’t blame him for being harassed. As we know, antisemitism is always the antisemite’s fault. But there is no statement, concession, or magic phrase that will satisfy this mob. They have already decided who Scott Wiener is: a “Zionist” and a genocide supporter. Because he’s Jewish.

Further reading: https://jweekly.com/2026/06/26/video-of-anti-zionist-activist-hounding-scott-wiener-goes-viral/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Boulder_fire_attack

> On June 1, 2025, in Boulder, Colorado, United States, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian man living in Colorado, used a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to attack a group participating in a solidarity walk for the hostages taken from Israel during the October 7 attacks. The attack left at least seven people injured, including the perpetrator. An 82-year-old woman died 24 days later from injuries suffered during the attack. Soliman yelled several political expressions during the attack, and later stated in a police interview that he targeted the group because he believed they were Zionists. Soliman was charged with a dozen charges of federal hate crime and 118 state criminal charges. In May 2026, Soliman pleaded guilty to all state charges and was sentenced to life without parole plus 2,128 years in prison.

Now, following DSA wins in New York, we have a new DSA candidate who appears well-positioned to unseat an incumbent in the Colorado’s 1st Congressional District.

https://coloradosun.com/2026/06/26/melat-kiros-diana-degette-race-colorado/

What can we do about this worrying trend? The DNC needs to take the DSA threat much more seriously.

I do not wish to come across as alarmist. I have research experience with and publications on SARS-CoV-2 but have been working in autoimmunity since 2024. I hope we can avoid the same early improper assumptions made with COVID, but I fear public health guidance has already dropped the ball by telling mainstream media that the virus is not mutated and that it does not spread easily through air. Within the virology and epidemiology community, I have seen a surprising lack of disregard for certain facts.

The dogma since the release of the Swiss patient’s Andes virus sequence has been that the lack of reassortment is evidence that the virus does not have significant or consequential mutations. This is obviously false and anyone who has taken an infectious diseases or virology course should know this.

There are indeed mutations in the M segment, including in the regions coding the receptor-binding Gn and Gc proteins. It is not known if these mutations are consequential for human transmission, but it can’t be said that it’s impossible. Though it is rare that such a beneficial mutation would occur within an animal reservoir, it can happen. Keep in mind that SARS-CoV-2 gained its furin cleavage site before it started spreading in humans. But this is a very rare occurrence and I’m hoping it isn’t what happened here, though the spread on the ship gives me pause.

Lytras analysis does not show convincing evidence that genetic differences in the surface proteins would not confer improved human-to-human transmissibility. It is also not evidence of the contrary.

I wouldn’t write off the genetic distance between the Epuyén virus with the Swiss-resident virus. For example, SARS-CoV-2’s high transmissibility is attributed largely to the furin cleavage site, which was not present in more closely related coronaviruses, but was indeed present in some that were more distantly related.

The most genetically similar virus only spread to household members and healthcare professionals in direct contact with the index patient (Martinez-Valdebenito, 2014). However, the Andes virus from the Hondius appears to spread more easily. I understand that they were on a small cruise ship, but there was transmission thought to have occurred from brief “passings by”, which seems to align more closely with the manner of spread of the 2018-2019 outbreak in Epuyén, Argentina. It also seems that the incubation period is shorter than previously described.

Still, cruise ships are unique environments. There are so many factors including shared serving utensils, poor air circulation, close sleeping quarters, potential swinging, etc. That may not sufficiently explain (in my opinion) the differences in spread and incubation period.

Anxiously awaiting good news that those on the Hondius do not spread the virus as it spread on the ship, but I can’t help but hold my breath.

Please share your thoughts and pertinent new information as it becomes available.