Weill Cornell instills social justice, health equity in medical education. Really!

Another ivy league University engaged in propaganda and demagoguery subjecting their students "longitudinally" to ideological indoctrination!

As a student I would ask for a refund of my tuition and study elsewhere!

"... Convened in summer 2020 by Dr. Yoon Kang, senior associate dean for education, the Anti-Racism Curriculum Committee was charged with reinvigorating Weill Cornell Medical College’s curriculum to ensure that medical students gained a firm understanding of how social, economic and policy factors influence health outcomes. ...
“We need to impress upon the next generation of health care workers the power that societal factors have on population health, as well as an individual’s health, so that they can become well-rounded, comprehensive physicians,” said Howell, who is also assistant dean for diversity and student life at Weill Cornell Medicine. ...
Comprising Weill Cornell Medicine administrators, faculty, students and staff, the Anti-Racism Curriculum Committee met throughout 2020-21 and quickly identified the need to encapsulate social justice and health equity in a new medical college foundational learning objective.
The goal, said committee co-chair Dr. Joseph Safdieh, was to develop a framework in which social determinants of health, including racism, are taught longitudinally, across all four years of medical school, rather than in a single course. ..."

Weill Cornell instills social justice, health equity in medical education | Cornell Chronicle

An appeal to abortion fanatics on both sides

Given the pending decision of the U.S. Supreme Court affecting abortion rights in the country it is important to remind the radicals for what they are.

Anyone who defends the right of a woman to abortion without reasonable compromise is a fanatic and worse a person with murderous thoughts! 

On the other side, we have fanatics denying any right of a women to abortion for religious or other reasons.

Such fanaticism is primitive and uncivilized!

Way too many demagogues over several decades have pushed such zealotry within our society! It is long past high time to call them out for what they are! 

Fanatics like these are an impediment to human progress, because they waste our energy and resources for way too many years! Humanity would be so much better off without those fanatics!

Peace at last! When will this senseless, medieval, and divisive debate finally be over!

Nobody with common sense will deny an abortion if the life or health of the pregnant woman is in danger or if the woman was raped or if incest occurred.If a fetus is diagnosed with serious disorders an abortion or child adoption may be considered. Apart from abortion, child adoption should always be considered as another option.

One can also reasonably debate the use of medications to end an unwanted pregnancy within a few days or so after the intercourse when e.g. contraceptives were lacking or sex was unprotected.

It is a fundamental fact that human life begins latest at conception! The unborn human life is precious and deserves protection. The U.S. Constitution plus the Declaration of Independence leave no doubt here! 

Wait for the next wave of fanatics, once humans have developed artificial wombs and gestation ex utero! History repeats itself very often!

How many Albert Einstein's have we already killed by abortion? One would be already too many!

Ibram X. Kendi at Harvard University: One lie leads to another until we tell the truth about slavery. Really!

Why this ivy league university is part of this propaganda and demagoguery is appalling!

To invite such a demagogue and pseudoscientist like Ibram X. Kendi (Professor at Boston University, OMG) as a keynote speaker to an event held by Harvard University is absurd and grotesque!

Slavery was a global entrenched institution among humans of all backgrounds for thousands of years. Who sold Africans into slavery to Westerners and Arabs/Muslims, a lot of other Africans. Did Africans in Africa have their own slaves? You bet!

Who is the liar? Ibram X. Kendi is a gigantic liar!

One lie leads to another until we tell the truth – Harvard Gazette Kendi, Simmons welcome Harvard report on ties to slavery as step toward wider reckoning with ‘massive moral ill’

Professor at Columbia University: The Invisible Whiteness of Being: Whiteness, White Supremacy, White Privilege, and Racism

Finally, I discovered one of what appears to one of the early original works (published 2006) of this racism ideology that has pervaded the American society and is the daily sustenance for many intellectuals, scientists, and academics!

Terrible zealots everywhere, especially among the elites! The Inquisition of the 21st century continues! Appalling! When will this absurdity end?

This is Nazi racist ideology in reverse! The author, Derald Sue, is no better than Joseph Goebbels!

Following publications were officially published by the American Psychological Association!

The only good news here is that the paper by Derald Sue (currently Teachers College, ivy league Columbia University) is cited only 131 times according to Google Scholar. 

However, other similar works by this demagogue are much more cited like "Racial microaggressions in everyday life: implications for clinical practice" published in the American Psychologist journal was cited almost 9000 times. The author's lifetime citations are very high at 56963 as of 5/2/2022.

This paper was published as a chapter in a John Wiley & Sons book titled "Addressing racism: Facilitating cultural competence in mental health and educational settings"

Can you imagine something scarier than that?

From the abstract:

"In our society, Whiteness is a default standard; the background of the figure-ground analogy from which all other groups of color are compared, contrasted, and made visible. From this color standard, racial/ethnic minorities are evaluated, judged, and often found to be lacking, inferior, deviant, or abnormal. Because Whiteness is considered to be normative and ideal, it automatically confers dominance on fair skinned people in our society. Whiteness would not be problematic if it weren't (a) predicated on White supremacy, (b) imposed overtly and covertly on People of Color, and (c) made invisible to those who benefit from its existence. Seen from this vantage point, Whiteness is an invisible veil that cloaks its racist deleterious effects through individuals, organizations, and society. The result is that White people are allowed to enjoy the benefits that accrue to them by virtue of their skin color. Thus, Whiteness, White supremacy, and White privilege are three interlocking forces that disguise racism so it may allow White people to oppress and harm persons of color while maintaining their individual and collective advantage and innocence. If we are to overcome, or at least minimize the forces of racism, we must make Whiteness visible. As long as Whiteness remains invisible and is equated with normality and superiority, People of Color will continue to suffer from its oppressive qualities. ..."

The Invisible Whiteness of Being: Whiteness, White Supremacy, White Privilege, and Racism. - PsycNET (published in 2006)

P.S. This outrageous paper was cited in one of the latest research papers by Google. See my blog post here. This where I discovered this pamphlet!

American Academy of Pediatrics: Eliminating Race-Based Medicine. Really!

Terrible zealots everywhere, especially among the elites! The Inquisition of the 21st century continues! Appalling! When will this absurdity end?

When doctors (who took the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm) engage in divisive ideologies and demagoguery, then something is really wrong!

"Race-based medicine has been pervasively interwoven into the fabric of health care delivery in the United States for more than 400 years. Race is a historically derived social construct that has no place as a biologic proxy. In addition to valid measures of social determinants of health, the effects of racism require consideration in clinical decision-making tools in ways that are evidence informed and not inappropriately conflated with the limiting phenotype of race categorization. This policy statement addresses the elimination of race-based medicine as part of a broader commitment to dismantle the structural and systemic inequities that lead to racial health disparities."

Eliminating Race-Based Medicine | Pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics

Credits: Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Global Health Now

Who is Ibram X. Kendi?

Foremost, he is a horrible race baiter! He, also known as Ibram Henry Rogers, is a phony scholar at Boston University. 

When he talks in public almost every sentence contains the word racism/antiracism or its derivatives at least once (I may slightly exaggerate). To listen to him is quite boring and very predictable! He is like a one trick pony!

Five out of his six books published between 2012-2021 feature titles containing the word racism!

"Kendi was included in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020."

Ridiculous!

Ibram X. Kendi - Wikipedia

Plastic Bags Help the Environment

Recommendable! Don't let extreme environmentalists with their religious fervor run your life!

"... This moral panic is intensifying even as evidence mounts that banning plastic is both a waste of money and harmful to the environment. If you want to protect dolphins and sea turtles, you should take special care to place your plastic in the trash, not the recycling bin. ...
During the 1970s, environmentalists wanted to restrict the use of plastic because it was made from petroleum. When the “energy crisis” abated, they denounced plastic for not being biodegradable in landfills. They blamed it for littering the landscape, clogging sewer drains and global warming. Plastic from our “throwaway society” was killing vast numbers of sea creatures, according to a 2017 BBC documentary series. ...

More than 100 countries now restrict single-use plastic bags, and Pope Francis has called for global regulation of plastic. The European Parliament has voted to ban single-use plastic straws, plates and cutlery across the Continent next year [2021]. In the U.S., hundreds of municipalities and eight states—California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon and Vermont—have outlawed or restricted single-use plastic bags. Greens in California are pushing a referendum to require all plastic packaging and single-use foodware in the state to be recyclable, and the European Union has unveiled a similar plan.

Popular misconceptions have sustained the plastic panic. Environmentalists frequently claim that 80% of plastic in the oceans comes from land-based sources, but a team of scientists from four continents reported in 2018 that more than half the plastic in the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” came from fishing boats—mostly discarded nets and other gear. Another study, published last year by Canadian and South African researchers, found that more than 80% of the plastic bottles that had washed up on the shore of Inaccessible Island, an uninhabited extinct volcano in the South Atlantic, originated in China. ...
Another myth—that recycling plastic prevents it from polluting the oceans—stems from the enduring delusion that plastic waste can be profitably turned into other products. But sorting plastic is so labor-intensive, and the resulting materials of so little value, that most municipalities pay extra to get rid of their plastic waste, mostly by shipping it to Asian countries with low labor costs. The chief destination for many years was China, which two years ago banned most imports. ...
Once discarded, [plastic bags] take up little room in landfills. That they aren’t biodegradable is a plus, because they don’t release greenhouse gases like decomposing paper and cotton bags. ...

If the goal is to reduce carbon emissions and plastic pollution, we can take some obvious steps: Repeal misguided plastic-bag bans. Stop exporting plastic waste to countries that allow it to leak into the ocean. Help those countries establish modern systems for collecting and processing their own plastic waste. Send plastic waste straight to landfills and incinerators.  ..."

Plastic Bags Help the Environment | Manhattan Institute Banning them provides no benefit other than to let activists lord their preferences over others.

An Open Letter: Scientists and Racial Justice

More academic agitators and demagogues are coming out of the woodwork! These academics are dangerous zealots and fanatics of the cult of racism! 

This open letter is signed by two professors from two different U.S. universities! This only goes to show that professors can be as stupid as the rest of us!

An Open Letter: Scientists and Racial Justice | The Scientist Magazine® What we can and must do to make science more equitable.

Mathematicians urge colleagues to boycott police work in wake of killings

More academic agitators and demagogues are coming out of the woodwork! These academics are dangerous zealots and fanatics of the cult of racism!

In this case, these fools are even blaming predictive policing. This is absurd!

Mathematicians urge colleagues to boycott police work in wake of killings More than 1,400 researchers have signed a letter calling on the discipline to stop working on predictive-policing algorithms and other models.

Who Or What Protects Humans From Zealous Animal Rights Activists?

Posted: 3/20/2016

Recent headlines reminded us that the well organized, uncompromising, and singularly  focused animal zealots of the world are getting their way again.

Germany is about to pass a law banning all wild animals from circuses. The heartwarming story of a supposedly mistreated circus bear in Germany that was then taken away from the circus was all over the media. Seaworld just announced it would not breed Orcas anymore and so on.

Here is an article that actually shows that Seaworld actually made contributions to Orca research. See e.g. here.

Zealotry of any kind should be confronted for what it is!

How many of these animal rights activists are misanthropes?

New Antidoping Persecutions: Six Field & Track Athletes Failed Doping Tests After Eight Years

I have previously written on the subject of doping (here, here, here, and here.

The Antidoping Zealots Never Let Up

You can read the official news release of 3/8/2013  by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) here and the New York Times article here.

To quote from the official news release (emphasis added):

“The … (IAAF) has re-tested a selection of doping samples collected at the 2005 IAAF World Championships, Helsinki, Finland, from a wide range of disciplines and nations …”

“The I.A.A.F.’s message to cheaters is increasingly clear that, with constant advancements being made in doping detection, there is no place to hide …”

To quote from the NYT article:

“The I.A.A.F. did not say what banned substances were found in the re-examination. Sports officials keep samples for a minimum of eight years. Under the World Anti-Doping Code, athletes can be sanctioned for a violation up to eight years after they provide their urine or blood samples for a drug test. Officials store samples and later retest them for substances they may not have been able to detect at the time the sample was taken.”

Antidoping Is Unfair

According to IAAF’s official news release, this organization has only conducted “selected” retesting of a “wide range of disciplines”. Thus, who was not retested and why?

I suspect, one of the athletes was chosen to be retested because she was caught at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Further, I suspect, because of limited resources these retests are indeed very selective. Thus, lesser performing, doped athletes have to fear less to be caught, but they nevertheless compete. One day such an athlete wins if only by the disciplinary action against a better performing, but doped athlete.

In this particular case, a German athlete who finished fourth at the above mentioned 2005 World Championship in the hammer throw discipline will now receive a silver medal (see here (in German)). Was he not doped?

From what I have read these tests are not necessarily very reliable. “Advancements” are applied retroactively. The banned substances found were not listed in the IAAF’s news release. Where these substances illegal at the time?

I Am Prodoping

Why should adult humans not freely choose to dope their body for better performance or achievements? Doping is a human endeavor since ancient times. Let these adult athletes experiment so one day we may all benefit.

Without this constant antidoping campaign, it would be a level playing field for any athlete: Every athlete can choose whatever doping regiment available and suitable. The best athlete, doped or not, may win. Every athlete is free to choose a doctor to ensure his or her good health.

Doping is almost treated like a crime, which it is not.

Let The Games Begin

Why do we not have games, championships and contests for doped athletes?

Lance Armstrong: A Victim Of Presumption Of Guilt

I have previously written a blog on Lance Armstrong’sdoping accusations.

Executive Summary

According to the antidoping vigilantes of our time an exceptional athlete like Lance Armstrong could not have won without doping. Period! All they have to do is to prove it no matter what it takes and how long it takes.

What is worse smart, exceptional and average athletes who use some form of performance enhancement undetectable at the time or antidoping vigilantes who do not mind using questionable or even illegal means to harass such athletes over years? This is when antidoping becomes zealotry.

Vigilantes Obsessed With Doping

What happened to Lance Armstrong is a warning to any exceptional athlete: Anti doping zealots will come after you until you surrender and admit under duress that you did it. It is a modern, high tech witch hunt.

s

Mr. Armstrong underwent so many investigations into doping allegations. Over the past three years he was subjected to an inconclusive federal criminal investigation, then followed by US Anti Doping Agency (USADA). How many times or how often and over how many years does an athlete have to be subjected to this kind of treatment?

“While USADA and some independent hematologists who have seen the data say they suggest that Mr. Armstrong was doping, other experts cited by Mr. Armstrong argue that all the fluctuations in the contents of Mr. Armstrong's blood are well within the normal range for an athlete.

Although some athletes have been sanctioned and banned based on these long-term blood tests, they are open to subjective interpretation and scientists often disagree on whether to bring doping cases against athletes based on such results.” (Wall Street Journal article dated 8/25/2012. Emphasis added)

Anti Doping Zealots Used Illegal Or Questionable Methods

Lance Armstrong is reported to have passed over 500 anti doping tests or more during his career. A Swiss laboratory refused to go along …

Here is a relevant excerpt from a Wall Street Journal article dated 8/25/2012 (Emphasis added):

“The new test, … if perfected, it could detect a molecule contained in blood bags that would only be present in the system of a person who had taken a transfusion.

The scientists, who worked for various antidoping organizations around the world, approached … the Swiss-based International Cycling Union, or UCI, with a plan, … They would get a sample of Mr. Armstrong's blood during the race, freeze it at a doping lab, and after the test was perfected, use it to determine whether he had cheated.

But the Swiss lab that handles Tour drug testing declined to participate, … because the plan, which also targeted other top riders, didn't follow the drug-testing protocols set forth in the antidoping code that governs the sport”

“In 2004, researchers from a French laboratory that had performed Tour de France drug tests, working on their own, retested dozens of preserved samples from the 1999 Tour. They were testing for EPO, which hadn't been detectable at the time.  … six of the samples that belonged to Mr. Armstrong showed the presence of the blood-boosting drug.

In response …, the UCI opened an independent investigation. Less than a year later, a report commissioned by the UCI said that the tests shouldn't have been conducted at all and couldn't be acted upon because they weren't performed according to the organization's official drug-testing protocols, which are mandated for all Olympic sports by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Mr. Armstrong vigorously denied taking the drug during the race, questioned the validity of the tests and said the samples could have been tainted.”

Lance Armstrong In His Own Words

In a statement, Mr. Armstrong called the process "one-sided and unfair," and said there was "zero physical evidence" that he had cheated. "The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced"

"The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive…samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system,"

What About The Other Athletes Who Competed With Lance Armstrong?

Have his competitors received the same kind of attention by these antidoping vigilantes? Did these anti doping zealots also run the same kind of extensive and ex post facto tests on the competitors of Lance Armstrong? I doubt it. What if his competitors did about the same doping or even other kinds as Mr. Armstrong is accused of? In this case would his competitors be punished in the same way?