I recently read an extremely disappointing article entitled: “Rogue Faculty and Academic Freedom in the Age of Misinformation” by Eric J. Topol, MD; Abraham Verghese, MD; Robert A. Harrington, MD March 15, 2023. As I’ve written before, I agree with the authors of this article on most issues related to the pandemic: N95s work, vaccines work, avoid crowds, long covid is real, etc. I also agree with them that a few academics routinely appear on Fox News and other venues and spew dangerous misinformation. However, I do not agree with the authors’ apparent interest in censorship and perhaps outright punishment of academics who do not go along with the Party line. First, I have a strong belief in both the First Amendment and Academic Freedom. Selective application of these principles to only people you agree with is the same as rejecting them outright. Second, public health officials and famous scientists have shown that they cannot be trusted. Some examples:
“When polls said only about half of all Americans would take a vaccine, I was saying herd immunity would take 70 to 75 percent,” Dr. Fauci said. “Then, when newer surveys said 60 percent or more would take it, I thought, ‘I can nudge this up a bit,’ so I went to 80, 85.”
New York Times, December 25, 2020
Here, Dr. Fauci is admitting to deliberately lying to the American public. Usually, however, Dr. Fauci doesn’t tell such clear cut lies. More often, he is deliberately deceptive. For example, here is my transcription of a snippet of an interview Dr. Fauci recently gave to Jim Acosta at CNN related to the lab leak hypothesis:
Acosta:
But are there any accounts of that occurring where one might say that OK there we go perhaps this is it. Perhaps this is what happened.
Fauci:
No. In fact, there are no lab leaks that have led to pandemics.
CNN, Jim Acosta, March 2023
Here, Dr. Fauci is telling at least what could be the literal truth, but is not being honest. There have in fact been several lab leaks of viruses that have caused pandemics. It’s just that the pandemic started before the reported lab leaks. Given that pandemic viruses have leaked from Chinese labs in the past, but were reported to have occurred after the pandemic started, it’s really not too much of a stretch to suggest that the leak of virus from a Chinese lab may have caused a pandemic. Dr. Fauci also commits errors of omission by failing to note the many lines of evidence suggesting that laboratory procedures in the Wuhan Institute were sloppy and that they handled exactly the same type of rare virus as was found to have caused an outbreak a few miles away. Does this inspire trust?
One very important fact that is rarely, if ever, mentioned is the enormous power Drs. Fauci and Collins have had on scientists who might otherwise speak up about what goes on in Chinese laboratories. These two men have had absolute power over the US biomedical establishment. Few would risk their wrath. They both have reputations for vindictiveness and evasion of personal blame which no scientist dares mention, out loud. This is a toxic environment.
I have mostly given American examples of untrustworthy behavior at the highest levels. Here is one from Canada:
The RCMP says it’s still investigating two scientists ejected from Canada’s top infectious disease lab almost four years ago, sparking debate about whether the force is up to the task — or the government is committed to seeing through the potentially embarrassing case.
[snip]
Given the links between China and the two researchers and growing concern about Chinese interference in Canadian affairs, the case is an important one, argued Christian Leuprecht, a leading national security authority with the Royal Military College.
[snip]
But not only does the RCMP have limited ability to carry out sophisticated national security investigations, the Liberal government seems reluctant to make public China’s meddling in Canada, charged Leuprecht.
“I’d say there is no political will to have a serious investigation here,” he said. “I don’t have confidence that when it comes to sensitive investigations involving China that could possibly drag in the political elite in this country, the government really has an interest in getting these types of investigations over the line.”
Calgary Herald, Tom Blackwell, March 8, 2023
The two scientists in question are Xiangguo Qiu and Keding Cheng. They had close ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and sent dangerous viruses from Canada’s top virological institute, the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg to the Wuhan institute. The government of Canada has been accused of slow walking the investigation because the current government received substantial financial inducements from China. Does this inspire trust?
Are establishment scientists, the opposite of presumed “rogue” scientists, of the highest possible ethical caliber? In fact, many are not. Some accepted money directly from a known child rapist (Jeffery Epstein) and many indirectly accepted money through Mr. Epstein’s close associate, John Brockman. Mr. Epstein frequently attended meetings at Edge and elsewhere where he associated closely with famous scientists who knew exactly what he was doing. You can find a list of scientists who participated in a group called “Edge”, which was largely funded by Mr. Epstein here. Many of the scientists used Mr. Brockman as their literary agent, despite knowing of his close relationship with Mr. Epstein. To this day, most of the establishment scientists on the Edge list have not renounced their association with Mr. Brockman. Does this inspire trust?
We are often presented with two choices: trust what the political, public health and scientific establishment say or join up with Alex Jones, QAnon and various KrazyKonspiracy groups. I submit that these are not our only choices. Blind trust in either group will lead to disaster, in my opinion. Indeed, blind trust in anyone, even someone well-intentioned (like me!) is a bad idea. We are a free people. We are responsible for our own actions. If we choose not to take a vaccine or wear an N95, we will face the consequences. If we fail to see the threat from China and believe the soothers who say to question Xi Jinping’s motives is the same as being a racist, we will face the consequences.
Knowledge is power. This, I truly believe. The more we know and the more we analyze information for ourselves, the safer we will be.
References:
SARS escaped Beijing lab twice. The Scientist. Robert Walgate. Apr 25, 2004
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-analysis/sars-escaped-beijing-lab-twice-50137
‘Wake-up call for Canada’: Security experts say case of 2 fired scientists could point to espionage. CBC, June 10, 2021.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/wake-call-canada-security-experts-080000994.html
How Jeffrey Epstein Bought His Way Into An Exclusive Intellectual Boys Club
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/jeffrey-epstein-john-brockman-edge-foundation
Jeffrey Epstein’s Intellectual Enabler
https://newrepublic.com/article/154826/jeffrey-epsteins-intellectual-enabler
Private jets, parties and eugenics: Jeffrey Epstein’s bizarre world of scientists
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/18/private-jets-parties-and-eugenics-jeffrey-epsteins-bizarre-world-of-scientists
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