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(and media, etc.)
The justification is published trials, FDA approval, and post-marketing data, a massive amount. Does he want representatives of the pharma firms to justify their products to him in a private audience? ... Oh, I see; he means bribes: they need to pay up, like law firms and universities.
It is David Koresh. It's not supposed to be an image of the poster; instead, show Koresh in a MAGA hat, to be edgy, I'm speculating.
The problem is that most people have no idea how a clinical trial is designed, run, and analyzed; it all must seem like a black-box mystery, so RFK and random internet conspiracists can spew nonsense, and who's to dispute it in the echo chamber of online antivaxx chatter?
This is absolute trash. Investigators do not "reassign" AEs to the unvaccinated (or placebo, or control) group, ever. In a double-blinded trial, investigators don't know who's in which group; AEs are reported and tracked by participant number.
"Princeton could use a guy like Joel."
Props for invoking the Glasgow Coma Scale.
It sounds extraordinary. Thank you.
(Forgot the parentheses, but you all know what I mean)
“Don’t Go Back to Rockville”
Thanks! I appreciate the recommendation! (My TBR pile is also large but I take personal referrals to heart.)
It made me angry. I felt betrayed; I’d been relating to the raw writing about a disintegrating marriage (they are in Italy, as I recall), and then sputtered (inside), “She has a BOOK DEAL while she’s doing all of this?” I think I threw the book on the floor; I remember that I did gasp out loud.
Yes. You can strive to do the right thing— not to get an A but to be a decent person, to try to save your neighbors’ or faraway humans’ lives, to work for the common good—and not apologize for it when it’s mocked or denigrated or rejected. You keep doing the right thing and hold your head up.
That’s what I mean; it was really disillusioning as a reader. (I was more naive then.)
One has to wonder who's the editor of that section, ie, who read that piece before it went to press? "Paris Is Burning" and "Harlan County, USA" are cousins as groundbreaking radical documentaries, not a study in contrasts (as everyone here has noted). Did nobody in the loop check? (I know; "no.")
(I don't begrudge authors their book deals, just that the idea of ending a marriage and seeking one's soulmate in Indonesia on Penguin's dime made the whole endeavor seem contrived to fulfill a narrative rather than reflections on experience.)
... but I can't shake the fact that, when I read "Eat, Pray, Love," I thought the first section had honest writing about her marriage, but then she mentions a call with her editor. I gasped aloud because it dawned on me that she had a book deal, and the rest of the book I could not abide.
Thanks for giving props to Jia T.; I had started reading the piece without having noted the author, and the writing was so compelling that when you named her, I thought, "Ahh, of course." As for Gilbert, she has a generosity of spirit that I can't deny... [cont'd]
Alcoholic! Genius! Also, great in Elaine May's undersung "Mikey and Nicky," with the inimitable Peter Falk.
In sum, the rush to AI (and massive financial support of it) is fundamentally anti-human.
ChatGPT gives the illusion that “you” control the “PhDs” (biased, stolen morass of information being churned through pooling layers); promoting on that illusion is more appealing than consulting human scholars (or existing documentation created by knowledgeable people).
I have been reminded of Andropov, a (lesser known) Soviet prime minister from my youth, whose decline and death were very murky.
Billionaires and morons (often one and the same) should not be “interpreting” scientific studies they do not understand. (Mike Lee: “Oh dear!”)
No doubt. I gave him partial credit for "one twelve," which is at least only 10 off. Still wrong, F, you fail, good day, sir! But less wrong than 1112, or the answer given by his dumb son, or his dumb, "practical" daughter. U Penn is not sending their best.
As I hear it, OranGump says, "It's eleven-twelve, it's one-twelve," which is admittedly better than I thought he'd do. (As we know, the answer is 102.) He had 20 sec. to do it in his head (and likely somebody fed him the answer and got it wrong.) Donj and Ivanka can't do mental math either.
(Should have typed "And/or," because he could still be dead.)
Or if someone overseas was managing the account for that shift and forgot about the time difference.
And people with medical training, such as Makary and Bhattacharya, are the worst enablers, in that they are choosing to reject what they once, long ago, must have believed, or at least paid lip service to, in service to a systemic wrecking ball and death wish.
Yes. They think they are paying for [certain] results. I also think that, across this regime, a fundamental suspicion of/lack of interest in science means they regard most biomedical and other research as an indulgence, as if scientists "ought to be done by now," or similar reductive thinking.
Just had to drop this in here [it's live, so, not featuring Page and Jones, but incredible]:
I liked Roger Moore best, because he was the Bond of my childhood, but once I had seen the Connery films I realized Moore was sort of an '80s, more palatable Bond. (Not an opinion, but): I was delighted to learn that both Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones play on Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger."
Thank you; watching that brought me joy.
Possibly my favorite quote; I drop it every chance I get. Thanks for getting it in here.
It is grotesque how this regime actively seeks to degrade accomplished Black women who have worked for decades in public service in positions of expertise and authority. Similarly dismissive terms were directed to the head of the Library of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, and Gwynne Wilcox of the NLRB.
Anna Bower's Lawfare liveblog on the hearing is excellent. She includes a statement by one of the children (I expect all of them have similarly heartbreaking situations): -- www.lawfaremedia.org/article/emer...
![Declaration of [Redacted Child's Name] I, ---, declare under penalty of perjury as follows: 1. My name is ---. I am 10 years old and I am from Guatemala. 2. I am currently detained at the Urban Strategies San Benito children's shelter in San Benito, Texas. 3. I am in removal proceedings before the Immigration Court. My case has not been decided yet, and I still have the right to continue fighting for protection. 4. I recently learned that I may be at risk of being removed from the United States before my case is fully heard. I am very afraid that I could be deported even though I am still waiting for the Court to decide my case. 5. I do not have any family in Guatemala that can take good care of me. My father does not take good care of me. My mother is dead. 6. I came to the United States after experiencing abuse, neglect and family violence. If I am sent back, I will not be able to live safely. I won't have anyone to protect me. 7. I understand that there is a prospect of release to a safe sponsor here in the United States, and I want to be somewhere safe with family who can provide me with safety and give me a safe home. 8. I want to remain in the United States and continue to fight my case in Immigration Court and have a fair opportunity to be heard. 9. I respectfully ask the Court to allow me to remain in the United States while my case is pending and to protect me from being removed before I have had a full day in court. -- Executed on August 30, 2025, in San Benito, Texas.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:njdip6u3og3mp54cnatrnphp/bafkreigryqazgswj2m7nyolud43bvoycoakwm2f4y2smx6eygcynuxnrze@jpeg "Click to view full size")
APHA (Am. Public Health Assn.) has demanded RFK's removal; Defend Public Health, a grassroots org. of researchers and public health workers, is vocal in demanding that RFK (as well as his cronies at NIH, FDA, and elsewhere) resign or be fired. Many other orgs. are defying RFK's directives.
Physicians are in an uproar, but I suspect that day-to-day responsibilities curb many people's abilities to organize. Only Trump can remove RFK, but Congress can impeach. We need to drag RFK into hearings day in, day out, and put in front of the public just how dangerous his actions and ideas are.
The AMA has issued multiple (upward of a dozen) statements opposing RFK's actions, expressing grave concerns about his impact, calling for reversals of decisions such as his dismissal of all the members of ACIP (vaccine panel). To my knowledge, AMA has not yet outright demanded his removal.
Noting his mirror/backward image, with "AS" showing on the cap (which my mind automatically finishes as "ASS").
Agreed -- from this narrative, the 1st incident is 100% independent of the 2nd. Why include the "good samaritan" event unless as cover for something else? (Will we learn that RG was "struck at high speed" from behind by someone involved with the alleged DV incident?)
Wow. I had always assumed Riley was the daughter of former Olympic swimmer Rowdy Gaines, which made me sad, because as a young age-grouper I'd looked up to him. I'm glad to find out he's no relation. Brad looks crazed; no doubt he's aligned with his bigoted, self-pitying, non-podium daughter.
Grotesque. Note the chyron, "Blackburn: Communities Want to Feel Safe," with footage of armed goons in camo abducting workers. The dissonance is so strong. Communities truly feel safe when people can just go about their daily lives, unthreatened.
From the narrative, the 1st incident is 100% independent of the 2nd. Initially, I thought Giuliani had been struck while pulled over on the shoulder (not uncommon), but officers arrived and RG left. Then, RG was just driving. Why include the "good samaritan" event unless as cover for something else?
There is always room for love between racists.
Yes, the "low trust" is "low trust of established, credible, non-corrupt experts."
She misses what my [immigrant] father used to deride as "Goddamn formless American bread." (Yes, I realize she is from the UK, but we exported our garbage bread to them.)
Many of the people tossing around "seed oils" as though it means "lighter fluid" couldn't even tell you what seeds those oils are made from.
Anna Merlan is a fucking national treasure and an excellent reporter. Jezebel, especially when Anna was there, and Mother Jones have done (and do) great, incisive, breaking work, and the DHS shows its dumbness and playground-level tactics by taking cheap shots. (Go, Anna!)
I don’t know, but I remembered (semi-accurately!) that Andropov’s death (Russia, 1984) was very murky. www.rferl.org/amp/karimov-...
Can’t wait to hear this album. Thanks for the tip!
Yes, absolutely. See also David Gorski’s thread, below: bsky.app/profile/gors...
“Signed, Ozymandonald”
Hot tub = communicable diseases; that's all I can think. Good luck with that Legionnaire's, sir, now that we no longer get alerts about outbreaks.
Both Vance and Trump repeat variants on "didn't say thank you" with such petulance and unselfconsciousness, as if this were a normal, professional way to discuss diplomacy or policy. Their thinking is so stunted that they can only parrot lines from a disciplinarian childhood.
Implying, moreover, that Melania, a Slovenian, would have any diplomatic power or insight (let alone even attend a meeting) as to the war on Ukraine?
And the chud just named acting director of the CDC is Jim O’Neil, former director of the Thiel Foundation and of the Thiel Fellowship. Thiel’s people are everywhere.
Seemingly he only likes the big '80s shows -- Andrew Lloyd Webber (Evita, Phantom, Cats) and Boublil/Schönberg (Les Mis). It fits -- those are from his NYC heyday, and they're all big, overblown spectacles; watching them requires no empathy, joy, wit, or working memory.
I was happy to see "Prince Ali," but I think you meant to post this one! youtu.be/3mA5zI18ga8
That's a hell of a letter -- heartbreaking, disillusioning (as if one had any illusions left), angering, and written with steely, incisive clarity. Charles Borges has my deep respect and gratitude for his service, honesty, and integrity.
I was relieved that their fraud was identified and punished, years ago now— yet, in this regime, the disgraced and uncredentialed David Geier can apparently be the “lead investigator” of a massive “study.” — Thanks so much for your interest; I hope this is useful information.
Yes, the volume of sketchy phishing that goes on across all devices, hourly, increasingly, is unbelievable. The Geiers created a nearly closed system that enabled them to conduct nonsense (not proper studies) which was published in flimsy journals and got huge publicity from the anti-vaxx lobby.
And here is the explanation for the retraction of one of their trashy studies, which contains a link to the trashy article itself: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Yes, I learned about them a while ago. Below I'm linking to a rundown of some of their corrupt actions-- including that they and their associates served as their own IRB. (Protocol for human studies must be reviewed by an IRB, so I couldn't understand how their crappy methods were approved.)
The Wikipedia page is very good.
Are you talking about Mark Geier? He is no longer living. His son, David, is not an MD and did not study under anyone. Mark Geier attended Columbia; got a PhD and MD from George Washington U. Here's his Wikipedia page (no mention of mentors): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Ge...
The gendered aesthetics of this Fox clip are worth marveling at: blondified white woman, dressed for a 1970s ladies' lunch at a country club; grizzled white man in a suit, with salt-and-pepper, steampunk-meets-Mennonite facial hair.
I am so sorry. What a disgraceful phrasing of a cruel and stupid decision. Sending all good wishes your way.
Yes. This passage jumped out at me as a verbatim explanation for the regime's cancellation of funding: “These are the [types of cancers] that have very poor outcomes, often in relapsed patients who haven’t responded to prior therapy, and patients for whom the chance of survival is very low."
I had forgotten about Thiel's trick balcony; thank you for bringing that back into my consciousness.
Gramsci on my block:
REM in 1984 at Clowes Hall in Indianapolis (I can’t change where I grew up); The Minutemen as openers.
I should clarify that by “monitor,” above, I mean “get feedback when the product is malfunctioning” (eg, reinforcing suicidal plans or giving other unacceptable, life-endangering responses).
(And I agree with Brian that OpenAI needs to be named and blamed specifically.)
A study of this sort cannot evaluate the intensity of responses over time, as in Adam Raine's case. I find it unconscionable that chatbots have been promoted as therapeutic agents - they are utterly unregulated, with no provision to monitor users' experiences.
I believe these models (and specifically ChatGPT) should be taken off the market. This study, published on Tuesday (the same day that Adam Raine's suicide was publicized) found that AI bots respond inadequately to users' expression of moderate suicidal risk.
If asking about Geiers: Mark and David Geier are father and son, autism conspiracy theorists who unethically managed to publish a couple shoddy studies that then had to be retracted. They served as their own IRB (internal study review board). Father was an MD but son has no training.
Not to mention your dignity and self-respect.
*Geier, singular; the elder Geier is dead but the son (who has no medical or science degree and was fined for practicing medicine w/o a license) was named lead investigator of RFK’s intended autism study.
I’m of the impression that to stick around they would be asked to suppress or falsify findings, engage with unethical people (eg, Geiers of the autism “studies”), and other compromising actions. I get where you’re coming from, though, and reciprocate the thanks!
Yes. That’s why the CDC director is litigating. The others at CDC who resigned are division heads (not subject to Senate approval) who have resigned with dignity and are documenting the unethical issues that impelled them to resign.
Those interested can read the resignation emails of the 3 former CDC leaders (chief medical director, NCIRD, NCEZID directors) here: insidemedicine.substack.com/p/breaking-n...
And it should be noted that CDC director Dr. Susan Monarez is refusing to step down, in spite of having been “fired,” as only the president has the authority to remove her. She has filed suit. That is “staying and fighting” for the rule of law.
Hmm. I just scroll up and it’s there; David Lurie reposting an Aaron Rupar post where RFK is on Fox blithering about SSRIs and violence.
He (in his racist, urban-hating, demented vortex) also ignores that many people are murdered at home in the halcyon enclaves of Indiana or Iowa. (“One of those ‘I’ states,” as people, such as Trump, lump them together; I type this as a former Midwest resident.)
I keep noting how small the text of “American Workers” is — the banner is basically screaming, “Trump FIRST,” which is exactly what it is intended to say.
I hope you didn’t think I meant “post” as in this BlueSky post; I mean in his post as head of USDHHS (and, of course, in all his private life behavior).
His insistence on pushing a misguided pet theory less than a day after children died in a mass shooting incident is grotesque. I have read no indication the shooter was taking an SSRI or anything else. RFK’s behavior in this post is disgusting and dangerous.
Jeremy Faust helped break this news on his newsletter, Inside Medicine— here it is: insidemedicine.substack.com/p/breaking-n...
Freshman dorm conversation, yes, but the kind you eavesdrop on for a couple minutes in the lounge while schlepping your laundry or waiting for your leftovers to be done in the microwave and then get the hell out of there because it’s so tedious, racist, pretentious, and awful.
Thank you for this excellent physical description. Although I would much rather have Bud Bundy on this panel and then watch him walk out in disgust; Bud had humanity.
The below piece is in MedPage Today, re: AI models and responses to suicidal risk. (The NYT article on Adam Raine quotes a coauthor of the study but does not expand.) That these bots are being used, unregulated, as a therapeutic stand-in is terrifying. Study: psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/...
The below piece is in MedPage Today, re: AI models and responses to suicidal risk. (The NYT article on Adam Raine quotes a coauthor of the study but does not expand.) That these bots are being used, unregulated, as a therapeutic stand-in is terrifying. Study: psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/...
It’s like a panel with a dumber Legion of Doom.
I think the process of AI-bot dependency has parallels with substance addiction. The "empathetic," reinforcing, ever-changing bot response is the drug. It is modulating the brain of the user, and the feedback, with 24/7 availability, makes them want/need more. This is insidious.
Absolutely. As a parallel, a drug that had several suicides associated with it would immediately be yanked off the market and the manufacturing company would be held responsible. This AI bot is dangerous and unregulated; there is no process in place for monitoring its effects on users.
“They have to be put away” can mean either incarceration/ institutionalization— or dead. I realize he was referring to the former, but he would prefer the latter.
Sure, I’m aware of those dismissals and many others. I pay attention. I was describing the contents of Harriott’s piece, because some commenters were just dismissing it because of CNN, and I wanted to help boost Sherrilyn Ifill’s reposting of it.
It is profoundly embarrassing that the president of the US is more concerned with the appearance of a chain restaurant logo than he is with performing the duties of a chief executive.
“Good fun” is an appalling phrase to use in the context of concentration camps, even if the NYT won’t call them that. What editor wrote that headline? Are they not ashamed? And the “all” (of course, part of the idiom) makes it even worse. What “all”? All of the torture? The terror? The illegality?