Immigration department – the dog of politics

The Australian Department of Immigration has become our own national “symbol of injustice” under the Howard Government. In the past decade, it has become a politicised tool executing the dogma of the Coalition parties.

Under this government, some of the worst examples of political opportunism and deceit have involved the Department of Immigration.

“Children overboard” scandal
The Howard Government demonised asylum seekers claiming that they had thrown their children overboard in a “tough stance” against illegal immigration and border security. This had not actually occurred. The Navy further denied ever giving intelligence to the Government that children had been thrown overboard exposing the politically convenient fabrication by Howard and his senior ministers.

The “Tampa” case
The highly accoladed Arne Rinnan, captain of the Norwegian ship, the MV Tampa rescued approximately 450 asylum seekers from a leaking boat approximately 75 nautical miles from Christmas Island. The Tampa was ordered to stop a few miles off Christmas Island. The port was closed and the Tampa boarded by the SAS (an elite army unit). This “get tough” platform appealed to right wing popularism in the electorate of the time and won Howard the 2001 election.

“The government’s handling of the Tampa “crisis” was a triumph of electoral cynicism over humanitarian need”. [Julian Burnside]

The “Cornelia Rau” scandal
A mentally unwell Australian citizen (with psychosis) was kept for two years in the Baxter Detention Centre (for illegal immigrants), denied routine psychiatric care while the Department of Immigration tried to deport her to Germany. Even trivial investigation into her case would have revealed her true identity.

The “Vivian Solon” scandal
Another Australian citizen who was seriously unwell after a motor vehicle accident where she suffered spinal and brain injuries was deported to the Philippines. After the Department of Immigration realised its mistake, it tried to cover up the fact.


Now, a new entry to that list is the case of Ahmed Aziz Rafiq, an Adelaide supermarket worker who was wrongfully imprisoned by the U.S. forces in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison for 18 months – eventually released without charge. Rafiq had returned to Iraq to find a bride in 2004. Since his release, Rafiq has been unable to return to Australia as the Department of Immigration has yet to issue his wife with a visa! Somehow, the assurance from an Immigration spokesman that “every effort to finalise this application as quickly as possible” was being made seems hollow.

Source articles:
Project Safecom: The Unthrown Kids

Julian Burnside. Refugees: The Tampa Case

The Sydney Morning Herald: Cornelia Rau: the verdict

The Sydney Morning Herald: A culture of denial

From: The Sydney Morning Herald
Immigration delay leaves Abu Ghraib prisoner in limbo (excerpt)
May 24, 2006

...AN AUSTRALIAN wrongfully detained in Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison for more than 18 months without charge has been unable to return home because the Immigration Department has not given his wife a visa.

Ahmed Aziz Rafiq, an Adelaide supermarket worker, had just married his wife, Sarab, in Iraq when he was arrested by the US military in February 2004.

A year later, the US promised to release him but it withdrew the offer, saying it wanted to gather more information. He was not freed until last October after an Iraqi court found there was no evidence to prosecute him...

...Upon his release, the Australian embassy in Baghdad told him it could not issue a visa for his wife...

...A spokesman for the Immigration Department insisted it was making "every effort to finalise this application as quickly as possible". He said Mr Rafiq was free to return home without his wife, if he chose. Mr Rafiq's lawyer, Stephen Kenny, said this was not an option: "He's clearly very nervous about leaving [Sarab] in Iraq, and understandably so..."

Signing statements – a most undemocratic tool

The "razor wire" of democratic law

U.S. President George W Bush is famous for not using his power of veto on new legislation passed by the American Congress. Though this is often glibly interpreted by his supporters as proof of his non-interference with the running of government, the truth is rather more sinister.

Rather than using the power of veto to openly oppose new legislation, Bush has issued “signing statements” on more than 750 new laws since taking office in 2001. Signing statements have been used by American presidents to add their own thoughts to the legislation when they don’t feel inclined to veto. However, Bush has used signing statements in such a fashion that effectively nullifies legislation that he disagrees with – and he has done so on a wide swath of legislation. Bush has in an underhand manner vastly expanded the boundaries of “executive power” taking both the powers law maker and the interpretation of law. To this end, Bush has issued more signing statements than all previous presidents; in fact, more than many combined.

Particularly obscene examples of his signing statements (from The Boston Globe):

March 9: Justice Department officials must give reports to Congress by certain dates on how the FBI is using the USA Patriot Act to search homes and secretly seize papers.

Bush’s signing statement: The president can order Justice Department officials to withhold any information from Congress if he decides it could impair national security or executive branch operations.

Dec. 30, 2005: US interrogators cannot torture prisoners or otherwise subject them to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.

Bush’s signing statement: The president, as commander in chief, can waive the torture ban if he decides that harsh interrogation techniques will assist in preventing terrorist attacks.

Dec. 30: When requested, scientific information “prepared by government researchers and scientists shall be transmitted [to Congress] uncensored and without delay.”

Bush’s signing statement: The president can tell researchers to withhold any information from Congress if he decides its disclosure could impair foreign relations, national security, or the workings of the executive branch.

Dec. 23, 2004: Forbids US troops in Colombia from participating in any combat against rebels, except in cases of self-defense. Caps the number of US troops allowed in Colombia at 800.

Bush’s signing statement: Only the president, as commander in chief, can place restrictions on the use of US armed forces, so the executive branch will construe the law “as advisory in nature.”

Oct. 29: Defense Department personnel are prohibited from interfering with the ability of military lawyers to give independent legal advice to their commanders.

Bush’s signing statement: All military attorneys are bound to follow legal conclusions reached by the administration’s lawyers in the Justice Department and the Pentagon when giving advice to their commanders.

Aug. 5: The military cannot add to its files any illegally gathered intelligence, including information obtained about Americans in violation of the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches.

Bush’s signing statement: Only the president, as commander in chief, can tell the military whether or not it can use any specific piece of intelligence.

Nov. 5, 2002: Creates an Institute of Education Sciences whose director may conduct and publish research “without the approval of the secretary [of education] or any other office of the department.”

Bush’s signing statement: The president has the power to control the actions of all executive branch officials, so “the director of the Institute of Education Sciences shall [be] subject to the supervision and direction of the secretary of education.”

The pattern of Bush’s subversion of legislation is clear and distinct. The security agencies and the military are given leave of their obligations of disclosure to Congress (i.e., the elected representative of the people) on Bush’s will – i.e., formation of a secret police. Bush’s statement that his government “did not torture” has an unuttered proviso of “unless directed by me” and then no one can report it afterwards. Time and time again, independence and transparency are stripped away with power directed towards the presidency.

Source article:
The Boston Globe: Examples of the president’s signing statements

Human to human bird flu in Indonesia?

Sumatra, Indonesia

So far, the H5N1 avian influenza virus has killed only a limited number of people. Transmission remains within those who have had close and prolonged contact with infected birds.

However, in the past week, it has been reported that there has been seven fatal human cases of bird flu within the same family with a family member as a suspected eighth case. The recent deaths occurred in Sumatra, Indonesia. The World Health Organisation has reported that there was no sign of diseased poultry in the immediate area.

In such a circumstance, human to human transmission must be suspected though from reports it does not seem that an outbreak beyond the known victims has occurred. Will Sumatra be “ground zero” for pandemic human influenza?

From: New Scientist

Bird flu may have passed between family members (excerpt)

• 15:48 24 May 2006
• NewScientist.com news service
• NewScientist.com Staff and AFP
  

...Limited human-to-human transmission of bird flu may have occurred in an Indonesian family which lost seven members to the virus. But there is no evidence that it had mutated into an easily transmissible form, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

The seven fatal cases in north Sumatra – the largest human cluster of infections in Indonesia – caused heightened fears that the H5N1 virus had passed between people...

...A WHO spokesman said there was no sign of diseased poultry in the immediate area. Although human-to-human transmission could not be ruled out, the search for a possible alternative source of exposure continues...

The failure of empire

Throughout history, only a select number of nations have had the overarching power militarily and economically on such a scale to be considered a global empire. The Roman Empire comes to mind, as does the more recent British Empire. Economic and social dominance is perhaps more important than military might for an enduring empire. Though, the classical Greeks under Alexander and the Mongols under Genghis Khan conquered vast territory and had a lasting legacy in history, did not form a “stable” empire beyond their creators or their immediate descendents.

The United States of America, the one “superpower” left in the modern world is arguably the current global empire. Its political will shapes the landscape of world affairs. Its military might (on almost any metric) dwarfs its closest rivals. Cultural dominance is pervasive internationally. Economically, it is the single largest market in the world. The United States (rightly or wrongly) is unashamed as the global policeman. Its foreign policy goal of attaining American hegemony is accepted (begrudgingly) as a political norm.

It is then perhaps interesting to highlight certain inconsistencies in the American empire. Many Americans that I have met are comfortable, if not smug in the belief that they live in the “best” nation of the world. Indeed, many are shocked that non-Americans do not think so. This “incomprehensible” blow is manifest throughout American news media. It is represented by denouncements of “anti-Americanism” in Europe (a good example by CNN).

This may all be true if the United States really is the “best” nation on Earth. It is established that the political, military, economic and culture dominance of the United States is real in the international sphere. What cost has this had on America itself? Interestingly, the United States fails in virtually all domestic metrics.

Education

• The United States is 49th in the world in literacy (the New York Times, Dec. 12, 2004).
• The United States ranked 28th out of 40 countries in mathematical literacy (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).
• 20% of Americans think the sun orbits the earth and 17% believe the earth revolves around the sun once a day (The Week, Jan. 7, 2005). That is, about 2 in 5 don’t know primary school level science.
• The International Adult Literacy Survey found that Americans with less than nine years of education ‘score worse than virtually all of the other countries’ (The European Dream: How Europe’s Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream, p.78 by Jeremy Rifkin).
• The European Union leads the U.S. in the number of science and engineering graduates, public research and development (R&D) expenditures, and new capital raised.
• Europe surpassed the United States in the mid-1990s as the largest producer of scientific literature.
  

Health

• The World Health Organization “ranked the countries of the world in terms of overall health performance” and the U.S. 37th. In the “fairness of health care”, the U.S. was 54th.
• The United States spends more per capita for health care than any other nation in the world.
• The U.S. and South Africa are the only two developed countries in the world that do not provide health care for all their citizens.
• Lack of health insurance coverage causes 18,000 unnecessary American deaths a year (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
• U.S. childhood poverty ranks 22nd, or second to last, among the developed nations.
• The United States is 41st in the world in infant mortality. Cuba scores higher (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
• Women are 70% more likely to die in childbirth in America than in Europe (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
  

Industry

• Sixty-one of the 140 biggest companies on the Global Fortune 500 rankings are European, while only 50 are U.S. companies.
• Fourteen of the 20 largest commercial banks in the world today are European.
• In engineering and construction, three of the top five companies are European. The two others are Japanese. Not a single American engineering and construction company is included among the world’s top nine competitors.
• In food and consumer products, Nestlé and Unilever, two European giants, rank first and second, respectively, in the world.
• In the food and drugstore retail trade, two European companies are first and second.
  

Trade

• Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea hold 40% of U.S. government debt.
• Sometime in the next 10 years Brazil will probably pass the U.S. as the world’s largest agricultural producer.
• As of June 2005, the U.S. imported more food than it exported (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).
  

Domestic politics

• Voter participation rate around 50%, one of the lowest rates in the developed world. Western Europe average is 77%.

The pursuit of the American “empire” has failed ordinary Americans in terms of domestic development and progress. One would rightly assume that American dominance in the world stage would push domestic measures to world best (if not near best). Nevertheless, this is clearly not the case and domestic American ignorance to the contrary is a well cultured delusion by the U.S. Administration and compliant domestic news media.

Source article:
Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages: America by the numbers – No. 1?

Howard blames Hicks for detention without trial

Earlier this month I argued that Guantanamo Bay was both a symbol and actuality of injustice in the Western world. To this point, though it has been a steadfast partner in the “coalition of the willing”, the United Kingdom concurs and has extricated all British citizens from this “gulag”.

International consensus includes most governments of Western nations, the United Nations, and NGOs such as the Red Cross.

Indeed, there is much criticism of the legality of the camp within the legal and judicial fraternity within the United States.

Our illustrious Prime Minister John Howard, however, has been unwavering in his support for American foreign policy. In an incredibly narrow minded attack on Hicks, he puts the blame of being held without trial on Hicks himself. He states:

“The circumstance delaying his trial by military commission is a legal action in the American courts… Until that is resolved the military commission trial can't go ahead… We do not want him to come back to Australia until he's been tried before the military commission.”

Howard’s argument is that Hicks is responsible for his own continued detention as he does not want to go through a biased show trial, one that has been condemned internationally as fundamentally lacking in fairness.

States Hicks’ excellent military lawyer, Major Michael Mori:

“If the military commission process was fair as [Mr Howard] likes to say it is, then the US courts would not entertain any legal challenges.”

There is a difference between a friend and a toady. I believe that Australia is a friend to the United States. Real friends, however, should stop each other from committing atrocities. John Howard is morally bankrupt, a toady lapping at the reflected glory of the power of the United States.

From: Sydney Morning Herald

A glass of shiraz for my ear

Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School have proposed that antioxidants may help delay the onset of age-related deafness, reports New Scientist magazine.

Anti-oxidants in wine and tea have been purported offer much in terms of health benefits. A glass of red wine a day reduces the risk of heart attack and strokes. Green tea apparently reduces the risk of some types of cancers. Aspirin, both an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant has many beneficial effects.

Schacht of the University of Michigan recently presented his results on a study on the use of aspirin in reducing the risk of hearing loss while using the antibiotic gentamicin for acute ear infections. His results seemed very promising with a large benefit of aspirin over placebo.

It must be acknowledged that in most settings, the benefits of supplemental anti-oxidants are highly suspect with weak evidence. Nevertheless, I am in favour of simply changing to a diet that has more anti-oxidants in food; red wine, fresh fruits and vegetables, dark chocolate. Even if it has no specific benefit from an “anti-oxidant” point of view, it is still a healthy and enjoyable diet.

From: New Scientist

Red wine may fight deafness (excerpt)

• 14:00 14 May 2006
• From New Scientist Print Edition
• Andy Coghlan
  

...MODERATE consumption of red wine or aspirin may delay the onset of age-related deafness and reduce hearing loss caused by loud noise and some antibiotics.

The delicate hairs of the inner ear which are vital for hearing can be damaged by the oxygen free radicals produced by normal cellular processes throughout life and in response to loud noise and exposure to antibiotics. Antioxidants such as resveratrol, which is found in red wine and green tea, or salicylate, the active ingredient of aspirin, help to neutralise these free radicals, so might be expected to protect against some of this damage...

...Hearing loss affected just 3 per cent of patients who were given gentamicin plus aspirin for acute ear infections compared with 13 per cent treated with gentamicin plus a placebo.

...At the same meeting [ear conference at Univerity College London], Matti Anniko of Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden presented results which suggested that an ear condition called Ménière's disease could be treated with a cocktail of three antioxidants: rebamipide, vitamin C and glutathione...

...The treatment didn't work as well on patients who'd had the condition for many years, however. The antioxidant cocktail is now being tested in four larger trials in which half the patients receive placebos...

..."I wouldn't say it is proof for antioxidants," says Schacht. "The jury's still out on that, but it certainly can't hurt to increase the amount of green vegetables, red wine or green tea that you consume."

Creationism is superstitious paganism – Vatican’s astronomer

Brother Guy Consolmagno, the Vatican’s astronomer has been a staunch supporter of science with the Catholic Church. He has repeatedly affirmed the view that science and religion, insofar as the Christian faith are not in conflict. This ideology has firm historical backing. The Catholic Church does has a rich tradition of scientific inquiry, though perhaps this has somewhat diminished in recent decades.

The juxtaposition between the views of the Vatican’s astronomer and the less moderate voices of the Christian right is particularly striking. Consolmagno denounces creationism as a “kind of paganism”, while the Christian fundamentalists in the United States will claim the literal word of Genesis.

States Consolmagno:

“Knowledge is dangerous, but so is ignorance. That’s why science and religion need to talk to each other… Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality, to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism – it’s turning God into a nature god.”

Perhaps these so called Christians should take heed of the teachings of their spiritual leaders.

I am an atheist and I do not believe in the Christian god. Nevertheless, Brother Consolmagno is proof that one can be both a scientist and being a devout religious devotee; and without the perversion of scientific knowledge like championing foolish notions like “Intelligent Design”.

It should be widely acclaimed by scientists and clergy that “Intelligent Design” is bad science and bad theology.

From: The Scotsman

Creationism dismissed as 'a kind of paganism' by Vatican's astronomer (excerpt)
IAN JOHNSTON

...BELIEVING that God created the universe in six days is a form of superstitious paganism, the Vatican astronomer Guy Consolmagno claimed yesterday...

...He described creationism, whose supporters want it taught in schools alongside evolution, as a "kind of paganism" because it harked back to the days of "nature gods" who were responsible for natural events.

Brother Consolmagno argued that the Christian God was a supernatural one, a belief that had led the clergy in the past to become involved in science to seek natural reasons for phenomena such as thunder and lightning, which had been previously attributed to vengeful gods...

..."Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality, to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism - it's turning God into a nature god. And science needs religion in order to have a conscience, to know that, just because something is possible, it may not be a good thing to do..."

Guantanamo – symbol of injustice

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
– Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

In the past 18 months, I have written several articles on the Guantanamo Bay camp, where close to 500 detainees still remain incarcerated. In my opinion, those in detention have been withheld their rights under international law. In other words, Guantanamo Bay represents a continuing flagrant suspension of the laws and ethical norms of Western civil society by the United States.

Unlike Australia’s sycophantic deference to the US, the United Kingdom has maintained a consistent opposition to Guantanamo. Yesterday, the UK Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith gave the strongest condemnation yet. In a speech to the Royal United Services Institute, he says:

“It is time, in my view, that it should close. Not only would it, in my personal opinion, be right to close Guantanamo as a matter of principle, I believe it would also help to remove what has become a symbol to many – right or wrong – of injustice. The historic tradition of the United States as a beacon of freedom, liberty and of justice deserves the removal of this symbol.”

He goes further:

“…there are certain principles on which there can be no compromise. Fair trial is one of those – which is the reason we in the UK were unable to accept that the US military tribunals proposed for those detained at Guantanamo Bay offered sufficient guarantees of a fair trial in accordance with international standards.”

This was the justification for the extrication of all British detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

The United States is still holding an Australian, David Hicks in detention. He has been dubbed an “enemy combatant” and thus denied the rights afforded to him under the Geneva Conventions. Hicks has been held in custody since his capture in late 2001, and held at Guantanamo Bay since early 2002. The preposterous reality is that in the past four and a half years, the United States has been unable to produce enough evidence to mount a case against Hicks in even a biased “military tribunal”, tribunals that the UK is “unable to accept”.

The best that the United States can come up with as per recently parroted by White House spokesman Sean McCormack is, “but the fact of the matter is that the people there are dangerous people.” If they are so dangerous, then why can they not be brought to a fair trial and charged with their crimes?

In September 2004, barrister Lex Lasry QC, the only independent Australian lawyer present to observe the initial hearing for Hicks at Guantanamo made a conclusion that was even more powerful than the recent words of the British Attorney General. Rather than that a fair trial could not be “guaranteed”, he stated that:

“...it would be virtually impossible for … Hicks to receive a fair trial under the current arrangements.”

Despite acknowledgement by the Prime Minster of “concerns” about the US military tribunal process, the action (or rather lack of) by the Australian government when compared to the British is stark indeed. One of the justifications used by Howard against the repatriation of Hicks was:

“If they [David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib] are brought back to Australia, they go free because there is no crime under Australian law with which they can be charged.”

On consideration, surely this is a reason to bring Hicks back to Australia (Habib was released without charge after a three year detention in January 2005). As per the Prime Minister, under Australian law, David Hicks has not committed a crime and would be a free man. Despite this, the Howard Government is willing to let an Australia citizen be held indefinitely and be processed through a military tribunal that has been denounced by the majority of Western nations.

Howard and his government is worthy of the contempt and disgust of all Australians over this issue.

Source articles:
BBC: UK calls for Guantanamo closure

BBC: Full text of Lord Goldsmith's speech

The Sydney Morning Herald: Bringing Hicks home 'impossible', says Howard

High Court rules against “wrongful life” cases

“Wrongful life” has been a contentious and difficult medico-legal issue. The term refers to mounting a case of negligence by those people who claim that they should not have been born.

The ruling by the High Court of Australia is against two specific cases; that of a severely disabled 25-year-old woman with congenital rubella and a young IVF baby with brain damage and cerebral palsy after suffering a cerebral bleed from an inherited clotting disorder. Both cases have previously gone through the NSW Supreme Court and The Court of Appeal unsuccessfully.

In the judgement, states Justice Susan Crennan:

“There is no present field of human learning or discourse, including philosophy and theology, which would allow a person experiential access to non-existence, whether it is called pre-existence or afterlife…

There is no practical possibility of a court (or jury) ever apprehending or evaluating, or receiving proof of, the actual loss or damage as claimed by the appellant. It cannot be determined in what sense Alexia Harriton’s life with disabilities represents a loss, deprivation or detriment compared with non-existence.”

In my humble opinion, this is a key finding. You cannot be harmed from “non-existence” in being given life.

This is all very existential but I think to be a satisfactory outcome. With this ruling, I hope that the concept of “wrongful life” is finally thrown out the window.

From: The Sydney Morning Herald

Two lose wrongful life case (excerpt)
May 9, 2006 - 12:00PM

...The High Court today ruled against two severely disabled people who claimed they should not have been born.

In what's been termed a case of "wrongful life," the judges found the pair did not have a right to mount a case for negligence against their mothers' doctors.

The case was launched by two disabled people, Sydney woman Alexia Harriton, 25, and Keeden Waller, five...

...In the NSW Supreme Court, Justice Timothy Studdert dismissed both damages claims, holding they had no cause of action. The Court of Appeal, by majority, also dismissed each appeal.

The action on behalf of Alexia and Keeden then turned to the High Court.

By a six to one majority, the High Court judges today dismissed each appeal, ruling that a cause of action in negligence required each to show damage had been suffered and the doctors had a duty of care to avoid that damage.

They found no legally recognisable damage - loss, deprivation or detriment caused by an alleged breach of duty - could be shown.

The judges held that comparing a life with non-existence for the purposes of proving actual damage was impossible as it could not be determined that the children's lives represented a loss, deprivation or detriment, compared with non-existence...

Social engineering in Australian medical schools

“In teaching there should be no distinction of classes.” – Confucius, Analects XV. 39

In the May 2006 edition of “The NSW Doctor” (journal of the Australian Medical Association (NSW) Limited), an opinion piece was written by Dr Julian Parmegiani, a well known forensic psychiatrist titled “Medical Schools and the Meritocracy Crisis”. Within the article expressed a view I had long held though perhaps not “politically convenient” within the current views of medical student selection.

In Australia, there has been a move towards “interview” based selection for potential medical students compared to the previous system of “academic achievement based” (“meritocratic”) system. When I entered the undergraduate medical program at the University of NSW (the last bastion of the “old school”), entry was entirely based on my performance in the HSC (“higher school certificate”). Offers into the program had a number of prerequisites (insofar as subject choices and performance in those subjects in the last two years of secondary education) and was then applied on a “demand” basis. For example, there were “x” number of positions and the top “x” candidates (in terms of the “TER” or tertiary entrance rank, a composite number determined statewide “ranking” on HSC performance) were given those positions.

Medicine is in relative high demand and attractive to those who perform well academically and as such resulted in a degree of “academic elitism”. This criticism is valid. In my year, prospective medical students had to be ranked in the top 0.4% of all students completing the HSC to be successful in securing a place in the undergraduate medical program at the UNSW.

I clearly remember the other criticisms at the time. It was purported that the meritocratic system produced (quoting Parmegiani’s article):

“… idiot-savants with no interpersonal skills, altruism, or empathy.”

The “unhappy mother” argument was common. “My ‘little Jonny’ would make a fantastic doctor but only got a TER score of 90”.

And of course, there was the veiled but palpably popular opinion that only the socially retarded dare utter that “there were too many Asian medical students”.

A few years into my medical degree, the UNSW succumbed to the tides of change and it too instituted an interview based system.

The ideology behind an interview based selection system is so that qualities that are not necessary represented in the sterile TER such as ethics, empathy, and altruism would be considered as criteria. The flip-side, of course, is to weed out the aforementioned “idiot-savants”. This ideology is admirable. Pragmatism and practical implementation is nevertheless necessary.

A quick review of the medical student intake population in programs based highly on interviews reveals several key biases compared to the old meritocratic system. The medical students are significantly whiter, from wealthier backgrounds and more likely to be from a family of doctors.

Is this “racism” as suggested by Parmegiani? Perhaps, though I believe it to be unintentional.

Is this “social engineering”? Absolutely.

The problem is that the interview is hardly unexpected and nor are the selection criteria. The interview process may well work for a cohort of “naïve” applicants but the reality, however, is somewhat different. Prospective students more often than not have been “coached” and “trained” for the interview. “Confidence” and good performance in a career changing interview is hardly a measure of being a virtuous doctor. Furthermore, interviewers are notoriously bad at detecting lies or exaggerations.

States Parmegiani:

“The interview will not identify altruistic, kind and empathic doctors. The most successful candidates won’t turn into the über-doctors expected by selectors. Who looks calm while playing Russian Roulette? Successful students might just be a tad more psychopathic, manipulative and intent on recouping their investments”.

The meritocratic system undoubtedly selects out the obsessively academic, schizoid and potentially immature individual as medical students. However, the rigor of the medical training program selects out those unsuited for clinical practice. Most have the capacity for the academic intensity, but those who lack the necessary social skills and are unable to develop them will usually leave the medical program. Although one of the aims of the interview based system is to promote “variety” in the people who train in medicine, I do not believe that this is borne out, except in the post-graduate medical programs. My experience is that those who are selected through the meritocratic system are in fact more diverse in their opinions and views when graduated and practicing medicine.

That is not to say that medical graduates or medical students selected on an interview based system are in any way inept or incompetent. Most are excellent doctors or are well on the way to becoming one. Nevertheless, there is a question of fairness and equity. In Australia, there are far more people with the aptitude of being a good doctor who want to become one, than there are available training positions (or fundamentally, the economic and service need).

Meritocracy is the great leveller. The arbiter is academic ability. Even if society deals a candidate a favourable hand, the judge is still talent, effort, dedication and ability. Like it or not, the social engineering in the interview system selects out the less academically able, the socially advantaged, the coached, and the psychopathic.

A historical analogy from Parmegiani:

“…in 1905, Harvard adopted admission criteria based on merit. By 1922, the number of Jews began to rise dramatically, making up more than 20 per cent of Harvard’s freshman class. Jews were thought to be insular, sickly, and unsuitable. In addition, they displaced the sons of wealthy Anglo-Saxon alumni, a development that threatened donations. The Ivy League (Harvard, Yale, and Princeton) responded to the meritocracy crisis by changing the definition of merit … “Candidates had to provide personal essays, demonstrating their aptitude for leadership, and list their extracurricular activities.” This sounds familiar. The proportion of Jewish students fell rapidly by 1933.”

I am uncertain as to when or if the selection process into medical schools in Australia will change. I am somewhat enthused by the publication of the opinion piece by Parmegiani so that at least this topic is being raised and hopefully debated. My personal opinion, and though this may be a broad brush, is that the interview based system was introduced as part of a social agenda to engineer a new brand of doctor who would fit a certain idealised mould. Though conceivably not without merit in its philosophy, its implementation and outcome should be cause for alarm.

Source article:
Parmegiani, J. Medical Schools and the Meritocracy Crisis. The NSW Doctor, May 2006, p.10-11

Let’s indulge in a conspiracy theory – does al-Zarqawi exist?

A modern mythology

Today I read a few articles that has made me question the existence of “al-Zarqawi”, the mastermind of the Iraqi insurgency.

Everyone likes a conspiracy theory. They’re interesting, make a great story and are generally difficult to prove wrong. The fact that something is dubbed a “conspiracy theory” can also, however, instantly be dismissed as some form of ridiculous “left-wing”, “terrorist-supporting” mumbo-jumbo by the “powers that be”. For this reason, the US Administration and US military love conspiracy theories too.

Firstly, who is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?

Let me quote two moderately trustworthy sources. The first is the profile of al-Zarqawi from the BBC News website. The BBC, though funded by the British government, has a legislative responsibility for neutrality and independence. Insofar as political reporting, the BBC is much more trustworthy than the news media of the United States. The second is from Wikipedia. With around 500 edits from people across the political spectrum, the amalgamated biography is likely to be something representing “fact”.

States the BBC:

“...Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is Iraq’s most notorious insurgent – a shadowy figure associated with spectacular bombings, assassinations and the beheading of foreign hostages.

He first appeared in Iraq as the leader of the Tawhid and Jihad insurgent group, merging it in late 2004 with Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network...

...While many analysts say he is using the Iraqi insurgency as a springboard to expand his operations, others argue his influence has been exaggerated...

...Bomb attacks on Iraq’s Shia-dominated government and security forces have continued apace, however, with many of the bloodiest strikes of 2005 blamed on Zarqawi’s group, now renamed al-Qaeda in Iraq...

...A letter released by US forces in 2005 – allegedly authored by Bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and addressed to Zarqawi – appears to support this.

In the letter, whose authenticity remains in doubt, Zawahiri purportedly cautions Zarqawi that indiscriminate attacks on the Shia are eroding support for al-Qaeda...

...Several men alleged to be key aides of Zarqawi have also been killed or captured – but these appear to have had no effect on his group’s ability to operate...

...The reward was increased in early 2004, after American authorities intercepted a letter which, they claimed, confirmed he was working with al-Qaeda to drive the US out of Iraq...

...In the run-up to the Iraq war in February 2003, US Secretary of State Colin Powell told the United Nations Zarqawi was an associate of Osama Bin Laden who had sought refuge in Iraq.

Intelligence reports indicated he was in Baghdad and – according to Mr Powell – this was a sure sign that Saddam Hussein was courting al-Qaeda, which, in turn, justified an attack on Iraq.

But some analysts at the time contested the claim, pointing to Zarqawi’s historical rivalry with Bin Laden...

...Both men rose to prominence as “Afghan Arabs” –leading foreign fighters in the “jihad” against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s...

...Jordan tried him in absentia and sentenced him to death for allegedly plotting attacks on American and Israeli tourists.

Western intelligence indicated Zarqawi had sought refuge in Europe.

German security forces later uncovered a militant cell which claimed Zarqawi was its leader.

The cell-members also told their German interrogators their group was “especially for Jordanians who did not want to join al-Qaeda”.

According to the German intelligence report, this “conflicts with... information” from America...

...He is believed to have set up a training camp in the western city of Herat, near the border with Iran.

Students at his camp supposedly became experts in the manufacture and use of poison gases...”

States: Wikipedia

“Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (born October 20, 1966, Zarqa, Jordan) is a Salafi Islamist militant, a guerrilla leader, and the rumoured leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. One or more individuals identifying themselves as Zarqawi have taken responsibility, on several audiotapes, for numerous acts of violence in Iraq, including the killing of civilians and the taking of hostages. He is also allegedly responsible for many other acts of violence, including the beheading of hostages in Iraq. Due to his current role in the Iraqi insurgency and his prior activities in Jordan, Zarqawi is wanted by American, Iraqi, and Jordanian authorities.

As an Islamist militant, Zarqawi opposes the presence of U.S., Israeli and Western military forces in the Islamic world. In September 2005, he reportedly declared “all-out war” on Shia Muslims in Iraq, and is believed responsible for dispatching numerous Al-Qaeda suicide bombers throughout Iraq, and especially to areas with large concentrations of Shia civilians.

Zarqawi, believed to be a long time ally of Osama bin Laden, is now a high-ranking member of bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network, and since October 2004 has referred to his own organization Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, or Monotheism and Holy War Group, an insurgent network operating in Iraq, as “Al-Qaida in Iraq”. On October 21, 2004, Zarqawi officially announced his allegiance to Al Qaida; on December 27, 2004, Al Jazeera broadcast an audiotape of bin Laden calling Zarqawi “the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq” and asked “all our organization brethren to listen to him and obey him in his good deeds.”

Zarqawi is the most wanted man in Jordan and Iraq, having participated in or masterminded a number of violent actions against United States and Iraqi targets. The U.S. government is offering a USD$25 million reward for information leading to his capture, the same amount offered for the capture of bin Laden before March 2004. On 15 October 2004, the U.S. State Department added Zarqawi and the Jama'at al-Tawhid wal Jihad group to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations and ordered a freeze on any assets that the group might have in the United States.”

Al-Zarqawi, an insurgent and Islamist who has been made out as a legendary “terrorist prince” in Iraq, traditionally shy of showing his face on video tape released a surprisingly candid video recently, unmasked, telling the world everything the US president states he is and is doing. As noted around the internet, even assuming this video is truly that of al-Zarqawi, the timing is certainly convenient. The video, was released by “al-Qaeda”.

Today, the “uncut” version of the tape was revealed by the US military, apparently seized during a raid last month. The video shows the man who claims to be al-Zarqawi acting like a bumbling fool. He is unable to operate his automatic rifle. He wears American tennis shoes. His aids / fellow fighters burns his hand by grabbing the just fired rifle from the confused al-Zarqawi.

The release of this tape was apparently a PR exercise in Iraq to mock al-Zarqawi. States, the US military spokesman Major General Rick Lynch:

“His close associates around him … do things like grab the hot barrel of the machine gun and burn themselves … Makes you wonder [about their military skills]…”

Yes it does.

Let us look at the historical facts. Al-Zarqawi is a veteran of combat as a foreign fighter in the war in Afghanistan against Soviet forces. He was not just a solider – rather a leader of soldiers. He has the skills (apparently) of running and operating several terrorist training camps and has successfully executed numerous terrorist attacks. At present, he is (allegedly) a (or the) leader of the insurgency in Iraq.

And he can’t operate a rifle? And his aids / fellow fighters in the clip seem to be incompetent with firearms?

We are faced with a credibility gap. Perhaps al-Zarqawi does exists but is the man in the video him?

With this gap of credibility a number of things start to fall apart – like the crack in a dry piece of wood once you drive in a wedge. Why would al-Zarqawi’s group in Iraq change its name to “Al-Qaeda”? There is plenty of historical evidence that al-Zarqawi’s group was a rival. From a US military point of view this name change does seem again, remarkably convenient. The undeniable enemy of the United States, the enemy that perpetrated 9/11 linked with Iraqi insurgency.

Looking back at the BBC profile, it becomes painfully obvious that all that purported links between al-Zarqawi and Saddam Hussein were tenuous at the time and now almost certainly bogus. However, the US cemented the “Al-Qaeda” link with the letter of support for al-Zarqawi from bin Laden’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahri in October 2005. Al Qaeda, not known for their bashfulness in declaring their responsibility for atrocities, claimed that this letter was a fake.

Who is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?

He is another “Osama bin Laden”. He is everywhere and he is nowhere. Described as “mysterious” and “elusive” he is a mythical beast created by the United States as the archetypical bogey-man, the ultimate Islamic terrorist placed on a pedestal to subjugate and control the population with fear.

A man named “al-Zarqawi” may exists, but the portrait painted of him by the military does not. I also do not believe that the recent video of him is genuine. At best, the US military is a willing dupe. At worst, it was manufactured.

But then, this is all only a conspiracy theory.

Source articles:
Yahoo! News: Video Shows al-Zarqawi Fumbling with Rifle

Wikipedia: Nick Berg conspiracy theories

BBC News: Profile: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Wikipedia: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Project on Defense Alternatives: The al-Zarqawi Assessment: Another Instance of ‘Cooked’ Intelligence?

Telegraph (UK): How US fuelled myth of Zarqawi the mastermind

The Washington Post: Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi

The Atlantic health divide

A recent study in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) revealed an interesting gap between the health between the United States and the United Kingdom (specifically, England).

In comparison, the United States had worse health indicators compared to England at all socioeconomic levels, and the differences were marked. For example, in the highest income bracket, the rates of heart disease were 12.0% vs. 7.8% respectively. In the lowest income bracket, this was 17.1% vs. 11.6%.

It is speculated by James Smith of the RAND Corporation (one of the co-authors of the study) that dietary and other lifestyle factors may be at play, with a greater proportion of Americans obese compared to the English. Of interest to me was the stark difference in the cost of health care, with the United States spending double that of England: $US 5274 per capita vs. $2164 respectively.

Source articles
JAMA: Banks, J., Marmot, M., Oldfield, Z., Smith, J. Disease and Disadvantage in the United States and in England. Vol. 295 No. 17, May 3, 2006


From: New Scientist

Americans 'sicker' than their English counterparts (excerpt)

• 17:15 02 May 2006
• NewScientist.com news service
• Roxanne Khamsi
  

...While wealthy Americans enjoy better health than their poorer fellow citizens, this high status fails to confer health benefits to match even the lowliest of their trans-Atlantic cousins. The health of the richest people in the US is as poor as the worst educated, lowest paid among the English.

“Americans are much sicker than the English,” claim the researchers, who are based on both sides of the Atlantic. They came to this conclusion after studying self-reported information about diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other illnesses from about 8000 adults aged 55 to 64 years, half in each country. The information came from government-sponsored surveys...

...In England, 7.8% of people in the highest income bracket had heart disease, whereas 12.0% of the same group in the US had heart disease, according to the survey data. The lowest income groups in England and the US had heart disease rates of 11.6% and 17.1%, respectively.

The analysis also suggests that while about 6.1% of adults in England suffer from diabetes, the illness affects 12.5% of US adults...

...England was chosen because its population was expected to share many characteristics with that of the US...

...Smith [co-author] says the fact that all people in England have access to government-sponsored health cover does not explain the differences seen between the populations...

...He speculates that dietary differences – and in particular greater consumption of fast-food – could perhaps explain why 31% of Americans in that age group are obese, compared to just 23% of their English counterparts. Possibly more stressful and sedentary lifestyles might also make Americans less healthy, Smith speculates...

Marvellous improvised walking aid

The “MuSmate” in action

Geo-physicist Ken Armitage has developed a fantastic new walking, initially created for his wife who suffers from multiple sclerosis.

The “MuSmate” walking aid is marvellous in its simplicity. It elicits the “slap your hand on your forehead, why didn’t I think of this” response when you see it. In essence, it comprises of a shoulder harness and a bungee cord that connects to the shoe and comes in both one sided and double sided (both lower limbs) versions. The bungee cord helps the wearer lift their leg.

Although no trials have been performed yet, anecdotal evidence from the Armitages is that using the “MuSmate” both significantly increases walking speed and endurance.

From: BBC News

Homemade walking aid tackles MS (excerpt)
Geoff Adams-Spink
BBC News website age & disability correspondent

...Ken Armitage and wife Anne were trying to reach a pub on Dartmoor in time for a cream tea.

Mr Armitage improvised using his rucksack and a bungee strap, and the couple made it in time for tea.

His MuSmate walking aid was in line for a best new product award at a leading UK disability show, Naidex, at the NEC in Birmingham...

...The Armitages - together with a partner, Andrew Wynd - have formed a company to market the MuSmate to the public.

The device consists of a shoulder harness and an elasticated cord connected the wearer's shoe.

They are hoping it will help people with MS, cerebral palsy, those recovering from strokes and adrenoleukodystrophy, a condition similar to MS...

...Mr Armitage uses the elastic cord to help people whose muscles won't allow them to lift their feet during that part of the walking cycle.

"We found a way of transferring energy from the strong muscles in the thigh and back to the ones that weren't working..."

...The next stage in the product's development was to have it tested by a larger group of people. The South-West MS Society helped by coming up with around 20 volunteers...

...The volunteers also reported - though this was not measured scientifically - that the distance that they were able to walk increased by up to 600%.

Wearers reported that walking without the MuSmate had also improved...