Ethics

‘Havana Syndrome’ Research Cancelled For Unethical Coercion Of Participants

September 2, 2024 Cubadebate, Resumen English. Educate! CIA, Ethics, Havana Syndrome, Human Rights, NIH, Research

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported Friday that it is ending its investigation of what is commonly known as “Havana syndrome,” a mysterious illness experienced by a number of spies, soldiers and diplomats who have reported sudden debilitating symptoms of unknown origin. The NIH said it would end the work “out of an abundance of caution” after an internal investigation found that people had been coerced into taking part in the research. The coercion, the agency specified, was not on its part, but NIH did not elaborate on who may have coerced participation. It noted, however, that voluntary consent is a fundamental pillar of ethical research conduct.

Science Should Save All, Not Just Some

August 12, 2024 Madhukar Pai and Seye Abimbola, Portside. Strategize! Class Struggle, Ethics, Science, Universality

Discussions around global equity and justice in science typically emphasize the lack of diversity in the editorial boards of scientific journals, inequities in authorship, “parachute research,” dominance of the English language, or scientific awards garnered predominantly by Global North scientists. These inequities are pervasive and must be redressed. But there is a bigger problem. The legacy of colonialism in scientific research includes an intellectual property system that favors Global North countries and the big corporations they support. This unfairness shows up in who gets access to the fruits of science and raises the question of who science is designed to serve or save.

Transparency International’s Covert Agenda

September 8, 2023 Kit Klarenberg, MintPress News. Educate! Ethics, New Zealand, Transparency International, World Bank

On July 24, it was revealed that Transparency International’s New Zealand wing had enlisted the specialist advice of some of the country’s biggest, most notorious lobbying firms on improving ethical standards in the political and corporate lobbying industry. A local businessman, who’d independently offered to assist TINZ in cleaning up the sector, blew the whistle. Expressing “astonishment,” they compared TINZ’s consultation of high-ranking lobbyists on how to clean up their own industry as akin to “police recruiting gang members to determine new rules on pursuit of fleeing drivers.” Yet, anyone familiar with Transparency International’s history would hardly be surprised.

BBC Under Fire For Doing Pesticide Giant’s Public Relations

July 20, 2023 Clare Carlile, Desmog. Educate! BBC, Ethics, Food and Agriculture, health, Media, Pesticides, Public Relations

The BBC has been accused of “selling the public’s trust” by producing “totally biased” documentaries on the future of sustainable food sponsored by Corteva, one of the world’s largest pesticide firms, potentially in breach of the broadcaster’s editorial guidelines. The “Follow the Food” documentaries, which featured a total of 28 episodes over three series, showcase “solutions” to climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and food security in the farming sector. Sustainable farming advocates have criticised the content for favouring industrial agriculture, which is heavily dependent on chemical pesticides and fertilisers.

Ethics Commission Votes To Subpoena ALEC Over Its Campaign Software Scheme

March 6, 2022 David Armiak, Exposed CMD. Resist! ALEC, Elections, Ethics, Voting

The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices voted 3-2 today to subpoena the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for information about its provision of sophisticated campaign software to its legislative members. The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) filed a complaint with the Ethics Commission last July alleging that ALEC’s gift of valuable voter management software, developed by Republican operatives and linked to the Republican National Committee’s voter database, constituted an illegal and unreported in-kind campaign contribution. CMD also filed an IRS whistleblower complaint against ALEC over the controversial program, valued at as much as $6 million per election cycle.

A Jail Tested Ivermectin ‘Treatment’ On Detainees Without Consent

February 1, 2022 Charles Hopkins, The Real News Network. Resist! COVID-19, Ethics, Ivermectin, Prisoner rights

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a federal lawsuit against the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas on behalf of inmates who say the jail’s medical staff, led by Dr. Robert Karas, prescribed and gave them ivermectin to treat COVID-19 without telling them what the drug actually was. (Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug that the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and others have repeatedly stated should not be used as a treatment for COVID-19.) As Edrick Floreal-Wooten, one of the inmates at Washington County Detention Center and a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit, recently told CBS News, “They said they were vitamins, steroids and antibiotics.

Is The Market Economy Working?

August 27, 2017 William Blum, www.williamblum.org Educate! Capitalism, Ethics, Finance and the Economy, Socialism

By William Blum for the Anti-Empire Report. Speaking in very broad terms … slavery gave way to feudalism … feudalism gave way to capitalism … capitalism is not a timelessly valid institution but was created to satisfy certain needs of the time … capitalism has outlived its usefulness and must now give way to socialism … the ultimate incompatibility between capitalist profit motive and human environmental survival demands nothing less. The system corrupts every important aspect of our lives, including the one which takes up the most of our time -– our work, even for corporation executives, who demand huge salaries and benefits to justify their working at jobs that otherwise are not particularly satisfying.

Should Scientists Engage In Activism?

March 26, 2017 Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus, www.theconversation.com Strategize! Activism, Ethics, Science, Science March

By Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus for The Conversation. Have you heard that scientists are planning a march on Washington? The move is not being billed as a protest, but rather as a “celebration of our passion for science and a call to support and safeguard the scientific community,” although it comes as a direct response to recent policy changes and statements by the Trump administration. Not everyone thinks the nonprotest protest is a good thing. It’s “a terrible idea,” wrote Robert Young, a geologist at Western Carolina University, in The New York Times. The march, Young said, will just reinforce a belief among some conservatives that “scientists are an interest group,” and polarize the issue, making researchers’ jobs more difficult. Others find that argument less than convincing, pointing out that science and politics have always been intertwined.

Congress Passes Rule Allowing House Members To Hide Records From Ethics Probes

January 11, 2017 Mary Papenfuss, www.huffingtonpost.com Educate! Congress, Ethics

By Mary Papenfuss for The Huffington Post - Just when you thought ethics standards couldn’t get much worse on Capitol Hill... It’s emerged that the House GOP quietly changed a rule last week to allow members to keep their records hidden from ethics or criminal investigations. The tweak allows politicians to conceal any information members produce — even suspicious expenditures and budgets — if the Office of Congressional Ethics or the Department of Justice investigates them for criminal activity, the Center for Responsive Politics reports. The change essentially makes a member of Congress the owner and sole controller of any records he or she creates...

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