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#Post#: 8408--------------------------------------------------
Re: Medical decolonization
By: guest55 Date: August 27, 2021, 10:55 pm
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[quote author=90sRetroFan link=topic=245.msg8404#msg8404
date=1630120942]
It is clear that whoever wrote the article has perhaps the
poorest understanding of all! A true introvert is someone who
doesn't feel sad from being alone (and hence who would not
self-report as feeling "lonely"), most likely because they have
such high self-esteem that they regard most people not worth
interacting with. The article, however, conflates "introversion"
with loneliness and low-self-esteem, as if the only reason why
anyone would be introverted is because they can't socialize
despite wanting to (e.g. incels), completely ignoring the
existence of those (e.g. us) who are disgusted by the idea of
socializing with barbarians.
[/quote]
Such a great point!!! I never feel lonely or bored by myself.
The only time I feel lonely and bored is when I interact with
human-beings. I definitely prefer humans also! But,
unfortunately they are very rare!
#Post#: 8552--------------------------------------------------
Re: Medical decolonization
By: Zea_mays Date: September 2, 2021, 12:23 pm
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I think the writer is saying all those traits were treated as
separate variables, which just so happened to have similar
responses, not that they necessarily all co-occurred in the same
individuals.
#Post#: 8608--------------------------------------------------
Re: Western civilization is a health hazard
By: guest55 Date: September 6, 2021, 1:15 pm
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Drug Trial Goes Terribly Wrong: Emergency At The Hospital
(Medical Documentary) | Real Stories
[quote]On Monday 13 March 2006, eight healthy young men took
part in a clinical trial of an experimental drug known as
TGN1412. The drug was intended to treat leukaemia and had
already been successfully tested on monkeys but never on humans.
It should have been a routine clinical trial but it soon
spiralled into one of the most infamous medical emergencies in
recent British history.[/quote]
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9_sX93RHOk
#Post#: 9754--------------------------------------------------
Re: Medical decolonization
By: guest55 Date: November 12, 2021, 7:01 pm
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On the Body as Machine
[quote]Thinking of our bodies as machines has led to widespread,
unhelpful, and even militaristic approach to medicine.[/quote]
[quote]It used to be that when I looked in the mirror, I saw
many things: a body; a collection of cells; a fantastic kind of
machinery. I didn’t see these things because they were a
reflection of reality, or because the body and brain are, in
fact, machines. I saw them because I was born in America, and
that is my culture. [/quote]
This thinking does not derive from American culture at all but
rather Western culture. The Industrial Revolution began in
Britain, America's former colonizer!
[quote]The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new
manufacturing processes in Britain, continental Europe and the
United States, in the period from between 1760 to 1820 and
1840.[1] This transition included going from hand production
methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron
production processes, the increasing use of steam power and
water power, the development of machine tools and the rise of
the mechanized factory system. The Industrial Revolution also
led to an unprecedented rise in the rate of population growth.
[/quote]
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution
Continuing with the article:
[quote]In our country, we have what’s known as a mechanistic
understanding of our bodies. We imagine ourselves to be machines
made of meat and bone. We see the doctor as a mechanic whose job
is to find the broken parts and fix them. For at least a century
this has been our primary metaphor for talking about sickness
and health, about how our bodies work and break down. In its
popular 1960s television special, National Geographic flatly
described the human body as “The Incredible Machine.”
The body is incredible, but my view of it as a machine — the
validity of that metaphor — started to break down in the process
of researching my book, “The Geography of Madness,” about the
so-called “cultural syndromes.”[/quote]
Entire article:
HTML https://undark.org/2016/07/06/mind-machine-medicine-militaristic-healthcare/
[quote]The Body Is Not A Machine
...
The origins of the machine metaphor
Once dissections became common and anatomical drawings by
Leonardo da Vinci and Andreas Vesalius began to circulate in the
early 1500s, it became pretty obvious that bones and muscles
were just fancy systems of levers, ropes and pulleys. Nothing
mysterious, just things. But it was not until the early 1600’s
that the French philosopher René Descartes replaced vitalism
with scientific materialism. Most people think, “Oh yeah,
Descartes. He is the cogito ergo sum guy who created the big
nuisance of the mind-body problem, isn’t he?” Yes, that’s him.
But give the guy a break! Convincing the world that the body is
a machine was a very big deal. He got into plenty of trouble for
proposing the radical concept of the body as a machine.
Suggesting that the mind too was a machine would have been
touching the third rail!
As the industrial revolution transformed society, the metaphor
of body as machine became increasingly influential. By the start
of the 20th century, the idea dominated thinking in biology and
medicine, probably because it is so useful. It has improved our
lives by encouraging detailed analysis of the body’s mechanisms
at all levels, from the details of anatomy, to understanding how
hormones like insulin regulate chemicals like glucose. It
encouraged reductionism, the idea that everything large could be
explained by analysis of smaller things. We are now down to
genes, molecules, and atomic forces. What an extraordinary
bounty we have reaped from a metaphor! The metaphor of body as a
machine provided a ladder that allowed biology to bring
phenomena up from a dark pit of mysterious forces into the light
where organic mechanisms can be analyzed as if they are
machines.[/quote]
[quote]The body is not a machine
However, the body is not a machine. Machines are products of
design, bodies are products of natural selection, and that makes
them different in fundamental ways. The organic complexity of
bodily mechanisms is qualitatively different from the mechanical
complexities of machines. Machines have discrete parts with
specific functions connected to each other in straightforward
ways. Bodies have parts that may have blurry boundaries and many
functions and the parts are often connected to each other in
ways hard for human minds to fathom. Bodies and machines fail
for different reasons. Engineers can start from scratch if they
need to in order to fix weak spot in the design of a machine. If
only our human spine could be redesigned from scratch! Its
limits and compromises are the source of vast pain, but natural
selection can’t start fresh, so we are stuck with a substandard
design that can be improved only by small changes. The Table
illustrates the substantial differences between machines and
bodies. These differences are, however, often ignored, in large
part thanks to the power of the metaphor, and the fear that
setting it aside will lead to the resurgence of vitalism.
For many scientists, hearing the phrase “the body is not a
machine“ arouses an attack on vitalism that is almost automatic.
They assume that any derogation of the machine metaphor is an
attempt to sneak in vitalism in a new vestige. Their wariness is
understandable. Naïve talk about the life force or energy fields
has to be weeded out of medicine as steadily as crab grass from
a lawn. However, far from endorsing vitalism, my thesis is that
the metaphor of body as machine is as pervasive and pernicious
now as vitalism was in the Middle Ages. OK, that is an
exaggeration. The metaphor is not AS bad as vitalism. It does,
however, distort thinking in ways that slows progress.
One powerful example is how we teach biochemistry and
physiology. We describe systems using idealized diagrams with
boxes and arrows. For instance, every medical student memorizes
(then forgets) the chain of chemical interactions that make
blood clot. This knowledge is essential for understanding
clotting disorders, but the diagram is distant from the reality.
Current research often relies on tacit models of body systems as
if they were designed. A multi-billion dollar effort has been
started to discover the “wiring diagram of the brain.” But is
there a master wiring diagram? The White House Brain Initiative
will be most effective when based on recognition that there is
no one normal genome, no one normal brain, and no one wiring
diagram. Similarly, huge efforts continue to discover the
functions of each location in the brain. The amygdala, a tiny
almond shaped area deep in the side of our brains, has often
been described as the locus of fear learning. Yes, if the
amygdala is damaged, fear learning suffers. However, many other
regions are involved in regulating fear, and the amygdala serves
many other functions including social responses, self-control,
aggression, and learning to get positive rewards.
This is a serious business with major costs. In psychiatry,
thinking about the mind as a machine has led to a debacle about
diagnosis. Many neuroscientists want to abandon the standard
system because they cannot find specific brain abnormalities for
any of the major disorders. They are sure that for every disease
there is some findable broken part. If only. Many mental
disorders are, like heart failure, failures of systems with
multiple causes and diverse symptoms.[/quote]
HTML https://evmed.asu.edu/blog/body-not-machine
#Post#: 9990--------------------------------------------------
Re: Medical decolonization
By: Zea_mays Date: December 4, 2021, 6:16 am
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[quote]Tremendous indeed: The blood program saved many lives.
But it also initially excluded African-American donors like
Sylvia Tucker. When it did accept them, in January 1942, it did
so on a segregated basis.
[...]
To what extent military commanders segregated blood in the field
was, during the war and afterwards, a matter of some debate.
Officially, at least, the distinction between bloods remained in
place for years. It was not until 1950 that the Red Cross
stopped requiring the segregation of so-called Negro blood. And
it was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that Southern
states such as Arkansas and Louisiana overturned similar
requirements.
A forgotten civil rights struggle
In one internal memorandum, the Red Cross called its donor
program democratic, since “the point of view of the majority … ”
– which its leaders assumed demanded blood segregation – “must
be taken into account in a democracy.” [/quote]
HTML https://theconversation.com/desegregating-blood-a-civil-rights-struggle-to-remember-37480
The point about democracy is very important.
For some reason these days "democratization" is utilized by many
organizations as a meaningless buzzword used to mean expanding
accessibility and equity of things (or something along those
lines). In reality, "democratization" has always been about
tyranny of the majority.
#Post#: 10485--------------------------------------------------
Re: Medical decolonization
By: guest55 Date: January 10, 2022, 8:31 pm
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Gravitas Plus: How Big Pharma pushes dangerous drugs and reaps
profits
[quote]The pandemic has revealed the power of big pharma. Major
drug manufacturers and suppliers have the power to set prices,
influence regulators and lobby lawmakers. This power has allowed
big pharma to push potentially dangerous drugs. How? Palki
Sharma tells you.
#Pandemic #Pharma #GravitasPlus[/quote]
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCciAJJMt9Q
#Post#: 11579--------------------------------------------------
Re: Medical decolonization
By: acc9 Date: March 1, 2022, 3:08 am
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HTML https://std.stheadline.com/daily/article/2445338/%E6%97%A5%E5%A0%B1-%E6%B8%AF%E8%81%9E-%E9%80%A3%E8%8A%B1%E6%B8%85%E7%98%9F%E8%86%A0%E5%9B%8A%E7%AD%89%E4%B8%AD%E6%88%90%E8%97%A5%E7%99%82%E6%95%88%E5%A5%BD
.....and in Hong Kong, packs of Chinese medicine from mainland
China are being unloaded for free distribution as more and more
people are self-tested positive and have to help themselves
recover at home due to hospital overload. This medicine has been
widely used during outbreaks on the Mainland and proved to be
very effective in alleviating symptoms. What a welcomed and
timely support!
#Post#: 11580--------------------------------------------------
Re: Medical decolonization
By: 90sRetroFan Date: March 1, 2022, 3:47 am
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This medicine has its own Wikipedia page:
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lianhua_Qingwen
[quote]Its formulation includes 13 herbs which is said to have
been used for medical purposes as early as the Han dynasty.[2]
Sources of its formulation reportedly include apricot kernel,
isatis root, weeping forsythia, Japanese honeysuckle flowers and
ephedra.[/quote]
Consider:
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephedra_(plant)
[quote]The Ephedra alkaloids, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine –
constituents of E. sinica and other members of the genus – have
sympathomimetic and decongestant qualities,[18] and have been
used as dietary supplements, mainly for weight loss.[19]
[/quote]
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forsythia_suspensa
[quote]It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional
Chinese medicine.[7] It contains the lignans Pinoresinol[8] and
phillyrin.[/quote]
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillyrin
[quote]Phillyrin is an endophytic fungal isolate with
anti-obesity activity.[/quote]
Then recall:
HTML https://trueleft.createaforum.com/human-evolution/aryan-immune-system/msg11352/#msg11352
It all fits.
Pictures:
HTML https://www.newton.com.tw/img/6/ec4/cGcq5SZxYTOxQmNzcTZ0UzYlJ2N1kDZhBDM2QTMwkzM5UWMwATMkhTOkR2Nv0WZ0l2LjlGcvU2apFmYv02bj5SdklWYi5yYyN3Ztl2LvoDc0RHa.jpg
HTML https://www.penzai.com/uploads/img/202105/03/1620009745904978.jpeg
#Post#: 12000--------------------------------------------------
Re: Medical decolonization
By: Zea_mays Date: March 14, 2022, 12:57 am
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Western medicine vs ... ants.
[quote]Cancer detection is a major public health challenge, and
the methods currently available to achieve it, for example MRIs
and mammograms, are often expensive and invasive. This limits
their large-scale use. To bypass these constraints, alternative
methods are being studied, like the use of animals' sense of
smell.
A team of scientists from the CNRS, Université Sorbonne Paris
Nord, Institut Curie and Inserm1 have demonstrated how a species
of ants, Formica fusca, has performed in the area. After a few
minutes of training, these insects, which use smell for daily
tasks, were able to differentiate healthy human cells from
cancerous human cells.[/quote]
HTML https://phys.org/news/2022-03-ants-cancer.html
#Post#: 12009--------------------------------------------------
Re: Medical decolonization
By: 90sRetroFan Date: March 14, 2022, 1:50 am
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I would classify such training of ants to detect cancer also as
Western medicine. While I do not doubt that ants' sense of smell
can technically be used in such a way, I am already worried that
this will just be yet another route towards exploitation of
non-humans. I can already envisage Westerners deliberately
breeding a new type of ant to be especially adept at this task,
without ethical regard for what else such breeding might mean
for the ants themselves.....
What we need fundamentally is a non-Western medical model that
perceives what Westerners currently call "cancer" as something
else altogether. For example:
HTML https://apm.amegroups.com/article/view/2239%20/3341
[quote]From the perspective of TCM, tumor is not only the
morphological changes of a specific tissue or organ but also,
and more importantly, the functional changes of tissues or
organs. The pathological changes of tumors are clinically
presented as dampness, toxin, phlegm, stasis (obstruction), and
deficiency. Therefore, from the perspective of TCM, the
mechanism of tumor can be summarized as: stagnation of toxin and
heat, obstruction of phlegm/dampness, Qi stagnation and blood
stasis, and imbalanced yin and yang in viscera and bowels.
Patients often have the dysfunction of viscera and bowels (e.g.,
deficiency in liver, spleen, and kidney) and deficiency of the
original qi. In addition, pathological changes can also occur
due to the emotional impairment. The imbalance between yin and
yang in viscera and bowels can be particularly obvious in
patients with advanced cancers. According to the ancient Chinese
physicians, the development of tumors is often associated with
the dysfunction of viscera and bowels, particularly the spleen
and kidney deficiencies. Kidney is the root of innate endowment,
and spleen is the root of acquired constitution. Spleen and
kidney deficiencies can result in the weak healthy qi, and the
insufficient defense qi can not prevent the invasion of
pathogen. If the healthy qi can not effectively eliminate the
pathogen, it will easily spread inside body. As mentioned in the
classic books, “When there is sufficient health qi inside, the
pathogenic qi have no way to invade the health body”; or, “Where
pathogenic factors accumulate, the parts of the body must be
deficient in the vital-qi”.[/quote]
This is the kind of vocabulary we need to be switching to. This
in turn leads to therapy not necessarily involving going after
the "cancer" itself:
[quote]The largest difference between TCM and modern medicine in
terms of efficacy is: after TCM treatment, the tumor does not
shrink remarkably, but the patient has longer survival and
dramatically improved subjective symptoms; after treatment with
modern therapies, on the contrary, the tumor may obviously
decrease in size but can recur rapidly, along with unprolonged
survival and impaired quality of life.[/quote]
Further details:
HTML https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5506596/
[quote]Comparing to modern Western medicine, traditional Chinese
medicine (TCM) comprises a particularly safe and effective
strategy in the treatment of cancer. In TCM theory,
disequilibrium between Yin and Yang and blockage of meridian and
viscera caused by interior (long time stress, anxiety, depress,
overwork, improper lifestyle, etc.) and exterior factors
(physical and chemical hazards) leads to stasis of Chi (vital
energy), blood, dampness and phlegm, where the pathogenic heat
and toxins, which are similar to the factors that cause
prominent inflammation, are generated and promote occurrence and
development of cancer eventually after these long-lasting
malfunctions. Therefore, heat-clearing and detoxicating (HCD)
herbs, Chi-regulating herbs, circulation-enhancing herbs,
dampness and phlegm-resolving herbs are often used to treat
cancers in TCM. HCD herbs are mostly cold in nature and bitter
in taste and commonly used to clear away heat, purge fire, dry
dampness and cool blood, and relieve toxins. Since pathogenic
heat and toxins are more directly related to cancer, HCD herbs
or formulas play a predominant role in cancer management by TCM.
[/quote]
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