Remember how the Japanese used to build crap cars, then started beating us at our own game?  Could it be deja vu all over again, only this time China?  As the commies begin to wake up and embrace free enterprise they also see how private universities have advantages over unresponsive government-controlled monoliths.

Quote:A Look Under The Hood
Li Shufu's Geely University is the lifeblood for his rising Chinese car company, Geely Automobile.
Joann Muller, 07.29.10, 06:00 PM EDT

Geely University, on the northern outskirts of Beijing, was born of necessity. In a country where state-controlled enterprises enjoy distinct advantages, Geely Automobile founder Li Shufu found it difficult to attract qualified workers to his private startup car company in Zhejiang province. "People looked down on us. People wouldn't work for us," he said. So the iconoclastic Li decided to cultivate his own talent. He set up Geely University in 2000 with a mission to train people in the practical skills needed to build Geely Automotive into the global powerhouse he envisioned.

Ridiculed at first, today it is China's largest private university, with 30,000 students in 20 colleges, including the arts, business, biotechnology and media. The automotive college is nearest to Li's heart, offering hands-on courses in engineering, manufacturing, finance and design. There's even a course to teach aspiring models how to strut and pose with cars at auto shows.

Geely has made headlines by winning Chinese government approval to acquire Volvo Cars from Ford Motor, but Li, a farmer's son with a master's degree in engineering from Yanshan University, is passionate about developing China's own auto industry and believes academia should refocus from theory to technology and practical application. At Geely University he has put $500 million toward that goal.

Quote:
Li Shufu
Li Shufu, 47, whose $1.8 billion estimated fortune puts him 556th on Forbes' list of the world's richest people, is chairman of Geely University.


Campus Landmark
The focal point is a huge white marble library that strikingly resembles the U.S. Capitol.


Model Behavior
Skills for catching shoppers' attention at auto shows are taught by 23-year-old coach and former model Guo Man (right).


Opportunity
Students are offered internships at Geely Auto, and the best are hired after graduation.

Is Thomas "Chip" White worried that his gay boy porn empire may be crumbling?   Will degreeinfo posters like George Gollin and John Bear be included in the Justice Department's database of porn suspects?

Quote:DOJ Report Says Child Porn On the Rise
Monday, 02 Aug 2010 03:03 PM    

The spread of child pornography, fueled by technology and the Internet, is outpacing efforts to combat it, the Justice Department said Monday in a report to Congress that promises more arrests, prosecutions and better coordination among federal, state and local authorities.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the distribution of child pornography, the number of images being shared online and violence against child victims all have increased. "Tragically, the only place we've seen a decrease is in the age of victims," Holder said in a speech at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Va.

The report, ordered by Congress in legislation approved two years ago, concedes that the market for child pornography continues to grow rapidly and determining its size is impossible. "The number of offenders accessing the images and videos and the quantity of images and videos being traded is unknown," the report said.

Creating or possessing images that depict the sexual abuse of children is illegal. There is no First Amendment protection for child pornography.

In announcing a national strategy for preventing child exploitation, Holder laid out several steps that he said would help authorities make progress:

— The U.S. Marshals Service will target the "top 500 most dangerous" sex offenders who have not registered with authorities in the states where they live.

— The Justice Department is creating a database intended to increase cooperation among authorities at all levels of government that investigate child porn cases.

— Thirty-eight new prosecutors will be hired for child porn cases.

The increased attention to fighting child pornography already has led to record numbers of prosecutions and tips. More than 8,600 people have been prosecuted at the federal level since October 2006. State and local authorities focused on the use of the Internet in child sexual exploitation reported that documented complaints of online enticement of children more than tripled from 2004 to 2008 and complaints of child prostitution rose more than 10 times.

Quote:Quackbusters Are Busted!
Though they seem to have more lives than a cat, it seems likely that Quackbusters will be down for the count.

by Heidi Stevenson
25 July 2010

Amidst the morass of fallacious attacks by mainstream medicine on honest alternative approaches to health, now and then there's a glitter of good news. It's a breath of fresh air to announce that the self-styled Quackbusters, headed by a self-styled psychiatrist who failed his exam and was never accepted into the profession, has fallen to one of its targeted victims.

On 25 June, the tables were turned on Stephen Barrett. The Doctor's Data Laboratory, which does laboratory testing on issues of heavy metal, nutritional deficiencies, liver toxification, metabolic abnormalities, and environmentally-caused diseases sued Barrett for what, after getting through the legaleze, amounts to defamation of character, libel, conspiracy, and intentionally attempting to destroy their business.

The suit asks for $5 million in damages and another $15 million in punitive damages, plus injunctions to prevent Barrett from ever attempting to destroy their business in the future. Barrett has initiated many frivolous lawsuits against alternative practitioners, causing enormous trauma and expense to his victims, is currently out of cash. The last time Barrett was sued for libel, he relied on his homeowners insurance to defend him. That source of legal defense money appears not to be available to him now.

Barrett had until 12 July to file a response to the Federal lawsuit filed by Doctor's Data Lab. He never responded.

The corporation Barrett presided over, Quackwatch, which seems to have been the recipient of mysterious funding through most of its history, is now unable provide a defense. Aside from its websites, Quackwatch now appears to be defunct.

Stephen Barrett, Lead Quackbuster

Stephen Barrett claims to be a retired psychiatrist and hires himself out as an "expert" to testify against non-mainstream medical practitioners. His claim to being a retired psychiatrist is laughable; he was never certified as a psychiatrist because he never passed the board examinations. He was never accepted into the profession. In America, though, once licensed as a physician, it's legal to practice any type of medicine desired. Barrett wanted to be a psychiatrist, so he called himself one.

Barrett doesn't even have the right to practice as a doctor. He was terminated from a part time position by the Pennsylvania State Mental Hospital in 1993 and, in a profession that has supposedly been very short staffed for more than two decades, he was unable to find work. He turned his medical license in and retreated—some say to his basement.

Please understand that I would never make fun of someone's misfortunes in normal circumstances. In Barrett's case, though, an exception needs to be made. He has done enormous harm to anyone who advocates or practices non-mainstream medicine. He has hired himself out as an expert to testify against such practitioners, and he has been the mouthpiece for Big Pharma's attack on anything that isn't manufactured and sold by them.

Barrett's Machinations for Self-Enrichment

Barrett and Wallace Sampson MD were involved in Quackbusters' sister organization, National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF). Through it, they sought to enrich themselves by suing 43 different alternative health practitioners and suppliers, claiming that their products and methods didn't work. By some magical thinking, they expected their victims to make restitution by paying penalties to NCAHF. The first case was against King Bio, a supplier of homeopathic remedies.

The judge in the case raked them over the coals.(2) The court ruled:

•Neither Barrett nor Sampson was qualified to act as expert witnesses in the case.

•No evidence documenting the claims against King Bio was offered. The case was intended to be based on nothing more than the testimony of the two self-styled experts.

•Most damning was the court's finding that both Barrett and Sampson were tainted because they stood to gain financially if they'd won. Here is the relevant portion of the court's statement:

Quote:Both witnesses' fees, as Dr. Barrett testified, are paid from a fund established by Plaintiff NCAHF from the proceeds of suits such as the case at bar. Based on this fact alone, the Court may infer that Dr. Barrett and Sampson are more likely to receive fees for testifying on behalf of NCAHF in future cases if the Plaintiff prevails in the instant action and thereby wins funds to enrich the litigation fund described by Dr. Barrett. It is apparent, therefore, that both men have a direct, personal financial interest in the outcome of this litigation...In light of these affiliations and their orientation, it can fairly be said that Drs. Barrett and Sampson are themselves the client, and therefore their testimony should be accorded little, if any, credibility on that basis as well. [Emphasis added.]

In other words, the California Sup[erior] Court found that Barrett and Sampson were using the court system to operate a self-enrichment scam! Barrett and his partner in crime, Sampson, were attempting to enrich themselves by destroying the reputations and livelihoods of alternative healthcare practitioners.

Barrett's Own Admissions of His Actions

In Canada, Barrett admitted to claims made by a plaintiff(3) that:

Quote:The sole purpose of the activities of Barrett & Baratz are to discredit and cause damage and harm to health care practitioners, businesses that make alternative health therapies or products available, and advocates of non-allopathic therapies and health freedom.

Barrett has interfered with the civil rights of numerous Americans, in his efforts to have his critics silenced.

Barrett has strategically orchestrated the filing of legal actions in improper jurisdictions for the purpose of frustrating the victims of such lawsuits and increasing his victims costs.

Barrett failed the exams he was required to pass to become a Board Certified Medical Doctor.

Stephen Barrett founded and has been the figurehead of Quackbusters since its inception. What more should anyone require to acknowledge Quackbusters' lack of their authenticity?

Where Has Barrett's—and Quackbusters'—Funding Come From?

Barrett has launched at least 14 expensive legal actions at a single time, cases that can be assumed to cost at least $100,000 each to pursue. In the Federal Court in Oregon, he was forced to respond to questions about his income.

In two years' time, Barrett had made a total of $54,000.

Where did Barrett get the money to pursue so many cases? Thus far, no one seems to have found the hard proof, but it's obvious that the backing for his nefarious machinations has been Big Pharma and Big Medicine, which seek to drive any and all competition out of business and make them illegal.

Quackbusters Keep Coming Back from the Dead

In 1976, the American Medical Association (AMA) failed in its attempts to destroy chiropractic in America. A Federal court ruled that the AMA had carried out a covert operation against chiropractors, and that they must cease in those activities.

The files of information that the AMA had collected somehow found their way into Stephen Barrett's basement.

Quackbusters' Websites

Quackbusters quickly set up a series of interlinked websites and mastered the art of getting first-page listings on Google. These sites include NCAHF, Quackwatch, Acupuncturewatch, Allergywatch, Autismwatch, Bioethicswatch, Cancer Treatment Watch, Casewatch, Chelationwatch, Chirobase, Credentialwatch, Dentalwatch, Device Watch, Diet Scam Watch, Homeowatch, Infomercialwatch, Internet Health Pilot, Mental Health Watch, MLMwatch, Naturowatch, NCCAMwatch, Nutriwatch, Pharmwatch, and Quackwatch.

Each of these sites is set up on an identical layout with exactly the same image on the main page. They consist primarily of text lifted from other sources, mainly sites like government agencies. There is precious little original material. Most of the sites appear not to be updated or updated only rarely. They were created largely by reproducing articles published elsewhere. These sites have a life of their own. Once created, they simply sit there as their notoriety grows—and deluded people read them in the belief that they offer legitimate information.

Quackbusters' Lack of Accountability

The Quackbusters sites all beg for money from the public, but only general claims about where the money goes are offered. No accounting of money has ever been provided to the public. Barrett claims on his Quackwatch site(4), "My viewpoints are not for hire." As already documented above, that claim is demonstrably false. Someone has been paying the cost of funding his activities. Although Quackbusters have been highly successful in ruining the lives of several non-mainstream medical practitioners, it has rarely, if ever, been the result of successful legal prosecutions. Rather, it has been done through the act of filing frivolous lawsuits and creating a media frenzy around them. Doing this costs money—lots of it.

The practitioners themselves have not been the only ones directly harmed by Quackbusters. Insurance companies have pounced on claims made in lawsuits to avoid paying for legitimate claims. Thus, patients have also been made to suffer at the altar of Barrett's greed.

In 2004, Cavitat Medical Technologies, sued Aetna insurance company and named Quackwatch, along with Stephen Barrett, for "disseminating and publishing information regarding what it purports to be 'health-related frauds, myths, fads, and fallacies."(5) The basis of the lawsuit is that Aetna took advantage of Quackwatch's misinformation campaign to avoid paying legitimate medical claims. It's a RICO racketeering claim.

In 2006, after trying several Motions to Dismiss and deposing Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen as a "hostile witness", Aetna apparently realized that the company would not prevail against Cavitat—that reliance on Quackbusters had been their undoing. So, Aetna settled with Cavitat in a secret agreement. Their concern with being accused of racketeering with, as Bolen described the Quackbusters, "a group of lowlifes" likely influenced their willingness to make a deal. Bolen described the deposition like this: (6)

Quote:As the deposition progressed, Aetna attorneys left the room more and more. Their questions became more and more strident, as the realization set in with them that their whole defense in the Federal case was based on NONSENSE - and the false information, and suggestions, provided by Barrett and Baratz. And, it became obvious, from their body language, that they knew they were in trouble - and that the actual trial was going to begin June 12th, 2006 with famous California litigator Carlos F. Negrete bringing the Plaintiff's case to the jury.

You'd have thought that Quackbusters would fade away after that. But they appear to have nine lives. They just keep coming back. In their lifetime, they've spawned equivalent organizations in the UK, including the similarly-named HealthWatch, which originally called itself the Campaign Against Health Fraud (CAHF). This group has had more success, having been front and center in the Wellcome (now called GlaxoSmithKline) battle to eliminate all HIV drug competitors with their infamous product, AZT.(7) They were largely successful in that endeavor. They have utilized the press to harrass and destroy several good and dedicated alternative health practitioners.

So, although Quackbusters have been busted, Stephen Barrett shows no indication that he is planning to quit. It does, though, appear that his secret funding source has dropped him. One can only hope.

Perhaps more people will wake to the truth and toss Quackbusters on their ear, along with any medical professionals who associate with them. As Tim Bolen wrote, people may be waking up to realize that, "You mean my mother didn't have to die that horribly, or even die at all?"

Then again, what's happening may be that Big Pharma and Big Medicine have their claws so deep into the regulatory system that they no longer need Quackbusters. It's obvious that they own the FDA and USDA. Is that why Quackbusters hasn't been able to launch a defense against The Doctor's Data Library? Have they been deserted by their sponsors, in favor of more effective tools?

Whatever the reason for Quackbusters' inability to defend itself, I wouldn't write them off. They've returned from the dead too many times to write them off yet.

References:

(1)Doctor's Data Laboratory Files Federal Lawsuit Against Barrett, Quackwatch, NCAHF, Consumer Health Digest...
(2)California Superior Court's Ruling in NCAHO v. King Bio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(3)Failed MD Stephen Barrett
(4)Who Funds Quackwatch?
(5)Cavitat Technologies v. Aetna Complaint(PDF)
(6)Cavitat/Aetna suit settled
(7)Dirty Medicine, by Martin J. Walker, published by Slingshot Publications, 1994. Walker's website is Slingshot Publications
About the Bolen Report & Tim Bolen...
Barrett Has Four Days Left - Then He Goes to Default...
Doctor's Data website
California Appeals Court BLUDGEONS Quackbusters...
Cavitat Medical Technologies' website
Quackbusters Under Siege

And here by "diploma mill", I'm going by the federal definition of "little or no".

We have five schools. Each operates differently. Which of these five is your diploma mill of choice?

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School 1 operates by having its students write a short dissertation/thesis. Degrees are awarded on a creative essay. Anything you write is acceptable. You'll get passed through no matter the content. At this school they're passing you through, but at least you'll get the chance to exercise some creative talent for your degree.

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School 2 grants degrees on a single test. You complete the test and get your degree. This school may hold you to a standard.

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School 3 will make you read a book for it, but won't test you on the material afterward. At this school you might learn something.

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School 4 will award you a degree on a power point presentation. You'll get the chance to make a creative power point presentation of your past work to show to your instructors.

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School 5 awards degrees based on accumulated credit transfer from previous schools. No coursework or interviews at this at this school. Fill out some forms and off you go.

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School 6 will award a degree based on a telephone call. They call you up and ask you "What have you done in your life?" After you tell them about yourself they reply "Well, I find you qualified."

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The Ecole supérieure Robert de Sorbon received some nasty E-mails from Dr. Gollin signed with his position at the University. We responded to him extremely politely and proved with documents and articles of the code of education that he was totally wrong in slandering us.

I took personally the time to enumerate 18 articles of the French code of education and to mention the declaration of two high ranking French officials about our institution and our right to grant degrees in France.

The only responses were as from Gollin "You are a silly fellow (???)  or you are a diploma mill " with no further explanation nor documentation.

In order to convince him that the VAE process at the école supérieure Robert de Sorbon follows the academic rules, we offered him to be part of our VAE Jury in his field of studies to see by himself that our VAE process is serious and legitimate.

It is transparency at its best!

Gollin refused it and expressed more ridiculous "ad hominem" innuendos.

It proves that Dr. Golin is biased and not serious. He prefers to condemn immediately without examining the facts presented or even looking by himself as we generously offered to him a paid position in our VAE jury.

The VAE Validation des Acquis de l'Expérience established in 2002 with the Loi de Modernisation sociale mandates (not allows) French Universities to grant part or full regular academic degrees on valuable work experience.

Many in the US did not believed this process, which is now, I think,legitimized. Here are the last VAE info available for the year 2008.

1. More than 4,000 degrees were awarded by French public universities. About the same number were given by private universities.
   
2. 52% were for full university degrees. This ratio increases constantly over the years. The VAE for simple university credits  (called ECTS) are diminishing.
   
3. Bachelor's and Master's are the most common degrees awarded through the VAE process. More and more public Universities like Strasbourg II grant Ph.D. Degrees.
   

NRA takes message to liberal academia with new NRA University initiative

Quote:By Caroline May- The Daily Caller | Published: 2:57 AM 07/24/2010 | Updated: 12:40 PM 07/24/2010

The National Rifle Association is in the process of educating the next generation of gun rights advocates, taking their message directly into the belly of liberal academia with their campus initiative, NRA University, or NRA U for short.

NRA U is a training class for students interested in learning more about gun safety, the NRA, the Second Amendment, methods for crime prevention and legislative threats to gun rights. It aims to arm — pun most definitely intended — students with the information they need to debate and become effective activists for gun rights.

Rachel Parsons, an NRA spokesperson told The Daily Caller, “NRA U was conceived to help pro-gun students have a voice in the often one-sided gun control debate on many college campuses.” She continued, “We wanted to offer students the opportunity to learn facts about the Second Amendment and educate them on ways to get involved.”

The program has been in existence for three years and is continuing to grow. To date, the NRA says they have held programs at 14 campuses throughout the country and have reached over 1,000 students.

Sarah Adler, a senior at Central Connecticut State University, went through the program this year. “It’s a great opportunity,” she told TheDC. “They teach you all about Second Amendment issues, history, legislation and how you can get involved. Everyone who came to the event at my school had a great time.”

While the event participants had a good time, Adler says the program was not without detractors. “I go to a school in Connecticut which is definitely a blue state. People who disagree don’t come to the event and voice their problems, they will just rip down our posters. It’s very passive aggressive,” she said.

In the face of such adversity, Parsons notes the manner in which the program can help. “Educating young people on the truth about the Second Amendment provides them with the proper tools to educate others, both on-and off-campus.”

To be sure, gun proliferation is a polarizing issue. In 2007, Seung-Hui Cho opened fire at Virginia Tech, murdering 32 people and wounding 25 others. Gun rights activists have argued that more lenient carry laws may have helped to prevent or end the massacre. Others disagree, however, saying the preponderance of guns is what lead to the tragedy.

Today, Virginia Tech remains a gun-free zone, but not one overtly hostile to discussing the issue of gun rights. “If a student organization wanted to bring a speaker to campus they have a right to do so. We don’t restrict anyone from discourse,” Mark Owczarcski, Virginia Tech spokesman, told TheDC. “It would not be a question of whether we welcome it, just so long as the group followed the rules and protocol, such speakers could come on campus.”

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a gun-advocacy group, is gung-ho about the NRA’s attempts to breed young gun advocates. “We fully support gun rights education efforts in universities,” Kurt Mueller, eastern director for the group, told TheDC. “We believe it is important for all adults to be educated about guns and gun safety…..We think its great.”

Parsons is very positive about the effects this program will have in the coming years. “NRA University helps students learn how to become effective grassroots activists working to preserve Second Amendment rights for their generation and for future generations,” she said. “College students today are our leaders tomorrow.”

Gus Sainz Wrote:¡Ay Caramba!

Listen, doctorcito (sorry for the Cantiflas reference—my mother made me watch all his films when I was growing up)...

Quote:Among the things that endeared him to his public was his comic use of language in his films; his characters (all of which were really variations of the main "Cantinflas" persona but cast in different social roles and circumstances) would strike up a normal conversation and then complicate it to the point where no one understood what they were talking about. The Cantinflas character was particularly adept at obfuscating the conversation when he owed somebody money, was courting an attractive young woman, or was trying to talk his way out of trouble with authorities, whom he managed to humiliate without their even being able to tell. This manner of talking became known as Cantinfleada, and it became common parlance for Spanish speakers to say "¡estás cantinfleando!" (loosely translated as you're pulling a "Cantinflas!" or you're "Cantinflassing!") whenever someone became hard to understand in conversation. The Real Academia Española officially included the verb, cantinflear, cantinflas and cantinflada in its dictionary in 1992.

The statute of limitations on pedophile-pandering porn and perversion apparently has expired.  

Hypocrite George Gollin, the warped moral compass of the wealthy higher ed cartel, is back posting at gay boy porn front DegreeInfo.  

This time under his own name, rather than the fake "galanga" moniker under which he made 1,280 posts.  His last previous post at DegreeInfo as "g-gollin" was 09-03-2005.  His last post there as "galanga" was 01-09-2006.

Quote:  #7    Today, 04:32 AM  
g-gollin  
Registered User   Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Illinois
Posts: 52  

MuchEduNoLearn Wrote:  
I have a friend who is a victim if the Robertstown University scam, rather than someone trying to get a fraudulent degree. When just 3 months shy of graduating from high school, she used RU distance learning to complete high school and obtain a diploma (this was in 1999). Apparently, everything was as you would expect from a distance learning program, and tests were written and passed for all subjects. The problem is that now, she is trying to apply to go back to school and doesn't have a transcript, and no obvious access to one either. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get around this stinking mess?

Your friend is lying about having done work. None was offered, none was assigned. It was entirely pay-and-go. Robertstown did not exist until late 2001 or so. Contact me by email: g-illinois.edu

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Last edited by g-gollin; Today at 04:35 AM. Reason: More info.

We don't make 'em up.  This is how Oregon's adjudicated anti-Christian bigot and civil rights violator Alan Contreras hopes to die.  Let's hope the good Lord grants him his wish sooner rather than later.

Quote:Most want to go living to the fullest
By Bob Welch
Register-Guard columnist

Appeared in print: Thursday, Jul 15, 2010

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Tuesday’s column about how — given a choice — you’d want to die, many accepted my invitation to respond. A sampling, with thanks for those who shared:

. . .

“The news report would read: ‘Alan Contreras died today at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Southeast Oregon. According to longtime friend Holly Reinhard, who was with him at the time, he apparently suffered a stroke moments after taking photos of Oregon’s first record of Swainson’s Warbler. He dropped the camera on the bank and fell backward into the Blitzen River. They never found the body.’ ”

— Alan Contreras, Eugene