WHO Ya Gonna Hold Acountable?

 

The Biden Administration with its characteristic short-sightedness and perverse inclinations both to surrender American sovereignty and to betray the well-being of the people now wants to let the World Health Organization dictate American health policy during the next pandemic. (See this by John Tierney The WHO’s Power Grab)

WHO got it very wrong on COVID, and never budged even as the evidence mounted. In addition to incompetence (and corruption?), the deference to China and a love of centralizing power disqualifies that outfit from ever receiving unquestioning US support.

Rather than yield any authority to WHO, we should instead demand either full accountability or else we start cutting funding, except for expressly solid programs from a very focused menu (e.g., clean water projects, snakebite treatment, direct medical aid to poor regions etc).

Time to push back.  Here is a recommendation to the Senate, now pondering a bill to reject deference to WHO:

  1. The United States will not sign any agreement that constrains the policymaking powers of the federal, state, or local health officials, or otherwise stipulates mandatory deference or conformity to any international organization.
  2. As a condition for not reducing the funding contribution of the United States to WHO by whatever amounts it is determined would otherwise go to pandemic preparedness or related activities, we demand the immediate dismissal of any or all employees and the perpetual termination of consultancies or funded NGOs who at any time after May 1, 2020:
  • Recommended or claimed scientific justification for extended closures as a suppression strategy (existing science and the lack of absence of any benefit in the first months of the pandemic made this approach unjustifiable);
  • Publicly endorsed the ungrounded falsehood that the virus could not have originated in the laboratory setting in which it was actually created (competent virologists – not funded by Fauci’s agency – had argued at the outset for the near-impossibility of a spontaneous natural origin);
  • Endorsed and/or claimed the effectiveness of the draconian policies China executed in response to the pandemic, or claimed their efficacy;
  • Claimed that mask mandates had a significant effect in any jurisdiction (existing RTCs involving previous respiratory viral pandemics unanimously found little to no reduction from such policies–there was no reason to expect it to work this time);
  • Claimed that any of the available vaccines would prevent the spread, and should therefore be made mandatory;
  • Claimed that children were at greater risk than from other recently common flu viruses and that schools should be closed (The American Academy of Pediatrics found no such risk and expressly recommended against such closures in May 2020–the data regarding kids and COVID-19 was already sufficient by then);
  • Expressly rejected or criticized the policy option of shifting focus to protect the expressly vulnerable rather than continue failed general suppression strategies (The Great Barrington Declaration group was right.  Fauci and WHO were wrong.  There must be acknowledgment and accountability.);
  • At any time attributed a drop in the infection rate to policy actions when that same decline was occurring simultaneously in other jurisdictions, in the same seasonality region, that did not follow those policies (America’s health “leaders” Birx, Fauci, Redfield appeared to be oblivious to the overwhelmingly uniform seasonality patterns of the pandemic);

…unless, prior to March 2021, the offending persons or organizations revised, retracted, and corrected their offending statements as identified above and committed no subsequent offense.

We want names and documents.  Those people don’t get to go near policymaking ever again. And we should simultaneously clean house here in the USA as an example to the world.

The growing worldwide problem of dysfunctional governance is caused by the growth of national and international administrative states for which there is no accountability for failure or outright abuse.  Elected leaders can be voted out as a consequence of bad choices, but how do we punish bad behavior by EPA, WHO, IRS, DOJ, FBI, or the vast bureaucratic rat’s nest in Brussels for their spectacularly bad judgment which resulted in harmful consequences?

If we can’t make even the perpetrators of the COVID fiasco walk the plank, what hope is there for reining in any abuse at any governmental level in the future? Rewarding malfeasance with an expanded grant of authority is suicidally stupid.

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There are 19 comments.

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  1. Susan Quinn Member
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    If we get rid of all the people involved in these outrageous policies at WHO, there’d be no organization! Now there’s a thought . . .

    • #1
  2. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    If we get rid of all the people involved in these outrageous policies at WHO, there’d be no organization! Now there’s a thought . . .

    Brilliant point.

    • #2
  3. Susan Quinn Member
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    If we get rid of all the people involved in these outrageous policies at WHO, there’d be no organization! Now there’s a thought . . .

    Brilliant point.

    Thanks, Dr. B!

    • #3
  4. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    Old Bathos: WHO got it very wrong on COVID and never budged even as the evidence mounted. In addition to incompetence (and corruption?), the deference to China and a love of centralizing power disqualifies that outfit from ever receiving unquestioning US support.

    Organizations tend to get taken over by people who love power.

    Old Bathos: Rather than yield any authority to WHO, we should instead demand either full accountability or else we start cutting funding except for expressly solid programs from a very focused menu

    Even better: Carry out such programs through other organizations that have not been corrupted. Starve the beast.

    • #4
  5. MWD B612 "Dawg" Member
    MWD B612 "Dawg"
    @danok1

    Question from an ignorant man (IM): How does the U.S. cede power to an unaccountable international organization without an actual treaty, ratified by the Senate? Seems to this IM that what the Biden administration want to do here requires a treaty.

    • #5
  6. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    The World Health Organization is demonstrably unfit for purpose. Zero out their budget and send them all home.

    EDIT: Susan Quinned.

    • #6
  7. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    MWD B612 "Dawg" (View Comment):

    Question from an ignorant man (IM): How does the U.S. cede power to an unaccountable international organization without an actual treaty, ratified by the Senate? Seems to this IM that what the Biden administration want to do here requires a treaty.

    You would think.  But if our agencies impose a working assumption that we have to do this and any pushback gets the old How Dare You Question The Science and the International Consensus combined with denial of funds and loss of employment to dissidents (AKA actual scientists) then who needs treaty?  The range of blindingly stupid energy policies and the brazen overreach of EPA did not need Senate approval of a climate treaty.

    • #7
  8. tigerlily Member
    tigerlily
    @tigerlily

    Is there any international organization (ignoring private for profit corporations) in existence today which does not do more harm than good?

    • #8
  9. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    tigerlily (View Comment):

    Is there any international organization (ignoring private for profit corporations) in existence today which does not do more harm than good?

    Little League International has been mostly harmless … so far.

    • #9
  10. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    MWD B612 "Dawg" (View Comment):

    Question from an ignorant man (IM): How does the U.S. cede power to an unaccountable international organization without an actual treaty, ratified by the Senate? Seems to this IM that what the Biden administration want to do here requires a treaty.

    Bribery, extortion, blackmail.

    • #10
  11. Ekosj Member
    Ekosj
    @Ekosj

    Most of these international organisations are hokum.  Example  –   The UN forum on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality just announced Saudi Arabia as the new chair.    Cut off the money and send them home.   Don’t call   Don’t write.

    • #11
  12. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Ekosj (View Comment):
    The UN forum on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality just announced Saudi Arabia as the new chair.

    I presume you’re kidding about that?

    • #12
  13. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    Need governors who tell the WHO to pound sand. The Senate won’t fix anything unless we nullify the 17th and make senators accountable directly to their state. Would love to see a state decide it will pick senators the old way and stir the pot.

     

    • #13
  14. KCVolunteer Lincoln
    KCVolunteer
    @KCVolunteer

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Ekosj (View Comment):
    The UN forum on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality just announced Saudi Arabia as the new chair.

    I presume you’re kidding about that?

    Unfortunately he’s not.

    https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/28/middleeast/saudi-arabia-chair-un-gender-equality-forum-intl/index.html

    • #14
  15. Ekosj Member
    Ekosj
    @Ekosj

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Ekosj (View Comment):
    The UN forum on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality just announced Saudi Arabia as the new chair.

    I presume you’re kidding about that?

    I’m not that creative.

    • #15
  16. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    Ekosj (View Comment):

    Most of these international organisations are hokum. Example – The UN forum on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality just announced Saudi Arabia as the new chair. Cut off the money and send them home. Don’t call Don’t write.

    It will be a cost savings–the panel publications and meetings will be much shorter because the chair will rule that women have no rights.  And no woman has standing to complain about that unless backed by four adult male Muslims, which is unlikely.

    Maybe the forum can look at the cases of several Pakistani women on death row for making rape accusations–under shariah law, if the rapist denies it and she cannot produce three (or is it four?) male witnesses, then all she has done is make a public confession of adultery which carries the death penalty.

    This is like so totally logical because Aisha (who became the young wife of the prophet after divorcing his nephew or cousin which would normally be a scandal but Allah told him privately it was OK) stepped out of her bier when the caravan stopped, took a leak and then fell asleep.  The caravan took off without her.  She was rescued by one of the Prophet’s military commanders which caused some tongues to wag about them being alone.  She denied any impropriety but Mohammed insisted on making sure there was no basis for a public scandal and waited until four of the rescuer’s men testified that they were never alone long enough for any naughtiness to accrue before he would believe his wife’s account.  Hence, following the Perfect Example in this instance, Islamic scholars came up with this astonishingly stupid rule that gets raped women executed and nullifies any other court testimony by women.

    • #16
  17. MWD B612 "Dawg" Member
    MWD B612 "Dawg"
    @danok1

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Ekosj (View Comment):
    The UN forum on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality just announced Saudi Arabia as the new chair.

    I presume you’re kidding about that?

    I mean, Iran, Cuba, etc., have chaired the UN Human Rights Committee/Forum, so why not have the Saudis chair the Women’s Rights Forum?

    • #17
  18. MWD B612 "Dawg" Member
    MWD B612 "Dawg"
    @danok1

    Old Bathos (View Comment):

    MWD B612 "Dawg" (View Comment):

    Question from an ignorant man (IM): How does the U.S. cede power to an unaccountable international organization without an actual treaty, ratified by the Senate? Seems to this IM that what the Biden administration want to do here requires a treaty.

    You would think. But if our agencies impose a working assumption that we have to do this and any pushback gets the old How Dare You Question The Science and the International Consensus combined with denial of funds and loss of employment to dissidents (AKA actual scientists) then who needs treaty? The range of blindingly stupid energy policies and the brazen overreach of EPA did not need Senate approval of a climate treaty.

    Yeah, I know about the other stuff. I had the same question about Obummer’s Iran deal. 

    In this IM’s opinion, going forward on the WHO thing is an impeachable offense (as was the Iran deal).  If we had a House and Senate as jealous of their power as the Executive is, they’d never allow this.

    I’d say we need SMOD, but he’s unreliable.

    • #18
  19. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    Maybe the forum can look at the cases of several Pakistani women on death row for making rape accusations–under shariah law, if the rapist denies it and she cannot produce three (or is it four?) male witnesses, then all she has done is make a public confession of adultery which carries the death penalty.

    As I recall, the general rule is that a woman’s testimony is worth half a man’s, and a non-Muslim’s testimony is worth half a Muslim’s. (Thus a non-Muslim woman’s testimony is worth one quarter of a Muslim man’s.)

    • #19
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