[Leica] Photographic Freedom

[scleroplex at gmail.com (scleroplex)]

dear steve,
yes, indeed.
the preservation of the rule of law and civilisation depends on each and
every one of us.
in every decision everyday.
and i know it is not easy.
but it is important.

when in my old hospital, cambridge health alliance, a public hospital
within the Harvard system,
i stood up and complained about the radiology department
issuing Brain MRI reports without actually looking at the scans.
and charging insurance for them, of course.

i actually look at the scans and so my patients were safe.
but most doctors simply depend on the written reports and their patients
get hurt.
the radiology chief responded by emailing the hospital leadership asking
how to destroy me.

i had already been warned by a hungarian psychiatrist colleague that i was
going to be retaliated against and "disappeared".
see his email here -
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/scleroplex/the+stalinist+peoples+republic+of+cambridge+massachusetts.jpg.html

on november 11th, 2010, there was a knock on my door and i was suddenly
thrown out by security guards.
the medical executive committee discussed me for 10 minutes within a
29-minute meeting and
rubber-stamped my ouster for "substandard care" and "prescribing drugs to
addicts".

there were also numerous cases of deliberately harming patients,
with no regard for the individuals' lives.
they were just a means to an end.
and in order to get my license permanently revoked doctors at the hospital
deliberately tried to kill a patient of mine.
luckily for him he survived.

been without an income for a year now fighting the evil.
am very close to winning, thankfully.
down $160 000 already just in legal fees.
but it will have been worth it when the evil finally enter prison.

for the past year i have been seeing my patients for free one day a week
just so they have someone.
we all are waiting for Secretary Sebelius and the Inspector General to
finally throw the book at the doctors.

they've already lost their bid to terminate me.
their own handpicked panel said there was no evidence.
and they had to withdraw the claim of "prescribing drugs to known addicts".
they changed it to "problems with interpersonal skills" :-)

but the main point here is, very very few doctors stood up and said
anything.
it was breathtaking to behold the level of spinelessness that marks my
profession.
people used to see me in the corridor and physically disappear so they
would not be seen talking to me.
and these are tenured faculty working in a public hospital.

more than fear of missing the next mortgage payment,
i think their need to belong far outweighed any other consideration.

thankfully someone has already written about that.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scleroplex/5439375468/in/set-72157629133945133

this also applies to lawyers in the boston area.
they actually come out and tell you, "come on, we need to live here with
these people.
if we burn our bridges by taking your case we wont get cases in the future
from Harvard hospitals and they pay well."

i am sure the same thing went on in psychiatric hospitals in germany and
the communist block.

and that is how holocausts happen.

which is why the auschwitz institute has recently incorporated the story of
joseph hartinger into it's recommendations for bureaucrats.
(nathan, you listening?)
see - http://aipr.wordpress.com/tag/joseph-hartinger/

best wishes,
bharani



Message: 45
Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2012 08:09:27 -0800
From: Steve Barbour <steve.barbour at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Leica] Photographic Freedom
To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
Message-ID: <C31A710D-9B24-4C5E-B6BB-F18DD48FEAA9 at gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii


On Feb 2, 2012, at 7:54 AM, George Lottermoser wrote:

>
> On Feb 1, 2012, at 6:38 PM, scleroplex wrote:
>
>> to reiterate briefly, assuming good faith intentions behind the policies,
>> rules and statements of those in power shall lead to bad outcomes.
>
> Bharani,
>
> Thank you for your vigilance
> and bearing witness on behalf of all mankind.
>
> I agree that photo and video restrictions in public spaces
> (the prevention of bearing witness)
> do not qualify as "trivial."


ultimately, I think,  true courage is facing big challenges, often in a
small way and doing the right thing...when enough people do that we can,
through mass action, prevent catastrophe big and small.
Not trivial, and a good case has been made for why.
I agree with you and George.... It is often through courageous small steps
we can speak up forcefully against major injustice.

Steve