Embedded Files
On February 10, 2022, the UT Southwestern Medical Center Department of Psychiatry and O'Donnell Brain Institute hosted "a comprehensive symposium on Havana Syndrome from a medical and scientific perspective, which included distinguished speakers from the health policy world, U.S. government, media, and victim advocacy. The symposium highlighted the critical role of clinical and basic science research in understanding the condition and treating people experiencing the symptoms of Havana Syndrome, and other similar syndromes, and spotlighted the importance of public-private partnerships between U.S. government entities and academic medical centers in addressing complex, 21st-century biomedical challenges."
Reference including presentation video links:
The symposium was an initiative of the director of the Department, Professor Deckleva, who is a former State Dept. psychiatrist for diplomats in different missions providing behavioral and health support to challenging conditions.
The Department, which provides care for neurovestibular syndromes and related ORL pathologies, provided care to Havana Syndrome sufferers. As it was mentioned, the above are not neuropsychiatric conditions but may respond to related treatment, which is indicative of a neuroprotective component.
Figure 1: Poster from here.
Dr. Giordano mentions in the book "Neurotechnology in National Security and Defense": "The axiomatic goal of any country's efforts in national security, intelligence and defense (NSID) is the protection of the population."*
At his Keynote presentation at the UT Southwestern's symposium on Havana Syndrome, Dr. Giordano calls for "Prudent parentalism" as a NSID initiative.
Excerpt from https://player.vimeo.com/video/680993448?h=06e276e6e9#t=34m16s
"What we've called for is something called prudent parentalism. Not paternalism, parentalism. In other words, it becomes important for those institutions, organizations, individuals and resources that are working in these protective ways, to assure those that they are protecting, that such protective efforts are underway. Think of a good parent; what the good parent does is informs, as best possible to the level of understanding, and at the same time informs, so as to continue to keep that individual they're protecting out of harm's way.
This is not always as easy as one would think. I mean, clearly, the idea to fight for right and freedom, but at the same time keep your honor clean... Well, one of the issues here is that there may be something of technology brinksmanship, if you will, science and technology race; whereby one group makes one set of discoveries and creates certain types of technological readiness, and then the response is that other groups must in fact play catch-up. And clearly what this then implies is that there is some form of an ongoing effort.
So, what we have called for is something called a CAR2E concept, which is the "Considerate Articulation of Realities, Responsibility and Expectation(s). And what I mean by considerate, is be considerate of all the variables. Certainly, most considerate is the primacy of those who are being affected, those who have been harmed, those who have been burdened. That's critical, but equally considerate is how we then acknowledge and respond to those things in ways that do not increase the potential for further risk and harm not only to those who have been affected, but to others.
Reliable and responsible treatment of the individuals, dedicated ongoing programs of surveillance of neuroscience, technology, research, developmental testing and evaluation worldwide.
Transparency as to what's going on in those programs by virtue of, in some cases, cooperation and collaboration, even with international competitors. Certainly, public communication of the process, which is why I applaud forums like the one we have here today. Responsible oversight, governance and control, the engagement of multi-disciplinary advisory groups such as the National Academies that address these Anomalous Health Incidences.
But more than that, more than that, understanding that the S&T (science and technology) is making inroads — and those inroads can be used in a variety of ways, some for healing, some for harming — also puts incumbent responsibilities upon the current and future iterations of things like the Biological Toxins and Weapons Convention.
And here, I'm enthused and optimistically can report to you that a number of groups, most notably the Australia group to the rebuked Committee of the Biological Toxins and Weapons Convention has advocated that, now, we begin to consider these devices and these technologies as potential bioweapons. And I'm proud to say that some of the groups that I've worked with, the National Defense University at the Naval War College within the DOD Special Operations Command and Intelligence Community have also called for a change in the posture of how the language of these treaties is devised, developed, articulated and sustained."
Alternative video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qEQ-wyvoAU&t=2036s
UT Southwestern website reference: https://physicianresources.utswmed.org/news/havana-syndrome-medical-scientific-and-policy-perspectives
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse