Academic workers at the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/university-of-california-berkeley">University of California</a> are going on strike over pay and benefits disagreements. 
Around 48,000 UC teaching assistants, postdoctoral employees, graders and researchers are unhappy with their current salary status and benefits. They are looking to secure minimum salary increases and more, noting that they do not make enough money to reside in the state of California — where taxes and the cost of living continue to make it difficult for workers in various sectors to continue operating. 
“At every turn, the university has sought to act unlawfully at the bargaining table, which is preventing us from reaching an agreement,” Neal Sweeney, the president of UAW Local 5810 said. The union represents over 11,000 UC postdoctoral employees and academic researchers.
The UAW also said the strike at the University of California is the biggest academic walkout in higher education in the history of the country, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/11/14/university-california-strike-academic-workers-union/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. 
“We’re the ones who perform the majority of the teaching, and we’re the ones who perform the majority of the research,” Rafael Jaime, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/us/university-of-california-strike-pay.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. Jaime is president of U.A.W. Local 2865, which represents around 19,000 workers.
“We’re the backbone of the university,” he said, per The New York Times, “and I have a hard time seeing how operations are going to be maintained with us on the picket line.”
Jaime said he doesn’t make enough money to live in a Westwood apartment near the school, so he lives downtown and splits the cost with two roommates.
The cost of living in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a>, is 49% more than the national average, according to <a href="https://www.payscale.com/cost-of-living-calculator/California-Los-Angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Payscale</a>. Housing is 129% more, while utilities and groceries are 7% and 13% higher, respectively. 
“UC’s primary goal in these negotiations is multiyear agreements that recognize these employees’ important and highly valued contributions to UC’s teaching and research mission with fair pay, quality health and family-friendly benefits, and a supportive and respectful work environment,” the university system <a href="https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/UAW" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on its website regarding the strike and discussions with the United Auto Workers. 
“UC believes its offers are generous, responsive to union priorities, and recognize the many valuable contributions of these employees,” it added, saying its “proposals include pay increases, expanded paid leaves, increased family support and child care benefits” for several positions.
The strike could negatively impact students as they get ready to take their final exams. 
The UAW is requesting $54,000 salary per year for all graduate employees, $70,000 per year for postdoctoral employees, a 14% salary hike for academic researchers and “[a]nnual cost of living adjustments and experience-based increases,” according to a <a href="https://www.fairucnow.org/cola/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> regarding the strike. The union has also asked for its members to receive reimbursements for childcare, longer paid parental leave, and public transit cards.

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University of California Academic Workers Strike, Citing High Cost Of Living

University of California Academic Union Workers Strike Over Wages And More, Citing High Cost Of Living

California

Economy

Los Angeles

strike

U.S.

University of California

The following is an exclusive excerpt from the new book <a href="https://www.regnery.com/9781684513857/the-new-abnormal/">The New Abnormal: The Rise of the Biomedical Security State</a>, by Aaron Kheriaty, M.D. (Regnery Publishing, November 1, 2022).
Shortly after I published the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/university-vaccine-mandates-violate-medical-ethics-11623689220">Wall Street Journal piece</a> arguing that university vaccine mandates were unethical, the University of California, my employer, promulgated its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/university-of-california-system-expects-to-cut-in-person-classes-for-fall-term">vaccine mandate</a>. I decided then it was time to put a stake in the ground: I filed lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the university’s vaccine mandate on behalf of COVID-recovered individuals. It was already clear from many robust studies that natural immunity following infection was superior to vaccine-mediated immunity in terms of efficacy and duration of immunity.
At the time I was an unlikely candidate to challenge the prevailing vaccination policies. I was deeply embedded in the academic medical establishment, where I had spent my entire career. In my capacity as a psychiatric consultant on the medical wards and in the emergency department, I had suited up in PPE (personal protective equipment) to see hundreds of hospitalized COVID patients, witnessing the worst that this illness can do. Nobody needed to explain to me how bad this virus could be for some individuals, especially the elderly with co-occurring medical conditions who were at significant risk of bad outcomes when infected.
I contracted the virus in July 2020, and despite my efforts to self-isolate, passed it to my wife and five children. Living and breathing COVID for a year, I eagerly awaited a safe and effective vaccine for those that were still not immune to this virus. I happily served on the Orange County COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, and I <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-16/californias-covid-19-vaccine-expansion-relies-on-honor-system-you-have-to-try-to-trust">advocated</a> in the Los Angeles Times that the elderly and sick be prioritized for vaccination, and that the poor, disabled, and underserved be given ready access to vaccines.
I had worked every day for over a year to develop and advance the university’s and state’s pandemic mitigation measures. But as the prevailing COVID policies unfolded, I became increasingly concerned, and eventually disillusioned. Our one-size-fits-all coercive mandates failed to take account of individualized risks and benefits, particularly age-stratified risks, which are central to the practice of good medicine. We ignored foundational principles of public health, like transparency and the health of the entire population. With little resistance we abandoned foundational ethical principles.
Among the most glaring failures of our response to COVID was the refusal to acknowledge the natural immunity of COVID-recovered patients in our mitigation strategies, herd-immunity estimates, and vaccine-rollout plans. The CDC estimated that by May 2021, more than 120 million Americans (36 percent) had been infected with COVID. Following the delta-variant wave later that year, many epidemiologists estimated the number was close to half of all Americans. By the end of omicron wave in early 2022, that number was north of 70 percent. The good news — almost never mentioned — was that those with previous infection had more durable and longer lasting immunity than the vaccinated. Yet the focus remained exclusively on vaccines.
As I argued in a <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2021/07/05/how-college-covid-vaccine-mandates-put-students-in-danger/">coauthored article</a>, medical exemptions for most vaccine mandates were too narrowly tailored, constraining physician’s discretionary judgment and seriously compromising individualized patient care. Most mandates only allowed medical exemptions for conditions included on the CDC’s list of contraindications to the vaccines — a list that was never meant to be comprehensive. CDC recommendations should never have been taken as sound medical advice applicable to every patient.
Further exacerbating this problem, on August 17, 2021, all licensed physicians in California received a notification from the state medical board with the heading “Inappropriate Exemptions May Subject Physicians to Discipline.” Physicians were informed that any doctor granting an inappropriate mask exemption or other COVID-related exemptions “may be subjecting their license to disciplinary action.” In what was perhaps a deliberate omission, the “standard of care” criteria for vaccine exemptions was never defined by the medical board. In my eighteen years as a licensed physician, I had never previously received any such notice, nor had my colleagues.
The effect was chilling: since physicians naturally interpreted “other exemptions” to include vaccines, it became de facto impossible to find a doctor in California willing to write a medical exemption, even if the patient had a legitimate contraindication to the COVID vaccines. One of my patients was told by his rheumatologist he should not get the COVID vaccine, since he was at low risk from COVID and in this physician’s judgment his autoimmune condition elevated his risks of vaccine adverse effects. This patient, who was subjected to a vaccine mandate at work, immediately asked this same physician for a medical exemption. The doctor replied, “I’m sorry, I cannot write you an exemption because I’m afraid I might lose my license.” I heard many stories of similar egregious violations of medical ethics under these repressive mandates and the enforcement regime that bolstered them.
As the vaccines rolled out in 2021, I spoke to many students, faculty, residents, staff, and patients who were aware of these basic immunological facts and were asking legitimate questions about vaccine mandates. Many correctly saw no medical or public health justification for subjecting themselves to the risks of the novel vaccines when they already had superior natural immunity. Others had moral concerns but did not qualify for a religious exemption, because religion was not central to their conscience-based objections.
They felt intimidated, disempowered, and vulnerable in the face of immense pressure to go along. Many physicians and nurses were afraid to speak up in the climate of coercion. Public health officials ignored inconvenient scientific findings, suppressed reasonable questions, and bullied into silence any skeptical physicians or scientists. Institutions promulgating mandates stigmatized and punished those who refused to comply. I had never seen anything like this in medicine.
Why did I file a lawsuit in federal court against my own employer? I had nothing to gain personally by this and a lot to lose professionally. I decided I could not stand by and watch the ethical disaster unfold around me without attempting to do something. In my position as Director of Medical Ethics at UCI, I had a duty to represent those whose voices were silenced and to insist upon the right of informed consent and informed refusal.
In the end, my decision to challenge these mandates came down to this question: How could I continue to call myself a medical ethicist if I failed to do what I was convinced was morally right under pressure? Projecting ahead to the required medical ethics course I taught to first and second-year medical students at the beginning of each year, I could not imagine lecturing on informed consent, moral courage, and our duty to protect patients from harm if I had failed to oppose these unjust and unscientific mandates. I simply would not have woken up each day with a clear conscience.
The university did not take kindly to my legal challenge, as you might imagine. Administrators allowed no grass to grow under their feet before responding to this dissident within the ranks. I had petitioned the court for a preliminary injunction to put the vaccine mandate on hold while the case was litigated in court. The judge declined this request, and the following day the university placed me on “investigatory leave” for alleged noncompliance with the vaccine mandate. Instead of waiting for the federal court to decide my case, the university immediately banned me from working on campus or working from home.
I was given no opportunity to contact my patients, students, residents, or colleagues and let them know I would suddenly disappear. An email from one of the deans, sent after I had left the office for the day, informed me that I could not return to campus the following day. 
As I drove away from campus for the last time that day, I glanced at the sign on the corner near the hospital. The sign, which had been up for months, read in large block letters, HEROES WORK HERE.
Aaron Kheriaty, M.D. is a psychiatrist, and the director of the program in Bioethics and American Democracy at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC, and the director of the Health and Human Flourishing program at the Zephyr Institute in Palo Alto, California. This excerpt was derived from his forthcoming book <a href="https://www.regnery.com/9781684513857/the-new-abnormal/">The New Abnormal: The Rise of the Biomedical Security State</a> (Regnery Publishing, November 1, 2022).
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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This Doctor Witnessed The Worst Of COVID And Still Refused The Jab. So UC Irvine Fired Him.

UC Irvine Fires Director of Medical Ethics Over Vaccine Mandate

Books

COVID

COVID-19 Vaccine

Readers Pass

Tens of thousands of fish <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/21000-fish-die-catastrophic-failure-university-california-davis-facili-rcna42831" target="_blank" rel="noopener">perished</a> at a <a href="https://thefishsite.com/articles/21-000-fish-die-in-catastrophic-incident-at-uc-davis-aquaculture-lab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facility</a> at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/university-of-california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of California, Davis</a>, according to authorities with the school. 
Officials announced the “catastrophic failure” on Thursday, releasing a <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/statement-uc-davis-grieves-loss-fish" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on the situation which took place at the UC Davis Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture (CABA). They said 21,000 fish died in what appears to have been a tragedy caused by exposure to chlorine, “to which fish are especially sensitive.”
The statement explained that they are “[i]nvestigating where our process failed,” telling regulatory and funding groups about the situation, taking care of the fish that lived, looking into practices in other similar spaces, and starting “an independent external review,” as well as other action items. 
One type of research that was being carried out at the Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture included investigating “bioenergetics and environmental stressors on fish species, which included green and white sturgeon, as well as endangered Chinook salmon.”
The school pointed out that there are lots of other spaces that were not affected by the catastrophe where UC Davis carries out research. They are, however, looking into other facilities that might be at risk for a similar chlorine disaster. 
“We know that many researchers, regulatory agencies, Native American tribes and other partners trust us to care for their aquatic species,” the statement noted. “We will work hard to earn that trust by conducting a thorough review of our facilities, holding ourselves accountable for what happened, and taking steps to prevent it from happening ever again.” 
“We share the grief of the faculty, staff and students who worked to care for, study and conserve these animals. The people who conduct and support the research at this facility are conservationists, ecologists and veterinarians whose life work is devoted to understanding and supporting these species,&#8221; it continued. “We recognize that this loss is particularly devastating to our community. We commit to understanding what happened and making changes to the facility so that we can ensure that this does not happen again.”
The Daily Wire asked UC Davis News &amp; Media Relations contact Andy Fell if there are plans to restart the research after more fish are restored to the facility. 
“Yes, at the moment we are focused on determining the exact cause and making sure it can’t reoccur,” Fell answered over email. 
The CABA <a href="https://caba.ucdavis.edu/about-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> noted that the facility “was established to provide leadership, focus, and support to University of California Davis researchers in addressing problems associated with California’s cultured and wild aquatic biological resources.”
The center and its aquatic research spaces also “provide the basic infrastructure” for College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences departments, and other departments across the college, to carry out research and affiliated programs. 
The University of California recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/university-of-california-admits-record-in-state-students-cuts-back-on-international-and-out-of-state-admissions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a> a record number of in-state students after facing pressure to cut down on the amount of international and out-of-state students in the university. Last year, the school <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-11-18/uc-slams-door-on-sat-and-all-standardized-admissions-tests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threw</a> out any required standardized testing for admission after temporarily ending the SAT and ACT the year prior over alleged biased outcomes.

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21,000 Fish Die At UC Davis Research Facility

21,000 Fish Die At UC Davis Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture Research Facility 

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The University of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california">California</a> admitted a record number of California residents this year, while slashing admissions to out-of-state and international would-be students in an effort to open more of the schooling system up to in-state students.
According to preliminary information <a href="https://ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/_files/factsheets/2022/admission-table-1-1.pdf">released</a> Wednesday, 85,268 California freshman students were admitted in 2022 across the university, up from 84,223 in 2021 and 79,953 the year prior. The Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-08-10/uc-admits-record-number-of-california-first-year-students-narrows-entry-to-nonresidents">reported</a> this was a 1.2% increase in California freshman applicants admitted from last year.
The number of admitted out-of-state residents was 28,157 in 2021, but declined to 22,798 students in 2022 — a 19% drop. The 2022 amount, however, is still higher than 2020’s number of 20,063 students.
For international students, there was also a dip from the past year, with only 17,531 admitted in 2022, down from 19,973 in 2021 and 19,038 in 2020. From 2021 to 2022, the amount of international students admitted to the schools dropped 12.2%.
Overall admission also declined this year from 2021, with 125,597 California, out-of-state, and international students admitted this year, down from 132,353 in 2021.
All campuses, except for Merced and Riverside saw a decrease in students admitted this year from last year. The Times noted that five of the nine campuses brought in fewer California freshman applicants this year than they did last year in the initial admissions round, mostly due to fears of enrolling too many people.
The campus system has been pressured to prioritize California residents in recent years after members of the public spoke out against the increasing amount of UC nonresident students. In 2016, a state audit was conducted which reportedly <a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-uc-audit-admissions-20160328-story.html">discovered</a> that the admissions policies were disadvantaging California students. The university had been trying to bring in nonresident students in order to charge more money for tuition after their funding was cut by a third during the 2008 recession.
The university system disagreed with the audit’s findings, but then state funds for higher education once again resurged, and elected officials pushed UC to bring in more in-state students.
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature gave $82.5 million this year to admit 5,632 more in-state students this year and next. The funding involves $31 million to replace almost 1,000 out-of-state students with in-state students at UCLA, UC San Diego, and UC Berkeley. That money will be renewed each year over the course of at least four additional years.
The university has shifted its admissions qualifications in recent years. As The Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-02-24/uc-breaks-fall-2022-college-admission-application-records">reported</a> in February, UC broke records for freshman fall applications this year for the second year in a row. The school system got <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-11-18/uc-slams-door-on-sat-and-all-standardized-admissions-tests">rid</a> of any required standardized testing for admissions last year after temporarily throwing out the SAT and ACT the year prior over alleged biased outcomes.
“UC will continue to practice test-free admissions now and into the future,” UC Provost Michael Brown said during a conversation about a potential replacement for the SAT and ACT exams.

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University Of California Admits Record In-State Students, Cuts Back On International And Out-Of-State Admissions

University Of California Admits Record Number Of In-State Students, Cuts Down On Admitting International And Out-Of-State Students To University System

Education

Gavin Newsom

University of California Berkeley

The academic health system of the University of California, San Diego, agreed to pay almost $3 million over allegations of using Medicare to fund “unnecessary genetic testing.” 
“UC San Diego Health, the academic health system of the University of California, San Diego, has paid $2.98 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by ordering medically unnecessary genetic testing reimbursed by Medicare,” <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/uc-san-diego-health-pays-298-million-resolve-allegations-ordering-unnecessary-genetic">according</a> to the Justice Department. 
While the allegations about misusing Medicare money were never officially adjudicated, the payment will bring a conclusion to the allegations. The UC San Diego Health allegedly “ordered and submitted referrals” for CQuentia Arkansas Labs, CQuentia NGS, and Total Diagnostic II to produce unneeded genetic tests from 2015 to 2019. 
Investigators claim that this led to false claims being made for Medicare to pay for the testing. 
“Ordering unnecessary genetic tests creates a drain on vital government-funded health care programs like Medicare,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said. “This settlement is another example of this office’s commitment to work with our law enforcement partners to hold medical providers accountable when their conduct leads to taxpayers bearing the cost of improper billing practices.”
The investigation spanned multiple agencies including the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Southern District of California’s attorney’s office, and the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department&#8217;s Civil Division said that hospitals had a responsibility to make sure that everything they did was “medically appropriate.” 
“Hospitals are the gatekeepers for medical care and are expected to ensure that all services performed at their direction, including genetic tests, are medically appropriate,” Boynton said. “The department will continue to pursue those who undermine the integrity of federal health care programs and waste taxpayer dollars.”
A spokeswoman for UC San Diego Health said that the hospital “fully cooperated and promptly resolved the matter,” according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. 
“Working at the forefront of patient care sometimes involves the use of new technologies from emerging companies. When UC San Diego Health learned that the Department of Justice had concerns about one of our technology providers, we fully cooperated and promptly resolved the matter,” spokeswoman Jacqueline Carr <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2022-01-11/uc-san-diego-health-settlement-genetic-testing">said</a>. “The DOJ’s settlement announcement alleges that our doctors ordered tests from a company that then allegedly made false claims about those orders.”
Carr noted that the hospital system, &#8220;remains committed to integrating the leading best practices and technology into our research, teaching and patient care missions, in accordance with the highest standards of ethical conduct and all applicable laws and regulations.&#8221;
The Union-Tribune also reported that it seems as if CQuentia, headquartered in Tennessee, is no longer open. The company has faced a lawsuit involving false claims as recently as 2017.
Federal investigators noted how false claims and medical fraud diminish trust in hospitals and the healthcare industry. 
“False claims diminish trust in our health care while generating enormous unnecessary costs and the FBI is proud to work alongside our federal partners to disrupt such schemes,” FBI Special Agent Suzanne Turner said.

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University Medical System In California To Pay Nearly $3 Million After Claims Of ‘Unnecessary Genetic Testing’

Medicare

The vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) claimed in a campus email that the verdict in the Rittenhouse trial conveyed a message that “Neither Black lives nor those of their allies’ matter.”
Kyle Rittenhouse was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-kyle-rittenhouse-found-not-guilty">acquitted</a> last week of felony charges stemming from a riot in August last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during which he fatally shot two men and wounded a third in self-defense. Rittenhouse said he was at the riot to protect local businesses from rioters as well as administer first aid to those who needed it.
Violent and chaotic riots broke out in Kenosha over the lawful shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man. Blake had ignored police orders and was reaching into the driver’s seat of an SUV with several children inside when a police officer shot him in the back seven times. Authorities said Blake admitted that he had a knife, which was found inside the vehicle after the shooting.
UCI vice chancellor Douglas Haynes, UCI’s chief diversity officer, sent a campus-wide email after the verdict claiming that Rittenhouse’s acquittal was a sign of “anti-Blackness.” All of the men Rittenhouse shot were white. The email, obtained by The Daily Wire, said:
<blockquote>The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse versus the State of Wisconsin concluded earlier today. The jury returned not guilty on all five counts of the original indictment (a sixth count was previously dismissed by the judge), including the murder of two people and the wounding of a third on August 25 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The relief of the Rittenhouse family in this verdict was met by the heavy burden of the families mourning the absence of loved ones and the continuing trauma of the lone survivor.
The conclusion of this trial does not end the reckoning about systemic racism in the United States. If anything, it has simply made it more legible. Kyle Rittenhouse did not live in Wisconsin, but in Antioch, Illinois. He traveled to Kenosha during protests against police violence in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake while in police custody. Blake was shot seven times in the back. The Kenosha event continued protests in response to the killings of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor&#8230;on March 13, 2020 in Louisville. These multi-racial protests were grounded in a call for racial justice and the end of police brutality. Rittenhouse imposed himself on the protests in Kenosha. His assistance was not requested. It was as much about resisting the calls of protestors as it was to defend property and render first aid.
For this reason, the verdict conveys a chilling message: Neither Black lives nor those of their allies&#8217; matter.
UCI will continue its whole university approach to recognizing and responding to anti-Blackness as an existential threat to our mission as a public research university. Learn more on the <a href="https://zotmail.oit.uci.edu/ClickMessage.aspx?LinkId=e6fc11f9-c1ea-45f6-9531-5cd06612df9c&amp;ZotMailId=ZvbIYg9+CuSLjG3Gc/Nb8g==">UCI Black Thriving Initiative</a> website.
Sincerely,
Douglas M. Haynes, Ph.D. (Pronouns: he/him/his)
Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Chief Diversity Officer
Director, ADVANCE Program</blockquote>

Kyle Rittenhouse

University Vice Chancellor Claims Rittenhouse Verdict A ‘Chilling Message’: Black Lives Don’t Matter

The University of California-San Francisco is using organs from aborted babies in a federally-funded study.
On Tuesday, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uc-san-francisco-harvests-preborn-baby-genitalia-gonads">The Daily Wire</a> reported that researchers at the university harvested genitalia — including “gonads” — for experiments. A subsequent analysis from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-uc-san-franciscos-massive-abortion-training-network">The Daily Wire</a> showed that UCSF’s Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health supports several programs that have collectively trained thousands of medical students across the United States to perform abortions.
<a href="https://www.prolifesf.com/">Pro-Life San Francisco</a> — which has investigated many of UCSF’s ties to the abortion industry through public records requests — discovered that a May 2021 study at the university experimented upon second-trimester babies obtained from “terminated pregnancies.”
The study — “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8110246/">Viable bacterial colonization is highly limited in the human intestine in utero</a>” — examined the extent to which various types of bacteria would grow in the aborted babies’ spleens, lymph nodes, and small intestines.
One section of the report — “Human Samples and Consent” — stated that the “donated” human tissue was acquired under the auspices of the UCSF Committee on Human Research’s protocols after written informed consent from the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
The babies — which were “transported in media on ice and processed within 2 hours after collection” — ranged between 18 and 22 weeks gestation at the time of their deaths. 
In the second trimester of pregnancy, babies are capable of sucking their thumbs, yawning, stretching, and making faces.
Among the several sources listed in the acknowledgment section of the study were:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">A $783,000 National Science Foundation grant made to San Francisco State University (Grant No. <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/keyword_search/0821619">0821619</a>)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">A $447,339 National Science Foundation grant made to San Francisco State University (Grant No. <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/keyword_search/0949176">0949176</a>)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">A $13,460,667 National Science Foundation grant made to the Trustees of the University of California (Grant No. <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/keyword_search/1650113">1650113</a>)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">A National Institutes of Health grant from which the University of California has drawn $10,997,638 since 2019 (Grant No. <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/keyword_search/P30%20DK063720">P30 DK063720</a>)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">A National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant from which the University of California has drawn $113,727 since 2017 (Grant No. <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/keyword_search/F31AI136336">F31 AI136336</a>)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">A National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant from which the University of California has drawn $1,053,000 since 2019 (Grant No. <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/keyword_search/K08%20AI128007">K08 AI128007</a>)</li>
</ul>
The last aforementioned <a href="https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/5K08AI128007-03">grant</a> from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases supports UCSF Department of Pediatrics assistant professor <a href="https://microbiome.ucsf.edu/people/joanna-halkias-md">Joanna Halkias</a> — who also works in the Division of Neonatology at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland — in a five-year training program “for the development of an academic career with a research focus in the development of human fetal immunity.”
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is led by Dr. Anthony Fauci, who also serves as Chief Medical Advisor to President Biden.

Fauci

Fauci’s NIAID Funded UC San Francisco Study Involving Aborted Babies’ Spleens, Lymph Nodes

A pro-life group found that the University of California-San Francisco is harvesting baby “genitalia” — including “gonads” — for experiments.
Under the California Public Records Act, Pro-Life San Francisco requested information on protocols for aiding babies who are born alive following attempted abortions, as well as “human fetal tissue procurement logs.”
According to <a href="https://www.liveaction.org/news/ucsf-callous-abortion-harvesting-exposed-records/">Live Action</a>:
<blockquote>Pro-Life San Francisco provided Live Action News with the tissue procurement logs they obtained, which are referred to as “Arrival/Departure and Collection Lists,” presumably referring to the arrival and departure of the procurers themselves, whose entry and exit times are logged, in addition to the actual parts harvested. It appears from the dates that the fetal tissue harvesting business didn’t miss a beat while other businesses were completely shuttered during strict COVID-19 lockdowns in California.
Of particular note is the frequency with which reproductive organs appear on these lists. Out of 43 logs, 42 document the harvesting of genitalia and/or gonads. It seems ironic that these “scientists,” who work for an institution that postures itself as a frontline warrior in the battle for so-called “reproductive justice,” spend their days mutilating the reproductive organs of people whose lives have been brutally ended under the banner of “reproductive choice.” </blockquote>
Live Action noted that staff members who send tissue logs to one another via email include “everyday conversational tidbits” in their correspondences — such as “Have a good weekend!” and “Happy Thanksgiving!”
Live Action also sought information regarding the protocol for helping preborn babies who survive abortions:
<blockquote>In correspondence with attorneys for Pro-Life San Francisco, attorneys for UCSF admitted that, with regard to the first two requests, there were no documents to turn over, because UCSF/the Women’s Options Centers have no protocol for determining the viability of abortion survivors, or for providing care to them. This is a tacit admission of the possibility that abortion survivors are simply left to die, without so much as the basic humane provision of palliative care. The situation at UCSF’s Women’s Options Centers is essentially a free-for-all, where each abortion survivor’s life hinges upon the whim of the abortionist paid to kill him or her.
The lack of a protocol for determining viability comes as no surprise, for several reasons. Viability has been shown to be an essentially meaningless concept, as science and technology are always advancing in ways that allow children to survive outside the womb at increasingly early ages. “Viability” is a moving target which will inevitably vary from individual to individual.</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.prolifesf.com/ucsf">Pro-Life San Francisco</a> further detailed that there are more than 100 “active abortion training programs” sponsored by UCSF — and at least partially funded by Warren Buffett — throughout the United States. Many of the university’s experiments “rely on a monthly supply of late-term human fetuses from elective abortions.”
Across the nation, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/5-disturbing-insights-from-planned-parenthoods-annual-report">Planned Parenthood</a> alone carried out more than 350,000 abortions in the past year — a figure that amounts to 972 abortions per day and 41 abortions per hour across the United States. In other words, Planned Parenthood carries out an abortion every ninety seconds.

US-HEALTH-ABORTION-POLITICS-COURT

UC San Francisco Harvests Preborn Baby ‘Genitalia,’ ‘Gonads’

Abortion

The University of California announced a legal decision Friday that said its system will stop considering SAT and ACT scores in decisions for admissions and scholarships.
As <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/us/SAT-scores-uc-university-of-california.html?action=click&amp;module=In%20Other%20News&amp;pgtype=Homepage">reported</a> by The New York Times, the decision brings a long dispute to a conclusion. In 2019, a group of students, advocacy groups and the Compton Unified School District brought a lawsuit against the University of California system seeking to end its use of the tests to determine admissions.
The Times reported, “The plaintiffs said that the college entrance tests are biased against poor and mainly Black and Hispanic students — and that by basing admissions decisions on those tests, the system illegally discriminates against applicants on the basis of their race, wealth and disability.”
According to the Times, the College Board, which makes the SAT, said in January that it would get rid of subject tests and the optional essay portion.
In the <a href="http://www.publiccounsel.org/tools/assets/files/1588.pdf">settlement</a> decided on Friday, the university agreed that SAT or ACT scores would not be used in the future. 
The settlement stated: 
<blockquote>
For students applying for entry between Fall 2021 and Spring 2025, no University of California (“UC”) campus will consider SAT or ACT scores in determining whether to offer admission. SAT and ACT scores, if submitted by students, will not be provided to admissions readers. 
</blockquote>
It added that “SAT or ACT scores will not be used in determining whether to award UC-funded or UC-administered scholarships.&#8221;
Last year, the university system had held a vote and agreed to get rid of the tests over time as many brought complaints against the use of such tests in deciding admission. Schools in the University of California system had already decided that the tests would be optional for people applying to school last year for entry this fall because of complications arising from the coronavirus pandemic. 
After that decision, the California system’s board voted to keep the optional requirement for another year, “and said it would not consider scores for the next two years in the case of in-state applicants. In those cases, standardized tests would be used only to award scholarships, determine course placement and assess out-of-state students,” per the Times. 
Students then sued the university and lawyers said that sending in the scores — even in a voluntary manner — would harm students, especially those with disabilities who were not able to take the standardized exams during the pandemic. 
An Alameda County Superior Court judge gave a preliminary injunction, stating that the university system was not allowed to consider SAT and ACT scores in admissions decisions, even if the exams were optional.
The Times reported:
<blockquote>
The University of California complied with the decision, but strongly disagreed and filed an appeal, a spokeswoman said in a statement. At the same time, the university system explored the possibility of a settlement “that would provide certainty for students and their families, counselors, and high schools,” the statement said. 
</blockquote>
The two sides came to an agreement and the settlement was reached last week and approved on Thursday. 
“Today’s settlement ensures that the university will not revert to its planned use of the SAT and ACT — which its own regents have admitted are racist metrics,” said Amanda Mangaser Savage, a lawyer representing the students. 
The settlement stated that if the system &#8220;chooses a new exam for use in undergraduate admissions in the future, it will consider access for students with disabilities in the design and implementation of any such exam.&#8221;
According to the Times, &#8220;SAT and ACT scores for the University of California may now be used only for the limited purposes of fulfilling the English subject-matter requirement, course placement or advising after students are admitted — if applicants choose to submit them, the university said.&#8221;
Supporters of the testing requirements say that the inequality in education is the problem, not testing. The College Board creates the SAT and argued that admitting students based only on grades leads to more options for students who have more advantages than other students. 
“Real inequities exist in American education, and they are reflected in every measure of academic achievement, including the SAT,” the College Board’s executive director for communications, Zach Goldberg, said in a statement. “The SAT itself is not a racist instrument. Every question is rigorously reviewed for evidence of bias and any question that could favor one group over another is discarded.”
The University <a href="https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/all-time-record-high-number-applicants-apply-uc-chicanolatino-students-comprising-largest">announced</a> in January that its fall 2021 undergraduate application numbers were the highest in its history, even in the middle of the pandemic.
It said:
<blockquote>The proportion of applications from underrepresented students for freshman admission remained steady at 45.1 percent this year, inching up from 45 percent last year. Campuses saw significant growth of freshman applications from African American students, with an increase of 1,505 applications or 21.8 percent, as well as Chicano/Latino students, with a jump of 5,250 or 12.2 percent.</blockquote>

Exam

University of California Ends ACT, SAT Testing For Admissions And Scholarships

Equity

The University of California-Irvine (UCI) student government is set to vote on a resolution to divest the university from the state of Israel. 
On Tuesday night, UCI student senators are expected to pass a “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” resolution against the state of Israel. According to a <a href="https://www.asuci.uci.edu/senate/legislation/print/?legislation_number=R56-71">copy</a> of the resolution obtained by The Daily Wire, students want the university to divest from companies that do business with Israel and redirect that money to UCI students “who do not have their basic needs addressed.” 
Companies listed include Lockheed Martin, United Tech, Boeing, G.E., HP, Caterpillar, Ford, Hyundai, Cemex, Raytheon, 3M, Northrop Grumman, Perrigo Company, Atlas Copco, and BlackRock. The resolution condemns these companies for selling products to Israel, though it also included Hyundai for using Israeli technology to create a cellular connection for their “internet-linked vehicles.”  
The resolution begins by acknowledging the rise of anti-Semitism on college campuses, though it proceeded to call Israel an “apartheid state” that has been murderous in nature since its inception. 
“Israel has terrorized, displaced, and killed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from its founding,” the legislation reads. “Israel continues to follow the methods of terror from its founding until the present day.” 
Students have dubbed Israel an “apartheid state” in the resolution because of “its similarities to the South African apartheid.” 
In the resolution, students also blamed Israel for problems within the Gaza Strip. Not once did the resolution mention the presence of the elected terrorist organization, Hamas, and the role it has played in the Gaza area.
“Nearly 2 million people living in Gaza have not been able to leave the Gaza strip since 2007 … civilians consistently lose access to resources and are bombed repeatedly by the Israeli military,” the resolution reads.  
Students are ultimately calling on the university to “never invest in corporations found to be contributing to the human rights violations of any persons in the future.” However, the resolution makes no calls for the university to divest from China, which is actively committing human rights violations against Uyghur Muslims. 
UCI and the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) are the only University of California campuses that do not have legislation to divest from Israel. In 2019, UCSB’s student government <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/uc-santa-barbara-student-government-rejects-divestment-from-israel-again/">shot down</a> a similarly-worded divestment resolution.
Anti-Israel resolutions have passed the UCI student senate in the past. In 2012, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organization introduced a divestment resolution which passed. In 2020, the student senate repealed the resolution.  
SJP is sponsoring the current resolution following its resurgence to campus life. According to the <a href="https://www.jta.org/2016/05/20/united-states/uc-irvine-chancellor-anti-israel-protesters-crossed-the-line-of-civility">Jewish Telegraphic Agency</a>, in 2016, SJP protesters at UCI disrupted a pro-Israel event by chanting anti-Israel slurs and attempting to break down doors to get into the event. The university Chancellor, Howard Gillman, condemned the incident and said that SJP had “crossed the line of civility.” 
The group was <a href="https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/california-university-puts-students-for-justice-in-palestine-on-probation-504120">placed on disciplinary probation</a> for two academic terms following ongoing disruptions and aggressive protests. It recently revived on UCI’s campus and has stacked the student senate with anti-Israel activists. 
The resolution is expected to pass by a large margin. 
The University of California-Irvine did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.

UC Irvine

U.C. Irvine To Pass Anti-Semitic Divestment Resolution Against ‘Murderous’ Israel

Anti-Semitism

Israel

A California judge has barred the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/university-of-california-system-expects-to-cut-in-person-classes-for-fall-term">University of California</a> (UC) from accepting ACT or SAT scores from prospective students for fall 2021 enrollment because of the pandemic.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uc-system-jettisons-using-sat-act-for-admissions">UC board of regents</a> voted in May to drop the test scores as requirements for admission into the university after low-income students sued the school, claiming discrimination because they had less access to tutors and study prep courses than their better-off peers. The school cut the requirement but still allowed students to submit the scores voluntarily.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brad Seligman ordered the school on Tuesday to bar scores from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sat-adding-adversity-score-judge-students-social-emily-zanotti">SAT</a> and ACT exams from its admissions process. Seligman said allowing the tests disadvantages disabled students blocked from taking the exams during the pandemic because many testing sites are closed, according to the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/Judge-bars-University-of-California-from-all-use-15531662.php">San Francisco Chronicle</a>.
“Nondisabled, economically advantaged, and white test-takers have an inherent advantage in the testing process,” the judge said in the <a href="http://www.publiccounsel.org/tools/assets/files/1489.pdf">ruling</a>.
“Plaintiffs have shown that they are denied meaningful access to the additional ‘benefit, aid or service’ that the test option affords. Unlike their non-disabled peers, they do not have the option to submit test scores; even if they did, their chances of obtaining necessary test accommodations are virtually non-existent,” Seligman said.
Laura Kazan, the executive director of College Seekers and one of the case’s plaintiffs, said she was “extremely grateful for this ruling.”
“The SAT and ACT are barriers for students who have disabilities because they encounter difficulties obtaining accommodations and testing,” Kazan told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/judge-university-of-california-sat-admissions">Fox News</a>. “These students spoke out and were finally heard.”
UC had argued that there is no way for the applicants bringing the lawsuit to prove that the school discriminated against them by voluntarily accepting some applicants’ exam scores.
UC President Michael Drake and the board of regents issued a statement in response to the ruling on Tuesday, saying that the university is weighing whether further legal action is warranted.
“UC respectfully disagrees with the court’s ruling,” the statement said. “An injunction may interfere with the university’s efforts to implement appropriate and comprehensive admissions policies, and its ability to attract and enroll students of diverse backgrounds and experiences.”
The students’ attorneys, meanwhile, cheered the judge’s Tuesday decision in statements to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“There is no place at the University of California for (a) policy that denies students with disabilities the opportunity to fairly compete for admissions,” attorney Marci Lerner Miller said. “The court’s decision today is a monumental step towards removing barriers long faced by students with disabilities in higher education.”
Attorney Katherine Farkas added: “More than 170,000 students will apply to enter the University of California in fall 2021. For the first time in decades, the country’s preeminent public university system will not award admissions based on an exam that systematically discriminates on the basis of race, wealth and disability.”

UCLA

University Of California Must Prohibit Submission Of ACT, SAT Scores, Judge Rules

Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco say that a nasal spray could help stem the spread of COVID-19.
The team, led by graduate student Michael Schoof, has manufactured synthetic antibodies that “straitjackets the crucial SARS-CoV-2 machinery that allows the virus to infect our cells,” according to a report on the university’s <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/08/418241/aeronabs-promise-powerful-inhalable-protection-against-covid-19">website</a>.
&#8220;A paper posted on the preprint server <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.08.08.238469v1.full">bioRxiv</a> says experiments using the live virus show the molecule is among the most powerful COVID-19 antivirals yet discovered,&#8221; the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/08/13/nasal-spray-could-offer-protection-against-covid-19-scientists/">reported</a>.
The synthetic antibodies, called AeroNabs, can be sprayed into the nostrils once a day. &#8220;Because it&#8217;s so stable we can essentially put in one of these, this is a little nebulizer,&#8221; said Dr. Aashish Manglik, an assistant professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at UCSF. &#8220;It’s effectively a really effective mousetrap. It binds to one of these spike proteins and never lets go.&#8221;
Manglik said the AeroNabs&#8217; makeup can be traced back to tiny molecules first discovered in camels called nanobodies. The AeroNabs can be manipulated to perform set tasks, in this case attaching themselves to the spike proteins in the coronavirus. &#8220;Nanobodies disable spikes and prevent infection,&#8221; the findings said.
“Though they function much like the antibodies found in the human immune system, nanobodies offer a number of unique advantages for effective therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2,” he said. &#8220;[N]anobodies were just the starting point for us. Though appealing on their own, we thought we could improve upon them through protein engineering. This eventually led to the development of AeroNabs.”
Here&#8217;s how they work, <a href="https://abc7news.com/nasal-spray-for-covid-coronavirus-antibodies-ucsf-antiviral/6367080/">according</a> to ABC-7 in San Francisco:
<blockquote>The UCSF team poured through roughly two billion synthetic nanobodies, before they found the best candidate. Then they re-engineered it to be even more potent. Knowing the COVID virus uses its spikes to attach itself to a specific part of the lung cell called an Ace2 receptor, they worked to stop the invasion in its tracks. When AeroNabs bind to the spike protein, the virus can&#8217;t attach itself to the receptor and loses its ability to infect cells.</blockquote>
The spray would work better than masks and gloves and provide more time for a vaccine to be created, the scientists said.
“Far more effective than wearable forms of personal protective equipment [PPE], we think of AeroNabs as a molecular form of PPE that could serve as an important stopgap until vaccines provide a more permanent solution to COVID-19,” said AeroNabs co-inventor Peter Walter, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.
&#8220;For those who cannot access or don’t respond to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, Walter added, AeroNabs could be a more permanent line of defense against COVID-19,&#8221; the university said on its <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/08/418241/aeronabs-promise-powerful-inhalable-protection-against-covid-19">website</a>.
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