Digital Dwellings - Community E-Forum

For the last two months or so, through the wonders of Marshall Mcluhan's Global Village, I've been a net-citizen of a digital community called USJ Web Forum. USJ stands for United Subang Jaya, a town somewhere in Peninsular West Malaysia. The town seems like a progressive town, with its own vBulletin web forum; but more importantly are the very progressive inhabitants who share information via the web forum. I have lived 6 months in Malaysia while on a sabbatical and have made some very endearing friends from the national university. Most of these posters on the web forum are as articulate, professional and informed individuals as my varsity colleagues, and seems to represent the upper middle class of Malaysian society.

Like all web forums, posters assume a digital persona. I met a few of them. Two that I will quote from are nick-named "orchipalar" and "alexhay". Orchipalar is Canadian-educated. I will quote from Alexhay first:

I been approach by one of the Natural Health Farm ppl while I was at Tesco Puchong..He did some test and told me that my liver got problem and he recommend that I take a detoxcification medicine that will cost around RM300+ and he told me that now there is promotion going on and it only cost RM298. I saw the price list, there are two column. DP and CP. CP price at RM328 (if I am not mistaken) and DP is RM298. And this is for 6 months only. And he shows all the testimonial from other people.

Common sense will know that CP = Customer Price and DP = Distributor Price.

Basically Natural Health Farm is a direct selling company...

That's real scientific, "liver got problem" ... and of course "detoxicification" is the cure since they just happen to sell James Osato's Bio-Normalizer!!!! No professional doctors would sell a product directly to a patient - they loose their license (then again "Prof. Dr." Jessie Chung is not licensed and is above the law).

Osato's Bio-Normalizer is basically a fibre-based "purger", no different than Metamucil (which is sold over the counter - at a fraction of the cost - in North America as a psyllium-based fibre supplement for irregularity and as a health supplement for those that needs more fibre in their diet). The product basically does no harm if used sparingly, but does not much good either, other than lightens and shrinks the bump over your derriere call the "wallet".

Some fibre-based "purger" contains small amounts of bentonite ... a water-activated clay (used in construction as a waterproofing material) that expands and binds the loose "impurities" in the digestve system.

I have asked Alexhay what exactly was his "liver problem" ... since medical science is very precise. If Alexhay did have a "liver problem", he could be suffering from any one of these: Alagille Syndrome, Alcoholic Liver Disease, Alpha-1-antitrypsin Deficiency, Autoimmune Hepatitis, Budd-Chiari Syndrome, Biliary Atresia, Byler Disease, Cancer of the Liver, Caroli Disease, Cirrhosis, Crigler-Najjar Syndrome, Dubin-Johnson Syndrome, Fatty Liver, Galactosemia, Gilbert Syndrome, Glycogen Storage Disease I, Hemangioma, Hemochromatosis, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis D, Hepatitis E, Hepatitis G, Porphyria Cutanea Tarda, Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, Protoporphyria, Erythrohepatic, Rotor Syndrome, Sclerosing Cholangitis, or Wilson Disease.

Notice that a few of these diseases are called "syndromes", since allopaths have very little knowledge of them and hence there are no known cures. All allopaths, despite their scientific education, have managed to do - in most cases - is catalogue the signs and symptoms and have some management therapies available until a cure is found. This represents the magnitude of the level of complexity the physiology of the human body. So, if Natural Health Farm has found a cure for any one of these diseases, we should all buy shares in the company as that would be amazing news.

I am NOT a MD, but I did speak with a colleague at one of my alma mater who now conducts research at the university hospital, Columbia-Presbyterian, who in turn directed me to a webpage. I am not playing MD, nor did I purchase a doctorate in the last seven days.

My other question to Alexhay was if "Prof. Dr." Jessie Chung administer the "test" herself (which consists of what?), or a dentist did that "test"? Or was it one of the even less medically qualified MLM-salesperson-nutritional therapists. (What's so nutritional about a therapist? Perhaps they meant a "nutrition therapist" you think?). Was it a urine sample, a blood sample (which can only be taken by a nurse or a medical technicians in North America), or a biopsy (which only an allopathic or osteopathic doctor or surgeon can perform)?

This is quite classic ... from dubious medical professionals come dubious claims for cures. This smells so much like quackery that I can even get a whiff on this side of the Pacific. God bless Malaysia should this woman get loose on the public with even more cures!!!

Luckily Alexhay was wise enough (or educated enough, presumably he did not buy his education via the mail) to distrust the "test", but unfortunately Alexhay's mother was also approached to purchase some products.




On the same web forum, Orchipalar reported about how bold some of these quacks have been, including offering surgical procedures:

Err...dear qBUSTER...in desperation...patients suffering from chronic n acute illnesses or their close relatives...would believe n pay anything n anyone to find a cure... Ahem...few weeks ago recently...a relative of a Dato(person with a prominent title in Malaysia)...suffered ill effects from cosmetic surgery n treatment done by a couple whom were operating from a home n claiming to be 'experts' in that specific field...Err...within a very short period of time upon the expose or 'tip off' to the relevant department of the health ministry...the couple's operation was 'busted'...surgical apparatus n 'unlicensed' drugs were seized...n the couple was also arrested...Err...TV3 had reported the exclusive live media coverage of the bust...Err...wonders whether you had thought of the option to go to the press about your findings...?

and

Err...some times back...wifey brought home some samples of little packets...which she was told...she could stick it under her feet while she sleeps...n 'toxins' would be extracted out from her body...

Err...qBUSTER...have checked with wifey...she said it was bought from another large MLM company by the name of Causeway...n there are other MLMs that market them as well...but don't know if jessie has it under his list of all cures or not...

After I started this blog, it seems to me that Malaysia is inundated with quacks such as these. Generally most educated consumers are aware. Quacks seem to prey on those that are desparate or ignorant.

SUCCESS!!!! PART 1

It looks like all the dubious and false credentials on "Prof. Dr." Jessie Chung's two websites are now clearly removed.

http://www.jessiechung.com/profile.htm

http://naturalhealthfarm.com/ (Someone please verify in Chinese).

She has stopped calling herself "Prof." after this blog appeared and is no longer calling herself "Dr." but only just as Jessie Chung, her CV with all the fake credentials removed, and the entire testimonies page on cures is gone. I hope the local newsmedia has something to do with this.

Next step, Jessie, is to issue a public apology.

An Oldie But A Goodie (2001)

Richard Li

People often don't come clean until they get busted. For years, his non-degree was listed on all of his official documents, including his website, and likely introduced as a Stanford graduate. Even Times magazine cited his computer engineering degree from Stanford. He could not have missed the error.

But he chosed to keep it a fraudulent secret until the International Herald Tribune reported it. Then he said that he never claimed he graduated from Standord but only attended, and that he dropped out 6 months shy of graduation as he was in a hurry to start work. Hmmmm .... excuses, excuses. Regardless, during that period, PCCW's share valued dropped to 10% of its highest value (now languishing at about 20% of that highest value). Perhaps a real education may have helped??

Tycoon Richard Li has admitted his company had for years falsely described him as a Stanford University graduate.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that Pacific Century CyberWorks pulled the erroneous statement from Li's online curriculum vitae - after media reports revealed it to be untrue. Li described the claim as a mistake.

He was backed by his father, Li Ka-shing, who said his son was "absolutely not a person who tells lies".

Richard Li, 34, told SCMP: "I didn't get the Stanford degree. After I finished my secondary education in the United States, I attended Stanford University for three years but I did not get the Stanford degree."

"I went to an investment bank to work. In all our documents submitted to the listed company, the stock exchange, I only said I received education there, I did not say graduation."
PCCW has for years issued publicity material describing Li as having "graduated from Stanford University with a degree in computer engineering". The claim has been repeated in publications around the world.

One analyst told the newspaper, the news would damage investor confidence in Hong Kong.
"When all hell is breaking loose around the world and you have this headline that one of the more prominent guys in Hong Kong gets caught without a degree ..., as a foreign investor what do you say? It's ridiculous," said Ryan Fong, vice-president of institutional sales at e2-Capital Securities.

Until Wednesday night, PCCW's Web site referred to Li's graduation in its list of his credentials. Those lines were pulled when the International Herald Tribune said Stanford had confirmed he failed to finish. "There were in fact mistakes and as soon as I saw the mistakes, I told them to correct them immediately," Li said.

"I want my work to help people"

Dr Hwang Woo-Suk

Here's a disgraced fellow academic, for faking his research data. Academia is founded on seeking the truth, and it begins with the practitioner. Two most common frauds within the academic community are fake credentials (either unearned degrees or unaccredited useless degrees) or falsified research results. Both are stupid crimes, as academia is both transparent and open, and can be easily traced or tracked.

When busted he said, "I want my work to help people". Well, he can start by telling the truth!!!!!

Bottom line: Sadly still, there are no quick cures for Alzheimers, cancer, brain tumour or Hepatitis B.

From the BBC Newswire:

Fresh blow for S Korea clone work
South Korea's disgraced human cloning scientist did not produce any stem cells tailored to individual patients as claimed, a panel has concluded.
A Seoul National University panel said it believed that Hwang Woo-suk never had the data he said he had.

Dr Hwang quit last week after the panel said some research was fabricated.

Correspondents say the finding is important as individually-tailored stem cells were seen as a key to treating diseases like diabetes and Alzheimers.

The scientist maintains he has developed technology to produce such stem cells.

The panel said it would continue its investigation into other research by Dr Hwang, including the authenticity of a cloned Afghan hound which was claimed to be the world's first cloned dog.

Exposed
The controversy caused shockwaves in South Korea, where the cloning pioneer was widely considered a national hero.

In May, Dr Hwang published a paper in the journal Science, saying his team had extracted material from cloned human embryos that identically matched the DNA of 11 patients.

It was claimed such a technique could be the key to providing personalised cures.

Last week the panel concluded that the data on nine out of the 11 stem cell lines were fabricated.

The panel now says all the data of the stem cell line were false.

"It is the panel's judgement that Professor Hwang's team does not have the scientific data to prove that they (patient-specific stem cells) were made," researcher Roe Jung-hye said.

Investigators say they were unable to find stem cells matching the DNA of patient tissues.
The panel found that the stem cells had come from a fertilized egg produced at a Seoul hospital, not by Dr Hwang's team.

'Mistakes'
The scientist came under pressure when one of the co-authors of his paper, Roh Sung-il, said that some of the pictures illustrating it, apparently showing the 11 patient-specific stem cell lines, had been faked.

Dr Hwang has admitted that the photographs did contain "mistakes", but insisted the research was accurate and that he had cloned 11 stem cell lines.

Scandal erupted around the doctor a month ago, when he was forced to step down as chairman of South Korea's World Stem Cell Hub, after admitting that eggs for research were donated by his own female colleagues, in breach of guidelines.

He was admitted to hospital earlier this month suffering from stress.

"Dr" Jessie Chung Ready to Confess???

This was posted on Pierce's blog (pssst ... Pierce, stop refering to Jessie as a "Dr"):

Anyway, when I got home, I got a SMS from Dr. Jessie on whether I’ve got her Email last week which I have not. I checked through the mail log and there were none. I’ve called her later and we talked about the issue on her credentials. She has yet to take my advise on going IT in 21 Century but she has said to look into this plus some plans for her future (people will start wonder). I have promised her not to review the future plan. Anyway, she would like to extend her thanks to TOM on bring up the issues on her credentials. This incident has caused her to realised something and encouraged her to do what she needs to do and what she has planned to achieve. Anyway, good luck Jessie on your future plan and do enjoy your honeymoon to come. (OOPS!!! Did I just mentioned Honey under the moon???")

Let's hope this she will not come up with another publicity stunt. Someone had suggested that she will come up with a tear-jerk of a story. It does not matter to me either way ... I am only interested with her come-clean story, and for her to stop using the titles "Dr" and "Prof", and apologize for it. Not just to quietly remove the dubious titles but to stop, apologize and to never to misrepresent herself again.

Somehow, I sense that she is just doing this to stop my attention and heat on her.

Great Lakes College (Canadian High School) Update

Great Lakes College is one of those Canadian high schools that catered to international students that Jessie attended.

Seems like I prematurely made a statement about Great Lakes College's reputation. I stand corrected by this news article. This was reported in one of the local papers. This article also underscores the social context of desparate international students and what they are willing to do:

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1135378223430

Secret life: Visa student's downfall

Sensational cases highlight problem. Crimes prompt task force in China
Dec. 24, 2005. 01:00 AM
MARTIN REGG COHN AND KAREN MAZURKEWICH
TORONTO STAR

Suo Fengshuan sits beside a family picture showing his son Suo Zhiyang with his parents. He is now in a Canadian jail for the death of a Toronto school owner, a crime to which he pleaded guilty in 2002 at the age of 20.

SHANGQIU, China—For the Chinese, it is glorious to study. And more glamorous still to study abroad.

So when a teenaged student like Suo Zhiyang leaves his homeland for schooling in Canada, friends and neighbours picture him with all the advantages of life overseas. Destined for success.
Not languishing in a Canadian prison cell.

News travels slowly in this provincial backwater, 600 kilometres south of Beijing.

Three years after Suo pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the kidnapping of his Toronto schoolmaster, most of his relatives and acquaintances here have yet to hear of his sudden downfall.

They fully expect him to return next year with a degree under his arm, poised to take over the family business.

After all, Suo did what many rich students with poor grades do: He paid big money to revive his fortunes in Canada.

"It was difficult for him to get into a top university in China," explains his father, Suo Fengshuan. "If you go to a regular university here, it's hard to get a good job."

At first, the family thought their investment was paying off. It took a long time before they learned the truth of Suo's arrest for murder.

"He's a very good boy and he tried not to worry us," the father says mournfully. "He kept saying everything was fine, his studies were going smoothly."

Suo's fate remains a dark secret in this grimy coal-mining city, where his father is a prominent military man and his mother a well-connected entrepreneur. But as more than 110,000 Chinese students flock to schools in Canada and other Western countries every year, his is becoming an all too frequent story.

Two high-profile kidnappings in the Toronto area have shone a harsh spotlight on the roughly 10,000 Chinese students who come to Canada annually: The sensational kidnapping and murder of Cecilia Zhang, for which 22-year-old visa student Min Chen goes to trial next year; and the abduction of school owner Thomas Ku, 48, for which Suo pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2002 at age 20.

These are not isolated episodes. In the past five years, more than two dozen brutal incidents involving Chinese visa students have made international headlines: Two Chinese classmates repeatedly stabbed last year; a family of four slain in Japan; several women killed in New Zealand love triangles; a lover strangled in Chicago; students kidnapped and murdered in Toronto, Hamilton and Vancouver.

The broad pattern of violent crime, stalking, extortion, fraud and theft among overseas Chinese students has prompted government officials and education experts in China to set up task forces to investigate the issue, says Yuan Tiecheng, who has written two books on the plight of Chinese visa students.

To be sure, the vast majority of Chinese students are law-abiding. So how do some Chinese students from a country with a relatively low crime rate come to a country like Canada, with a similarly low crime rate, and become criminals?

Many parents and Chinese government officials blame unscrupulous private agencies in China that charge extortionate fees to help secure visas for private schools abroad with questionable credentials.

In fact, China's ministry of education is raising alarm bells about the perils of foreign studies.
Its most recent public warnings single out certain private Canadian schools to be avoided because they "cheat Chinese students," adding that the authorities have "received many such complaints from Chinese students."

Specialists attribute the eruption of violent crime to China's rapid opening up to the West, the rise of a nouveau riche class that values status over scholarship, and the decline of discipline.
They also cite the fallout from China's one-child policy, which has spawned a generation of spoiled "Little Emperors," who are infantilized by overprotective parents yet unable to fend for themselves in a foreign environment.

"In China, everything is arranged by the parents. There is no freedom, from the school gate to the house door," says Yuan, a senior journalist at the China Youth Daily. "When they go abroad, they have a strong sense of entitlement that they can do anything."

Shen Yongqiang, an educational psychology professor at Shanghai Normal University, also believes the younger age of the students leaves them poorly prepared for culture shock.
"Now the young generation just spends their parents' money," he says. "They're too young, they lack life experience, lack judgment and lack the self-discipline to control their impulses."
Duped by private agencies, drawn into drugs or gambling, depressed by failed romances, they run out of money — or hope — and grow desperate.

"To get money, they will do anything and that's when all the horrible stories start to happen," Shen believes. "They're very self-centred and always act on their own desires and needs."
But the growing recognition of the problem comes too late for Suo's parents, who were swelling with pride when their son left the police academy here for a promising future in Canada. Now, they speak in hushed tones about his downfall — and their private humiliation.

They don't blame their son. They blame the system.

"There are too many liars and cheaters in the world who have no mercy — they just want as much money as possible, while risking your child's life," says Suo Fengshuan, 49, beside a family portrait showing his jailed son in happier times.

Like so many other young Chinese who go abroad, Suo Zhiyang's fate was entrusted to a local agency that promised the world: For a fee the family could count on easy admissions, work permits and guaranteed immigrant status for their son, according to the sales pitch.

The couple signed up with the local Li Bo School and its affiliated private agency, which assured them they could send their son to Canada for a mere 150,000 yuan, or about $22,000. It was a lowball estimate by the agency, which went bankrupt soon after pocketing the fees.

The family ended up paying $100,000 for the son's education, stashing wads of cash into secret money belts to evade customs controls, according to the father.

But within months of his arrival, the young Suo was bitterly disappointed by conditions at his school, overwhelmed by the language barrier. He failed his exams, floundered in his social life, fell in with the wrong crowd.

And kidnapped Ku, the owner of Great Lakes College, for a $100,000 ransom in a plot hatched with a classmate.

Two years after arriving in Canada, Suo and his co-conspirator appeared in court with their hair tied in ponytails, admitting they had bound and gagged Ku in the trunk of a car and dumped him in the woods, burned beyond recognition.

"I can never make any excuse," Suo said at his sentencing in a Brampton courtroom.

"This is the most significant mistake of my life."

But there was no mistaking the motive, according to his mother, Feng Meizhi.

Sitting in a private room at her Guo Guo Mutton Soup restaurant, which she opened here earlier this year in China's central Henan province, Feng says she came to understand her son's actions after visiting him.

"My son told me they wanted to teach him (Ku) a lesson, to warn him not to cheat Chinese students anymore," she confides, waiting until the waitresses have moved out of earshot.

"He said Ku was too greedy and treated the Chinese students badly," she adds.

She remembers her son referring to Great Lakes College as a "garbage school," the term used by Chinese students for private institutions with disproportionately high enrolments of foreign students paying high fees.

Tuition at Great Lakes ran as high as $10,000 a year for high school and English-immersion courses, plus residence fees of $6,000, excluding meals.

The school's main Keele St. campus now has about 80 students, but its satellite Bowmanville location has been converted to a summer camp for foreign high school students, according to the school's new principal, Dong Folz. International students still pay more than $1,000 per course each semester.

"My son was really upset when he first saw the school and complained a lot about the owner," she says.

"It was not like he imagined, and all his classmates complained that the owner was greedy and overcharging."

Despite the negative publicity, Chinese consultants and some of Canada's most established schools are lining up to get a piece of a booming market.

Indeed, Premier Dalton McGuinty included a large education delegation on a trade mission to China last month. "We continue to see a strong, healthy opportunity for Chinese students to study in Canada," said Ian Burchett, spokesperson for the Canadian Embassy in Beijing. "It's a very important market for us."

An estimated 35,000 Chinese are in Canada on education visas at any one time, including those admitted in previous years, Burchett added. Tuition fees range from $10,000 to $12,000 a year, not including room and board, plus agency fees.

But while there is money to be made, there is also a price to be paid: Much of the growth comes from the increased number of inexperienced teenagers being sent abroad. "Ten years ago, the only people going abroad were probably graduate students," Burchett acknowledges. Now, "a lot of people are going for Grades 11 and 12."

Roughly two-thirds of Chinese visa students are now under the age of 18, according to Yang Xiong, director of the Youth Research Institute at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Joshua Gu, who helps clients gain admission to Canadian schools from his office at Edu Shanghai International Co. Ltd., decries the increase in teenaged students attending foreign high schools, where they are especially vulnerable to adjustment problems.

"We don't recommend to high school students that they go to Canada," says Gu. "They lack the social and survival skills."

He is critical of unscrupulous agencies, but also blames parents for expecting foreign schools to give their children a second chance when they score poorly on China's university entrance exams.

"If they can't do well in China, why would they do well in Canada?" he asks. The answer is that all too often, "going to Canada is a question of pride."

Pride and pathos. For the Suo family, there is only a profound loss of face and a soul-destroying cover-up.

Now, the parents who saved and scrimped and wheeled and dealed to give their son a better life are at wits' end.

The father, who risked his life daily as a military firefighter to save the lives of others now lives with the knowledge that his son took the life of an innocent man.

The mother, who profited from her husband's connections to build a successful business has been reduced to making up stories about her son's continuing studies in Canada.

When neighbours and cousins ask how those studies are going, the parents discreetly change the subject.

Almost everyone here is oblivious to Suo's fate.

Still, motherly pride is powerful, and in private, she is not beyond boasting about her son's achievements behind bars: Thanks to his years in prison, Suo's conversational English is now much better than it was at school.

Despite the hard times, she can't help but be pleased by his progress abroad — albeit belatedly.

"He's teaching English and math courses in jail," she says.

"Canada is great."

Imagine If There Was No Public Scrutiny or Peer Review ...

.... and doctors can make unchecked dubious claims for cures???

This is why peer-review is so important, so that fraudsters and quacks are exposed. If I am a consumer of medical products and services (allopathic or otherwise), I want to make sure whatever I am ingesting is not going to kill me.

Allopaths subject themselves to such scrutiny, I do not understand why naturopaths feel that they can hide behind "mother nature" and claim that their medication is "natural" and non-toxic.


From Reuters' Newswire Service:


South Koreans view fallen scientist with shame, sorrow
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Koreans reacted with sorrow, shock and shame on Friday when a scientist they once hailed as a national hero resigned from his post after a panel said data in one of his most-celebrated papers was intentionally fabricated.

Hwang Woo-suk had been called the pride of South Korea for bringing the country to the global forefront of stem cell and cloning studies.

An investigative panel at Seoul National University, where Hwang has his laboratory, said the researcher should shoulder responsibility for faked data in a landmark paper his team published on producing tailored embryonic stem cells.


A student of South Korean stem-cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk cries after Hwang apologized and left his office at the Seoul National University in Seoul December 23, 2005.

"This is our shame," said Oh Chang-hwan, a senior consultant at SK Securities.

"This case will have a negative impact on the confidence of Korean science. More importantly, it will deprive the disabled of their hopes that they may be able to recover some day with the help of Professor Hwang's breakthroughs," Oh said.

Hwang's research was billed as fulfilling one of the basic promises of embryonic stem-cell science -- growing patient-specific tissue that could be transplanted to repair damaged body parts.

South Korea even commissioned stamps highlighting the potential of Hwang's research that showed a person rising from a wheelchair, standing and embracing a loved one.

"The disabled who had hopes for Dr. Hwang's research will be unhappy with the results," said Kim Ji-min, 28, an office worker.

"I just can't understand why someone who was hailed as a national hero would do such a thing," Kim said.

Hwang's troubles started in late November when he admitted to ethical lapses in procuring human eggs for his research. Media attention then snowballed, and soon there were reports that his fundamental findings were flawed.

"It is so regrettable that what we once had doubted turned out to be a fact," said Yoo Ji-young, 25, an office worker.

Hwang apologised on Friday but said patient-tailored embryonic stem cells were South Korean technology and it would be confirmed.

Supporters of Hwang stood by their scientist.

"Dr. Hwang said confidently that the people will see that he truly has the technology. People will have to eat their words," wrote one unidentified person on a Korean-language Web site called "ilovehws" -- short for "I love Hwang Woo-suk" -- at http://cafe.daum.net/ilovehws.

The ruling Uri Party and the main opposition Grand National Party said the news was devastating, but they hoped the country could move forward.

"We must use this opportunity to increase support and research in biotechnology and upgrade our monitoring system," the Uri Party said in a statement.

Professorships and Academic Culture

While everyone like to be called a "Professor", and everyone who has done some teaching refer to themselves as "Professors", it is not really that simple.

Professors Vs. Other Teachers: What's the Difference?
There are others who teach, but are not professors. In North America, we have teaching assistants, instructors, tutors, lecturers who all fulfill teaching responsibilities but are really in supportive positions to professors.

On top of that, we have those that are in research positions in universities, whose primary roles are to assist in the research activities of a professor. These are known as research assistants, or research fellows (the latter's status is about equal to a professor but do not have primary teaching responsibilities).

To be a professor is to realize a calling in life - it is both a vocation and a profession. Professors are required to teach, conduct and supervise research, and to administer programs, counsel students, etc. Most students only see the teaching functions and often they wonder what is it that a professor does when he is not in the classroom. Often the professor is found in the lab (or something equivalent) or on other parts of the campus in management meetings with other administrators. In my university, these 3 tasks are roughly spread evenly as thirds, making up a honest week of work (and sometimes more - like this week where I will have spent 70 hours on grading and my regular duties).

The Making of a Professor
What does it take to become a professor? Hard and patient work. As I have indicated earlier, it takes at least 11 years to earn a doctorate after completing high school. Most of us take longer, particularly when inconvenient things like family and personal issues get in the way. We live from grant to grant, until we secure a tenure-stream faculty position. Often, and particularly these days, just a doctorate is not enough. There is often a 1-2 year post-doc fellowship period, again living off a meagre income derived from equally meagre grants.

Our first shot at a tenure-stream position (i.e. full time permanent professorial position) occurs about 12 years in the post-secondary system. If we are lucky, we get such a position. If not, we get contract teaching (i.e. as lecturers - better paying than fellowships, but no security beyond each contract). Contract teaching is truly the bane of a young academic's career, as research funding are almost never awarded to contract teachers and hence one's research career is severely retarded.

Assistant and Associate Professors
Those that are in tenure-stream positions are hired as Assistant Professors. The normal probation period for tenure is 5 years, as is the minimum wait period before one is allowed to apply for a promotion to Associate Professor. During this time, professors have performance benchmarks to meet, in the form of grant quotas and publication quotas. As newbie professors, we often piggy back onto other intermediate/senior faculty's grant applications and share (and most importantly learn) the spoils of the grant wars. If we can be on one or two successful teams a year or two, we are considered to have done well; as out of that can be two or three serious papers per year, on top of the papers for minor conferences. It is often expected of an Assistant Professor to have published anywhere between 10 to 20 peer-reviewed papers, and have been involved with about half a dozen sponsored research project. The value of the grants is less important at this stage, as it is very much a paper game at this point to gain promotion.

Once an Associate Professorship is gained, it is at least another 3 years before one is permitted to apply for a full professorship and this application is also subjected to available spots. Most wait a life time and retire as Associate Professors. During this intermediately-ranked period, we begin to spread our wings and mostly apply for our own grants to begin to set up a lab or a centre of research. Some field of studies require no research spaces, so a position (as editor/co-editor of a journal, director of a research program, conference chair) is critical. By this time, the aspiring professor will have to pull his own weight in terms of funding and are expected to gain at least enough money (likely in the $1/4 M. range over 2-3 years) to fund his own research activities, whether if it is a lab, a journal or a program. This is, like his assistant professorship years, in addition to teaching and administrative duties. The difference is the teaching activities are now based on outcomes of his research activities (i.e expert knowledge) and he should also be authoring chapters or books at this point. He will also be lead author or researcher on almost all of his papers. During this time, associate professors have similar performance benchmarks to meet, in the form of grant quotas ($1/4 to 1/2 M.) and publication quotas (10-12 papers). If all these go well, he would be well positioned to apply for (emphasis on apply, not received) full professorship: With about $1/2 M. of funded research, 20-30 papers to his credit, a couple of academic-activity titles (editor, conference chair, etc.) to his name and a full sabbatical undertaken. Very little time for much else, don't you think? Never mind thinking about owning a health product company, recording two CDs, hosting radio programs, writing magazines columns, running a medical clinic.

Professors
There are very few full professorships granted. The youngest legitimate full professor that I have met is 39 years old (a law professor). Most, however, are well into their 50s before they gain that stature. By this time, most full professors in the non-medical fields have passed their prime research life and will either settle into a senior administrator position (deans and higher), or continue to write or publish his findings in journals, conferences or author books. Those in the medical fields will supervise multiple labs and even centres, and will continue to be prolific in medical discoveries. Full professors generally do not teach, but they get invited to lecture or conduct seminars, as adjunct or visiting professors in other universities (normally abroad) to share and spread their knowledge.

Once a professor retires (either an associate or full), he gains the title of Emeritus Professor. If one only retired as a assistant professor, he is regarded as an under-achiever.

“Dr” Jessie Chung – Clarifications Please
So "Dr" Jessie, are you the Malaysian "Doogie Howser, MD"? And how did you gained a full professorship (Professor of Natural Medicinal Department / Professor in Natural Medical Department - which is it?) before your 40s?? I have only met one other individual who achieved this rank, and he is brighter than a headlight at midnight. Very few universities that I know of (and these are the accredited kinds) have such young full professors.

Give us some timelines, will you??? And the address of the university where you have a professorial appointment? I sure would like to see your name in print (err ... your self-published webpage does not count). Or have you retracted this as your secretaries made a typo??? Typos a plenty, aren't we?? Just a Lecturer in Psychology now, even though that is quite an accomplishment for someone with dubious credentials.

Please do enlightened us, "Prof. Dr." Jessie Chung. Do not be modest, please. We are "kah kee lung" after all.

How's my Chinese, Pierce? Okay, confession time - I know a Malaysian-borned and English-trained professor (of hematology) who has been following this saga. He taught me these words of Chinese - he told me it means "someone of the same kin", right?

BTW, he also dismissed Jessie as a quack, but seems so much more less agitated about this than I am.

Never Mind ... Saved Myself $599

Obtain your free Doctorate here: IAFU

Help Please ... I have a Dilemma

Should I pay an extra $50 and get my Doctorate in Warehouse Management two days earlier??

Rochville University, USA

An Accredited Doctorate in 7 Days

No ... not 7 days of studying. 7 days between application (CC accepted) and delivery (by DHL, no less).

• No Studies• No Admissions • No Attendance

Why study when you can play? Choose from any of these doctoral majors (medical fields are high-lighted for your convenience):

AccountingAdministration of JusticeAdvertisingAeronautical EngineeringAerospace EngineeringAerospace ManagementAmerican StudiesAnimal BehaviorApplied Linguistics Arabic StudiesArchitectural Engineering ArchitectureAutomotive MechanicsAviationAviation AdministrationAviation ManagementAviation TechnologyBanking Behavioral Science Biblical StudiesBiologyBusiness AdministrationBusiness LawBusiness ManagementChemical EngineeringChemistryChild Development Chiro-Cranial Therapy Civil Engineering Clinical Psychology CommunicationsComputer EngineeringComputer ScienceComputer TechnologyConstruction Management Cosmetic DermatologyCounselingCounseling Psychology Criminal JusticeCriminal LawCriminologyCulinary ArtsCustomer RelationsDental ScienceDivinityDraftingEarly Childhood EducationE-BusinessEconomicsEducationEducational LeadershipEducational PsychologyElectrical ConstructionElectrical EngineeringElectronic EngineeringElectronic TechnologyElementary EducationEndodontics EngineeringEngineering Management
Engineering TechnologyEnglishEnglish Literature Entomology Environmental Science Exercise EducationExercise Science Facilities ManagementFinanceFine ArtsFire ProtectionFire Science Forensic Science General BusinessGeneral EngineeringGeneral High SchoolGeneral StudiesGraphic Design Health Health AdministrationHealth Care Management Health EducationHealth Sciences Health Sciences EducationHistoryHomeopathyHorticulture Hospitality Management Human EcologyHuman ResourceHR ManagementHuman ServicesHVAC Hypnotherapy Industrial DesignIndustrial EngineeringIndustrial TechnologyInformation SystemsInformation TechnologyInstructional TechnologyInterior DesignInternational BusinessInternational DiplomacyInternational ManagementInternational RelationsJournalismJurisprudenceLawLiberal ArtsLibrary ScienceLicensed Practical Nurse Logistics ManagementManagementManagement of TechnologyManufacturing ManagementMarine EngineeringMarketingMarketing CommunicationsMarketing ManagementMass Communications
MathematicsMechanical Engineering Medical Medical Science Medical Technology MedicineMicrobiology Military ScienceMusicMusic Education Natural HealthNaturopathyNeuroscienceNursingNursing AdministrationNutritionNutritional Sciences Office Systems TechnologyOperations ManagementOrganizational Behavior Oriental Medicine ParalegalParalegal Studies Pharmaceutical SciencesPharmacologyPharmacy PhilosophyPhotography Physical Education Physics Physiology Political ScienceProject Management PsychiatryPsychologyPublic Administration Public Health Quality Management Radiology TechnologyReal EstateReligious StudiesSecondary EducationSocial WelfareSocial WorkSociologySoftware EngineeringSound EngineeringSpanishSpecial Education TeachingTeaching EnglishTelecommunicationsTheatre ArtsTheology Veterinary Medicine Warehouse ManagementWeb DesignWelding EngineeringWomen's Spirituality

Awarded on the basis of "life experience", but you do not have to prove that you actually have a life or an experience.

All for $549 - $249 down and the balance in two easy payments of $150. 100% Money-back guarantee.

Belford University, USA

I am rushing my application off ... in 7 days I will be a Doctorate in Warehouse Management (DWM).

Accreditations, and Why Universities Like Lafayette University are not Accredited

Accredited Programs in Alternative Medicine – Yes!! They Exist
One of the points of contention on all these discussions about “Dr” Jessie Chung’s credentials is the issue of accreditation. Her defenders are all claiming that the real reason why her degrees (and the institutions she graduated from) are not accredited is because it is in alternative medicine. This is pure hogwash as far as I am concerned. I am aware of at least two legitimate bodies that accredit quite a large number of degrees and universities in alternative medicine - Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM), and Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME). Both are officially sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit alternative medicine programs in acupuncture, oriental medicine and naturopathy.

Let’s be clear: alternative medicine is accreditable in North America.

So, why didn’t “Dr” Jessie Chung attend these accredited schools instead? My speculation is that these schools are just as vigorous in their admission standards as other medical schools, and once there the students must earn their degree. The few that I investigated from the accredited list have high admissions requirements (normally a previous degree or 3-year studies in general sciences or life sciences at another accredited university), minimum residency requirements (i.e. no transfer or “life experience” credits, and stringent course work graduation requirements (I heard of one non-accredited university’s Ph.D. dissertation only needing to be 2,000 words – shorter than some of my rants here).

Why Accreditation?
The issue is vigour. What good is a Ph.D. if one only needed a few hours to earn it? Sure one can argue that books were read, exams taken and papers written – but just a few hours to earn something that represents the pinnacle of accumulated human learning? Learning is about acquiring the knowledge, reflecting upon the significance of what was acquired, and learning to apply it in one’s life and/or vocation. All these take time. After all, the Ph.D. is an emblem – an emblem that represents acquired knowledge and skills. And it is the knowledge and skills that are most important.

Which are Better, Accredited or Non-Accredited Universities?
Furthermore, any thinking person with some degree of common sense will realize that it is just simply too easy, when everyone else is taking 5 years and thousand of hours to earn the same degree elsewhere; and should come to the natural conclusion that the school has got to be a diploma mill. And the value of what was learnt in a few hours? To cry victim is ridiculous, and is a reflection of the person’s moral fibre. And may I suggest that somewhere within that moral fibre is the will to deceive, to con and to take someone as a victim (rather than being a victim herself).

More importantly, if you put your life into the hands of a non-accredited graduate what quality of care will you be getting? What kind of compromise will be made? Whose interests come first? That’s why allopathic doctors are subjected to such a high degree of scrutiny, since the care they give can be a matter of life and death in mere seconds. And that’s why they are so often emulated, since the respect they receive is unquestionable. That’s what the quacks want as well, instant and easy respect … but not the hard work towards it.

Universities Accreditation
Why an accredited school? Such universities are subjected to the highest degree of public scrutiny and peer-review. That is the simple nature of accreditation … complete acceptance by the public that the quality of the university is beyond question, as other experts have scrutinized the quality of the university. Government-funded universities, such as those found in Canada, are created by public money under the act of parliament/state legislature. And governments love nothing more than committees, boards, and commissions. Private universities, such as the more reputable ones in the US, are licensed and accredited by federal boards and departments (such as the US Department of Education). The net result is standards are set, and these universities – in order to continue to receive public funding and private (even more so) endowments – must comply with the standards. They require an independent Board of Governors that is representative of where the university is located – businessmen, politicians, academics, technocrats, bureaucrats, religious leaders, common citizens, staff, faculty, students. Not a single owner or principal, who decides everything by himself.

Then there is the university structure itself, which are divided into the management group (physical facilities, budgets, etc.) and the academics (curriculum, professors, etc.). Everything is open and transparent, and everyone in the community can provide input – hence the term university, a derivative of the word “universe”. No one single soul or group decides unilaterally. As a result, there are prescribed academic standards and protocols; such as the ratio of students to teachers, number of actual Ph.D.’s versus teaching assistants, issues of research, grants, publications, etc.

In my university, we have research missions for the university, the faculty and the schools – all three must be met or else there will be no tenure or promotion. We have degree and licensing requirements of the academic staff, length of probation before one gains tenure, length of tenure before one gains promotion, the various steps of promotions before one gains a full professorship, academic sabbaticals, publication quotas, grant quotas, etc. It is a very complex business, running and working in a university. All these are also needed at the other 2 universities in the current city where I am residing, and the other dozen or so in the local region. There is a set acceptable standard accepted across the country as a result of accreditation. Ditto for my last place of residence, NYC. In fact these standards are continent wide, and also global as well (I know for sure the University of Malaya has the same governance model).

Degrees/Programs Accreditation
Further to that, individuals programs or degrees are also accredited, either by the professions or by another act of the parliament/congress/state legislature. This is accreditation upon accreditation. The profession and the public are involved, as the graduates from these programs will enter the marketplace to provide professional services – and the money-paying public wants to know. Often program/degree accreditation involves curriculum and currency issues. We want our lawyers, doctors, accountants, architects and engineers (the original 5 noble professions) to be at the cutting edge of knowledge. Can’t be having our doctors continue to let blood or drain our colons in today’s day and age, can’t we? We want to ensure that programs go through continued and sustainable renewal, and that the right and qualified professors are teaching in them and the right and qualified students are learning in the program. “Life experience” and transfer credits deny the coverted student-professor interactions, hence affecting learning and exchange of knowledge; and the academic quality suffers as a result. Isn’t it obvious then, that universities with high academic reputation (like Harvard, Yale) do not confer “life experience” credits and have minimum residency requirements to minimize transfer credits?

What about Lafayette University, and the Likes??
Why then isn't Lafayette University accredited? Simply put, it takes too much trouble to make a profit if the process is too complicated. Since there is never a shortage of people who feel that they are more qualified than they really are, and are willing to go to great lengths to prove that - giving away the emblem is better than teaching the classes. Since they are already qualified and have nothing more to learn.

Besides, it is more fun to be at a bar drinking than to be hitting the books, especially when the exam is open book and the questions are very general in nature (regardless of the degree). In fact, if you can write your name - and a cheque - you have alreay passed the exams. And if you cannot write the 2000 words to complete your doctoral dissertation, you can buy a copy of the dissertation and fill in your name. No fear of copyright violations, etc. since the dissertation will not be published and indexed.

“Dr” Jessie Chung – Clarifications Please
Why, of the many choices that you obviously have, do you consistently attend unaccredited universities and unaccredited (or self-accredited) programs? What degree (pardon the pun) of assurance do you have that you have learnt from the best and have performed the best, while attending these really dubious – and bottom rated, IMHO – universities and programs? “Life experience” credits, transfer credits, correspondence credits, easy credits – why all these short cuts?? To maximize the paper credentials???

My family doctor – also my wife’s best friend - attended just one university, graduating with 2 degrees only (pre-med and her MD). Nothing more (if you do not include the required program of continuing professional development to renew her license, and insurance). Yet I trust her with my health, and to a certain degree my life. She does not sell me any drugs that she prescribes (conflict of interest, and professional misconduct - here's another hallmark of a professional), nor does she have a wall full of her patients’ photographs, or a web page proclaiming her ability to heal me from Hep. B, cancer and brain tumours. In fact she gives me the realistic news, as bad as they may be. She never proclaims any miracle cures for my cholesterol levels, my bad back or my allergies. She tells me the truth (that I need to exercise more, eat healthy, and not to drive while on antihistamines). No empty promises, just the truth. Occasionally she surprises me with news from the medical research frontier about certain experimental drugs that may represent a paradigm shift, but always warns me that these drugs have lengthy trial periods, and requires the scrutiny and approval of experts and government health agencies.

And as a result I do not have a blog space dedicated to the likes of her.

St. Andrews College - and other - Doctorates

First things first.

“Prof. Dr” Jessie Chung claims to be both a professor and a doctorate holder. Let’s review the academic credentials that would allow her to refer to herself as a “Dr.”, and we can review her professorship next.

There are 3 legitimate ways to earn a doctorate in North America (where “Dr” Jessie claimed was educated):
1. Doctorate as a first-professional degree in the medical field
2. Doctorate (normally a Ph.D.) via research
3. Honourary doctorate (Honoris Causa) based on a body of significant work and contribution to society.

First-Professional Doctorates
Most in the senior front-line medical professions such as chiropractic, allopathic, naturopathic, osteopathic physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and optometrists are conferred accredited degrees with the suffix/prefix “Doctor” attached to their first-professional degree. Variants include DC, MD, ND, DO, DDS, DVM and OD, respectively. In North America, at least 3 years of undergraduate studies in life sciences or pre-med is required for admissions – routinely a full degree is required due to the competitive nature of admissions. Recently other allied medical professionals such as pharmacists, and therapists are also being conferred degrees with a “Doctor” suffix/prefix, including those in the non-medical fields such as law.

These degrees are professional degrees in the sense that they provide a regulated professional service to the public. There are no requirements for front-line research to be conducted to earn these degrees, but public-scrutiny accreditation (more later) and profession-mandated licensing exams (more later) are required instead. There is an attendant period of clinical internship (averaging 2-3 years) as well. Very very rarely – or never - are these degrees earned with “life experience credits” or via correspondence, since on-site clinical experience is required. By the time these graduates are fully licensed and qualified, they would have spent roughly the equivalent of time as a research-based PhD doctorate-holder (about 8 to 10 years, sometimes longer if a specialization is earned) prior to professional practice.

Others in the alternate medical fields such as acupuncture, homeopathic medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, etc. are also pushing to have their doctorate recognized, but at this point they are slow in the making. Until there is an agreed upon curriculum, a recognized program of research, real professional ethics, the culling of the quacks, I hope they never will be recognized.

Research Ph.D. Doctorates
Research Ph.D. doctorates are conferred after 5 years of supervised studies and research, only in a very narrowly focussed area on one very specific aspect even (I have a MD friend who spent 6 years from scratch studying one specific type of genes that may be responsible for triggering the early stages of Alzheimer's disease in one racial age group, after spending 4 years to obtain his MD and 2 years in residency). This is preceded by two years of studies and research at a Master’s level, and 4 years of studies at bachelor’s level. In the first two years of the PhD program, the doctoral candidates (which they are called) must undertake a series of prescribed courses. Upon successful completion of these courses and a formulation of a research focus, they then proposed a program of research in their last three years of the program. They will need a faculty-sponsor for this work (akin, in one sense, to an internship). Upon the successful defence of their thesis dissertation, the candidate will be conferred a Ph.D. Very rarely are these degrees earned with “life experience credits” or via correspondence, since on-site research is required. Quite often the 5-year period is extended by 1 - or even 2 - years to improved the dissertation. At some universities and some programs (such as business, as an example), prescribed advanced courses (if the university is equipped – very often the case in very large and endowed universities such as Harvard, Yale, etc.) and detailed papers are substituted for a full dissertation. In this event, another form of doctorate is conferred, one with a “Doctor” suffix/prefix (such as a Doctor of Business Administration).

Ph.D. doctorates are conferred in the research-based non-medical fields primarily (e,g. english literature, physics), although some medical fields which lie more in the domain of applied sciences (such as nutrition, pharmaceutical chemistry, etc.) are also conferring Ph.D.’s. Ph.D. holders that are going into clinical environments (nutritionists, dieticians, chemists, etc.) often have to spend a year or two in a post-doctoral fellowship prior to being engaged in a full-time position. Increasingly so, other Ph.D. holders are also required to do so, as this post-doctoral fellowship period is seen as the internship period, rather than the final three years of the Ph.D. program; such is the competitive nature of advanced research. It takes about about 12-14 years to mint a fully functional Ph.D.

Honourary Doctorates
The least useful of all the doctorates, these degrees are conferred strictly for honourary purposes. The general protocol is none of these honourary doctorate holders addresses themselves at “Dr”, since the title is mostly ceremonial in nature rather than functional. Typical degrees conferred are D.Litt and D.Laws. Holders of these degrees have not earned them via course work or research. Some are artists, politicians, philanthropists (and may even be illiterate).


St. Andrews College
After conducting an exhaustive search for variants of St. Andrews for educational institutions of higher learning, I was able to produce the following list of schools. Most are high schools or theological seminaries. One is the 3rd oldest university in the English-speaking world, while one is a closed diploma mill.

The University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
St. Andrews Presbyterian College, Laurinburg, North Carolina
St Andrew's College at the University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
St Andrew's College at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
St Andrew's College at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
St. Andrews Correspondence College
St. Andrew’s School, Middletown, Delaware
St. Andrew’s School, Nassau, Bahamas
St. Andrew’s School, WALKERVILLE, South Australia
New St Andrews College Moscow, Idaho
St Andrew's College, Christchurch, New Zealand
St Andrew's College, Dublin, Ireland
St Andrew's College, Blackrock, Ireland
St Andrew's College, Aurora, Ontario, Canada
St Andrew's College, Marayong, New South Wales, Australia
St Andrew's College, Grahamstown, South Africa
St Andrew's College, Dumbarton, Scotland

Since St. Andrews College is where “Dr” Jessie earned her doctorate, it would not be a high school that would have conferred the degree. And since she did not claimed to have attended universities in Canada, Scotland and Australia, the two logical choices on the list would be either St. Andrews Presbyterian College, Laurinburg, North Carolina, or St. Andrews Correspondence College. St. Andrews Presbyterian College, Laurinburg, North Carolina is a small liberal arts college, which only confers undergraduate degrees (and no majors in Natural Medicine nor Complementary Medicine – what is your doctorate in Jessie?); the only university left is St. Andrews Correspondence College. Since it is very difficult to forget (or miss) the very long word “Correspondence” from the name of one’s alma mater – and assuming that “Dr” Jessie is not out to deceive anyone (as she, and her two friends have claimed), I would then assume that it is not St. Andrews Correspondence College either. Otherwise, the very guilty and defunct St. Andrews Correspondence College may be where "Dr" Jessie Chung "earned" another one of her dubious degrees.

Which brings us back to what I asked for much earlier, and promised by Jessie’s spokesperson Pierce – what is the address of this mysterious university and the university’s URL for their webpage??

"Dr". Jessie Chung - Clarifications Please
The only way for “Dr” Jessie Chung to clarify her Doctorate in Natural Medicine or Complementary Medicine (which is it?) is to publish the degree (with date and name), disclose the full name and address of the university, and how it was earned. Full disclosure. Notice how real doctors and professors hang up their sheepskins for all to see in their offices, presumably to give some comfort to their patients and students. I have one wall in my office placarded with every certificate, diploma and degree that I have earned since graduating from high school ... the more the merrier.

Personally, I suspect it is one of those diploma mill quick-doctorates or one of those non-accredited “medical” degrees. I am unable to locate her dissertation, and the only medical “licensing” credentials are all from false accreditation bodies. Or she can claim a typing error and drop it from her list of dubious credentials. Suits me fine either way, as long as there is an accounting, since – for the life of me – I am unable to see how she earned this advanced first-professional or research degree.

An Interlude

Here's an interesting, and parallel, story:

Cut-Rate Diplomas
How doubts about the government's own "Dr. Laura" exposed a résumé fraud scandal
Paul Sperry

Laura L. Callahan was very proud of her Ph.D. When she received it a few years ago, she promptly rewrote her official biography to highlight the academic accomplishment, referring to it not once or twice but nine times in a single-page summary of her career. And she never let her employees at the Labor Department, where she served as deputy chief information officer, forget it, even demanding that they call her "Doctor."

Callahan's management style had always been heavy-handed. Once, while working in a previous supervisory role at the Clinton White House, she reportedly warned computer workers to keep quiet about an embarrassing server glitch that led to the loss of thousands of archived e-mails covered by federal subpoena. But with her newly minted Ph.D., Callahan became intolerable, several employees say, belittling and even firing subordinates who did not understand the technical jargon she apparently picked up while studying for her doctorate in computer information systems.

One employee was skeptical of Callahan's qualifications, however, and began quietly asking questions. The answers worried him, especially after Callahan was hired in 2003 as the Department of Homeland Security's deputy chief information officer. His concerns and the resulting investigation ultimately revealed a troubling pattern of résumé fraud at federal agencies, including several charged with protecting Americans from terrorism. The scandal raises serious doubts about the government's ability to vet the qualifications of public employees on whom the nation's security depends.

"When she was running around telling people to call her 'Dr. Callahan,' I asked where she got her degree," says Richard Wainwright, a computer specialist who worked for Callahan at Labor for two years. "When I found out, I laughed."

It turns out Callahan got her precious sheepskin from Hamilton University. Not Hamilton College, the highly competitive school in Clinton, New York, but Hamilton University, the unaccredited fee-for-degree "distance learning" center in Evanston, Wyoming, right on the Utah border. Such diploma mills frequently use names similar to those of accredited schools.

Unbeknown to Callahan, Wainwright had once lived near the small town of Evanston (population: 10,903) and knew it well. As a student at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where he received his bachelor's degree years ago, he had made beer runs to Evanston, less than 60 miles away. He knew there were no universities there, or at least none worth attending. "Evanston doesn't have much but a few motels and liquor stores," he tells me. "I looked up Hamilton University on the Web and saw it was an old Motel 6, and I knew it was bogus."

Indeed, the old motel lobby is clearly visible in a photo of the main entrance to Hamilton posted on the home page of the school's Web site at hamilton-university.edu. Click on "Campus," and you'll find more photos of the converted motel, as well as another small building on the campus, shot from a sharp angle to make it appear large and august.

If the other building looks like a church, that's no illusion. It is a church—sort of. Callahan's alma mater is run by the Faith in the Order of Nature (FION) Fellowship Church, also in Evanston. In fact, the church is headquartered at the same address as Hamilton, which was organized as a "nonprofit theocentric institution of higher learning" in 1976 and claims a religious tax exemption.

Student of Nature
Here's where it really gets weird. FION believes all life forms, including bugs and trees, are created equal and should be treated with equal respect. It feels the same way about education.

"We accept all education as equal in Nature," according to the church's stated doctrine. "We offer recognition and special designations to those who have achieved higher levels of understanding regardless if obtained naturally or formally." Apparently that's how it got into the diploma business. FION's Web site describes Hamilton University as "a Nature-based institution of higher learning, which grants university level degrees that are based in whole or in part of [sic] education obtained through Nature." Since there's little, if any, coursework required, call it education by osmosis.

But this Nature isn't free. Tax-exempt Hamilton, with a staff of three, charges a flat fee of $3,600 for nature lovers in need of a Ph.D., while certifying that all its degrees are accredited "based on the rigid accrediting standards of the American Council of Private Colleges and Universities." And not to worry, Hamilton's Web site assures future graduates: "All transcripts carry the ACPCU seal."

What it doesn't mention is that ACPCU is a fake accrediting agency that the FION church set up to accredit Hamilton. The U.S. Department of Education does not recognize ACPCU as a legitimate accrediting body. (Hamilton officials did not respond to requests for comment. Calls go to a voicemail system.)

To get her Ph.D., Callahan merely had to thumb through a workbook and take an open-book exam. The whole correspondence course—which includes instruction on business ethics—takes about five hours to complete. A 2,000-word paper (shorter than this article) counts as a dissertation.

In short, Callahan's diploma isn't worth the paper it's written on. Though there is that nice leather-bound holder.

It gets worse. Callahan owes her entire academic pedigree to Ham U. The bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science she lists on her résumé were also bought at the diploma mill.

The high-paid senior official was plainly pulling a major scam. And Wainwright was on to her. "I had finally caught Callahan in one of her lies that she would not be able to get out of," he says of his unpopular boss.

Paid Vacation
At the time, Callahan had applied for an important high-level position at the Department of Homeland Security. The job was deputy chief information officer, similar to the post she held at the Labor Department. But this new job required integrating and managing some of the nation's most sensitive databases in a time of war. Callahan clearly wasn't qualified, no matter what her résumé said. Wainwright wondered if she could even be trusted with a top-secret security clearance.

After Callahan landed the post in April 2003, Wainwright anonymously tipped off a Beltway trade journal about her phony degrees and fraudulent résumé. Government Computer News broke the story about Callahan, triggering an 11-month congressional investigation that culminated in government-wide reforms meant to curb the use of diploma mills by federal employees, whose tuition is often financed by taxpayers.

"She was in a position where she could cause damage to the United States," Wainwright says, speaking publicly for the first time about the case. "And that's why I did what I did."

Callahan's fraud was exposed in May 2003. Curiously, she wasn't forced to resign until March 26, 2004, after being placed on administrative leave—with pay—the previous June. That means she continued to draw her Department of Homeland Security salary of between $128,000 and $175,000 for nearly 10 months while under a serious ethical cloud. Misrepresenting qualifications on a résumé, an official bio, or an application—including submitting false academic credentials—is grounds for immediate dismissal, according to federal rules written by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Homeland Security officials maintained they were awaiting the results of an internal investigation, which, oddly, was led at one point by the Secret Service, which does not usually investigate such matters. (Callahan is married to a Secret Service agent, but there is no evidence to suggest he took part in the probe.) "We have no reason at this time not to believe Laura Callahan's credentials," Homeland Security spokeswoman Michelle Petrovich told Government Computer News on May 30, 2003, months after the scandal broke.

Wainwright, who was interviewed by OPM investigators who knew her degrees were phony, wonders why it took Homeland Security 10 months to confirm what OPM already knew—what he found out in a few minutes of online research. Meanwhile, congressional investigators found that red flags about Callahan's academic credentials had already been raised in her personnel file at the Labor Department, according to House Government Reform Committee spokesman Dave Marin. Yet no action was taken there.

In fact, Callahan was twice promoted by the department, even as complaints about her promoting unqualified cronies and rewarding them with big bonuses piled up against her at the office of Labor's inspector general. A confidential 2001 report issued by Assistant Inspector General John J. Getek cited "allegations of waste, mismanagement, fraud and abuse" against Callahan's office. Another Callahan employee—one of the complainants, who claims she retaliated against him in evaluations and raises—gave me a copy of the report, which concluded that Callahan's management practices had led to "low morale" among her 60 federal employees and 65 contractors. Callahan and her lawyer declined repeated requests for comment.

Separation of Degrees
It turns out that Callahan's phony diplomas from Hamilton were backdated. Hamilton boasts on its Web site that it can "custom tailor" degree programs "to meet the needs" of busy professionals. Callahan's advanced degrees were required for her Labor promotions as well as her Homeland Security transfer. Her bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees officially were conferred in 1993, 1995, and 2000, respectively.

Yet in March 2000, Callahan made no mention of the 1993 and 1995 diplomas while describing her educational background under oath in testimony before the House Government Reform Committee. They are also missing from her sworn prepared statement submitted to the panel.

Callahan was called to the Hill then to answer charges by four White House computer specialists who swore she threatened them with jail if they talked, even to their spouses, about a computer coding error that conveniently kept hundreds of thousands of e-mails covered by subpoenas from being turned over to federal investigators of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. (Callahan denied under oath making such threats.) At the time of the so-called Project X e-mail scandal, Callahan was a supervisor in the White House's computer branch.

"I'm a graduate of Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, New Jersey," Callahan said in her opening statement. "And I have numerous certificates and a series of awards and recognitions that I've basically been able to achieve over my almost 16 years of federal service." Callahan then began to tick off all her work-related awards, closing the chapter on her education.

"I do have available for you, if you like, a list of those accomplishments, because I think it helps you understand who I am, because those accomplishments number over 40, and they include recognition from not only [military] commands and agencies for which I worked for, but they also include recognition from outside entities," she continued in a soft, demure voice. "What I mean by that, to give you an idea of who I am, the outside awards include the 1995 Supervisor of the Year award—"

"Excuse me, Ms. Callahan," committee Chairman Dan Burton (R-Ind.) mercifully interrupted. "I don't mean to be impolite, but your entire record of accomplishments is not necessary at this time. We really want to get on with the questions pertinent to the hearing."

At no time in the long hearing did Callahan bring up the Hamilton degrees—just a two-year associate's degree in liberal arts from Thomas Edison State that she got in 1992. That degree is no longer on her bio sheet, replaced by the three Hamilton diplomas. It's not clear whether the OPM or Homeland Security ever tried to obtain the canceled checks Callahan wrote to Hamilton for the degrees to see if the dates on the checks correspond with the dates on the diplomas.

But investigators with the General Accounting Office (GAO) were able to solve the mystery after several lawmakers asked the watchdog agency to probe Callahan and other diploma mill graduates employed by the federal government. In a May 11 report, the GAO said Callahan received her bachelor's and master's degrees in rapid succession between March 2000 and June 2000. Since her Ph.D. arrived in March 2001, that means she got all three degrees within a year.

What the report doesn't say is that Callahan went shopping for her phony bachelor's and master's degrees right after her embarrassing House testimony in March 2000 and as she was bucking for another Labor Department promotion that required such degrees. The degrees were backdated to make it appear as if she got them in 1993 and 1995, which would look more plausible on her résumé. The Ph.D.—also backdated, to 2000—closed out the academic package: a three-for-one deal at Diplomas 'R' Us.

Faithful Correspondent
But at least give Callahan credit for getting her associate's degree; she did some legitimate schooling after high school, right? Actually, even that is debatable. Much like Hamilton, Thomas Edison administers an external degree program for older students that gives course credits for life and work experience, with no required attendance. It has no resident faculty, no classrooms or library. The SAT is not required, and all applicants are accepted. It's a noncompetitive correspondence school.

Which raises the question: Was Callahan even qualified for her White House job, which she got in 1996—just before the problems with the computer system for archiving and retrieving e-mails sent to key Clinton appointees? (To this day, none of the "lost" e-mails relevant to the investigations have been recovered, despite a federal court order demanding them.) Amazingly, Callahan, with just an associate's degree and a few years of computer experience, had direct oversight of the network infrastructure and desktop computing environment used to support the offices of the president and vice president.

Howard "Chip" Sparks, a career White House employee who worked with Callahan (who at the time went by the name Laura Crabtree) did not think she was qualified at all. Sparks, a networking specialist, questioned a technical decision she made in 1997 and practically pulled back a bloody stump. Callahan later warned him in a memo not to question her qualifications again. "Please be advised I will not tolerate any further derogatory comments from you about my knowledge, qualifications and/or professional competence," she snapped in the March 3, 1997, memo.

At Labor, Callahan eventually got more power (despite being pushed out of the Clinton White House over the negative Project X publicity) and became less tolerant of those who didn't agree with her. "She had a style where she was right and you were wrong," Wainwright says, "and if you ever questioned her knowledge, if you were a contractor, you were fired, and if you were a fed [employee], you were banished."

Then she got the Ph.D. and threw it in all their faces, Wainwright and others say. "She insisted we call her Dr. Callahan," he says. "And she would belittle people with her technospeak to make them look stupid. In fact, she said most people [at Labor] were basically stupid." They got the last laugh.

Mill Work Ain't Hard
After Callahan's phony degrees were exposed, Congress asked its investigative arm, the GAO (recently renamed the Government Accountability Office), to audit other federal agencies to find out how widespread the problem of bogus academic credentials is inside the government. Congress also wanted to get a sense of how much, if any, federal money pays for tuitions at diploma mills.

Looking at the personnel of eight federal agencies chosen at random, the GAO found that 463 employees showed up on the enrollment records of just three unaccredited schools. (It actually looked at four colleges, but only three responded to its request for information and only two fully cooperated.) This was merely a sampling of the dozens of mills operating nationwide, not an exhaustive audit; given the limited nature of the GAO's investigation, the true number of federal employees who are academically unqualified to fill the positions they hold could be in the thousands.

Agencies tasked with defending America from terrorism were among the top employers of workers with phony diplomas identified by the GAO. The Department of Defense employs 257 of them. Transportation has 17. Justice has 13; Homeland Security, 12; Treasury, eight.

The GAO also found that two diploma mills alone have received a total of nearly $170,000 in payments from a dozen federal agencies for tuition for 64 employees. Hamilton University refused to cooperate with the GAO in its audit of federal payments for student fees, so it remains unclear whether Callahan's tuition was subsidized.

But as a serial fake-diploma shopper, Callahan is one of the worst offenders among the senior officials identified from the eight federal agencies the GAO surveyed. At least 28 senior-level employees had degrees from diploma mills, the GAO found, while cautioning that "this number is believed to be an understatement." Among them: Daniel P. Matthews, chief information officer for the Department of Transportation (which oversees the Transportation Security Administration), who got his $3,500 bachelor of science degree within eight months from diploma mill Kent College in Mandeville, Louisiana, and three unnamed managers with super-secret Q-level security clearance at the National Nuclear Security Administration—including an Air Force lieutenant colonel who attended no classes and took no tests to get a promotion-enabling master's degree from LaSalle University, a diploma mill affiliated with Kent College and also based in Mandeville. No word yet if they, too, will be forced to resign, or if it will again take the news media to drum them out of office.

The GAO report has prompted the OPM, which conducts background checks on new federal hires, to crack down on the résumé cheats, who short-cut their way to the top and undermine those employees who work long and hard for legitimate degrees and who might get passed over for a raise or promotion. The agency is revising its hiring and background investigation forms to emphasize that degrees must be from accredited schools. It also has authorized more money for background checks so job applicants' academic credentials can be more thoroughly investigated. Down the road, U.S. senators are considering legislation to ban agencies from paying for courses from unaccredited schools. (Congress is not immune to the scam. In fact, an aide to the Senate committee that investigated the Callahan scandal had enrolled in an unaccredited school.)

It remains to be seen whether those reforms will help restore confidence in the federal work force. The American people need to know that the best-qualified workers are running the war on terrorism, not a bunch of hacks and cheats.

Paul Sperry is WorldNetDaily's Washington bureau chief. Formerly of Investor's Business Daily, he is a media fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author of Crude Politics: How Bush's Oil Cronies Hijacked the War on Terrorism (Thomas Nelson Publishers).

What Pierce, and Others, Have To Say About Me

This was posted on Pierce's Blog - #1

I have been contacted and threaten by this fella who pretend to be someone from some part of Ontario Canada. He (I honour his gender as he called himself TOM) called himself a duck making noise buster but he sounded like a failure. From my analysis, he is hot tempered, impatience, and self-centered person who always think that he is right and everyone else is wrong. This also makes him fall into the category of "loner". He goes by the name TOM in his hotmail account which I doubt is legit. I have check some status on the account and found out that the account is either new or has been recently re-activated.

As I recall, he has not make any sense of himself by throwing himself up in the air making a Hoo-Haa on the issue that some "Ef-Bee-Eye certified" (denied by my friend in the state who is in there) warning on the so called "fake university" of which he claimed that the honourable doctor is graduated from. My friend is not amused by his threat and by his naming of their department in the posting. As the result of his mentioning, my web site is currently being probed by all three of the three initials in the states. I don’t think I will mention them any more because I really don’t like this kind of posting. That’s why I moderate all comments.

I would think that he is either from Malaysia or some Asian country. I have my reason for that especially from his communications. Let just say that these are my assumptions:

1. He could be a She (tense to use feminin voices)
2. He could be a med school grad
3. He tries sounded like someone I used to know whose name was mentioned by another friend in some comments in some earlier post.
4. He seems to know a lot of back ground about Jeffrey Chung and was not happy because of the becoming of Jessie Chung
5. He seems to know quite a bit about different places in Kuching and Subang; which I think, he has been here before or he is in Malaysia.

Anyway, I felt lazy to entertain all his question after he bombarded me with something which I think, he did not care about finding out the truth. I have not put anything on the tray to block him from doing anything because he is wrong about things that he said.

If he is reading this, I would like him to go and see the great JC and pray and stop preyying on the little JC.

This was posted on Pierce's Blog - #2

Hmmm.. Create a new hotmail account just to post this via a open reply on someone’s cable modem in USA?

Cheap but no caveat. Taiwanese?? Singaporean?? Asian country I pressumed.

FYI, I also use that web proxy occasionally.

My answer to your claims is as below:

1. Lafayette is not a diplomas mill as what you have claimed. Please check
http://www.msche.org/institutions_directory.asp?txtRange=l

2. Oriental Medical College
http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/pas/pr/1998/0214.htm

3. I also have a ITEC certification for physiotheraphy due to needs from one of my previous IT project but I am only computer project manager. The certification will take up to 2 years depending on what certification you want.

** I believed that if you are going to make your website impressive, you will pull out all the certificates which is related to your business and publish them. This will also include maybe an IUG Degree for certified internet user which can be obtained back in 1996 by paying some fella IUG in USA USD 1 and you will get a digital certificates plus a mail in certificates if you add on USD 10 for the return postage. This is only Human nature.

4. China Medical Institute is a school which teach physiotheraphy and acupunture, Location: Beijing. I would not concede that Jessie have made any mistake because if you are going to address a school which have a common name like St. Joseph, one would just use either a prefix or a suffix with the name of the location as an indicative pronoun to the common name. i. e. (suffix) St. Joseph Kuching, Kuching High School (prefix) or Massachusetts Institute of Technology (prefix).

5. There is a East West University is in Chicago. Il. How on earth do you miss that????? Of course Jessie was not studying in Il. However, there is another East West University of Holistic Health Sciences in USA which is affiliated with Indian board of alternative medicine (IBAM). I think you must have use the wrong search engine. Try Google, Yahoo or Wikipedia. Just cut and paste the name as exactly from the Natural Health farm website and you should be able to find all the assiciates and institution.

(got sick of numbering and referencing…)
for American Naturopathic Medical Association and American Nutritional Medical Association, these are companies what provide Alternative medicine information and since Steven is a MD, I would think that what Steven wants to do is to oust all the alternative medicine from any claims that alternative medicine works. This is because there are some basis that alternative medicine works by boosting the immune system of the patient and thus make the body defence system works better in fighting sickness; and if alternative medicine works, steven will be the one losing out with some of the other MD who will be making less money due to the impact from this new line of remedies in the general market.

FYI, you can listen to Ai-FM (formerly Radio 5) via Internet Radio.

Dr. is conferred, not earned right? what what is the price to get this title? Pay 1 Million for it? Please note that Jessie is a supporter of alternative medicine. Most of the alternative medicine is not being accepted by medical institution because of “conflict of interest” in their marketplace. Hence these bodies of accredition will not endorse alternative medicine. Hope you still remember when Dr. Hunter “Patch” Adam started his venture, It was not accepted by the general medical practitioners because free medicine is suppose to be the given to the needy.

On personal notes, eventhough I have a few MDs in my big family, I would still say this. Most but not all MD are “blood suckers” who is only aftering the monies of the people in sickness. When the medical professions started back in the 4000BC, The ideal of healing is to look at the healer and you are healed. (Bible book of Exodos, Sient Crada scrolls and etc.) The ideal thought has been abused ever since by the medical profession (which originated from the world of the now alternative medicine) and by causing tons of death, they took on and trying to profit to the misfortune of the ones in need. Patch had seen this and is on trying to improve the quality of life for the patients.

Anyway that is Patch, Not Jessie. Here in Malaysia, we have our ways of doing things and in order for alternative medicine to progress on, it is still a long journey. Just as the path of the brand Himalaya has gone through and obtain global recognitions, Natural Health Farm is also going through the same thing but with bigger obstacle. It is on its way towards global recognition.

NHF is Jessie’s work. Her tears and sweats is all in this. May be she has profitted from this but I would say that what she has pay is more than what she has received. To me, she is a Dr. because she has earned it herself through her life experience and studies. I knew her when she was still a he and back then, she did study hard for alternative medicine and people with medical degree should be called Dr. (and I don’t mean MD)

Yes, she may not be as mighty as Dr. Patch, but to me, alternative medicine is much better than western meds. Yet I think we should have both in the way that it will balance out the norm.

This was posted on Pierce's Blog - #3

If indeed you are from a cable fro Rogers, then i would caution you that you may have a insecure port. Anyway, I will response to your queries later as I am in the middle of arranging a trip.




This Was Posted By guozi/I-BUST-YOU (IP: 60.48.102.250) On www.usj.com.my

Hey! you stupid little %^&*(#@, pls be very careful!!! You know who am I?!!
I obtained ITEC- Dip in Nutrition. Wanna see my certs??? Dont act clever over your little stupid comments. I WIL FINd U...

HEY. I AM FROM NORTH AMERICA ALSO.. JUZ LIK YOU! HA! BUT I M ACTUALLY STAYING IN USJ SS15. DONT TRY TO B FOREIGN OK? LOVE UR COUNTRY!!! CAN U TRUST EVERYTHING A LIAR TELLS US?

I WIL BUST U WIT MY EVERY MIGHT. COZ U R BIG LIAR N BIG SCAM AND
LUV U BABY...
SEE U 2NITE. AT UR PLACE. WE'LL HAVE GREAT TIME. LIAR

Attack my posts and I if you wish. Unless very personal or obscene information is posted, I will not censor nor edit any posts with few exceptions. But you will be more credible if you deal with the issues.

In defence of Lafayette University

This is what Pierce have to say about Lafayette University, without any back-up references of course:

Lafayette was a school of business which carries the name from Lafayette College. This school was founded by two of the oust professors of the latter but was not awarded the proper recognition due to the similarity in names of the two. Hence, the two professors sold the outfit to a business entity in Milwaukee, Wi and was then turned into a Diploma Mills in 1986 (unconfirmed) offering medical and others courses to the general public vide mail order and later, the internet.

Pierce posted here: http://wackilycrazy.blogspot.com/ as "kuching web logger".

Now, if you follow this argument, this would place Jessie right smack into the period when Lafayette University had become a diploma mill, wouldn't it?? And post-1986 was when she "earned" that degree?? Do you play chess Pierce? Checkmate??

Here's another fact, Lafayete University was founded by a con artist call Stephen R. Thomas, who is now an “Archbishop” of the Romano Byzantine Orthodox Catholic Church (a new church group of his own creation, obviously to offer more bogus degrees in “christian-healing” and to scam folks for tithes). Stephen R. Thomas was never a faculty member of the very legitimate Lafayette College.

Rebuttals Of Late

Is it just me or does it seem like every rebuttals provided by both of “Dr” Jessie Chung’s friends, Dr. Rebecca Tiew and Pierce, are narrowly focussed on what is just convenient for them to defend – leaving out the others? This is known as a smoke screen tactic.

Convenient Rebuttal #1
ITEC, UK – Both Rebecca Tiew (technically NOT a doctor as she holds a BDS and she is a dentist rather than a medical doctor, but we won’t split hair over this - if she had attended a North American university she would be accorded a DDS with 8 years of schooling which includes an undergraduate science/pre-medical degree) and Pierce argues that “Dr". Jessie Chung did earn a Diploma in Nutrition from ITEC, UK.

Firstly, ITEC do not confer diplomas but is an accreditation body which franchise schools to offer their curriculum. I had argued that Jessie misled people - with the idea that she in fact attended ITEC in the UK, and she graduated with a Diploma in Nutrition (as first claimed in November 2005). I guess the colonial motherland is more prestigious, and a diploma focussed on just nutrition is more convincing when selling health supplements.

In fact, she likely attended a Malaysian beautician school called Senniyo, http://www.senniyo.edu.my/, which offers a Diploma In Diet & Nutrition for Complementary Therapists. Wild guess? Confirm or deny with a picture, please.

There is a BIG DIFFERENCE between attending a UK school and a Malaysian school, and between a "Diploma in Nutrition" and a "Diploma In Diet & Nutrition for Complementary Therapists". It is almost like a university in a third world like North Korean offering a degree in engineering based on the now public-domain MIT curriculum, and the North Korean graduates claiming that they attended MIT in Mass. Or earning a BA in Computer Science (likely a program with some courses in IT management and basic programming) versus a BSc in Computer Science (with a strong scientific and mathematical base and high-level programming).

Interesting thing about the ITEC-accredited "Diploma In Diet & Nutrition for Complementary Therapists" – you can earn it in 100 hours. That’s about 2 semester credits in a North American university – one course a semester. The standardized curriculum is 3 hours a week for 13 or 14 weeks for each semester credit. In most community colleges in North America, one needs 5 credits (3 hours a week over 13/14 weeks) per semester over 6 semesters to earn a diploma … or about 1,200 hours of instruction. At best, the ITEC-accredited program is a vocational program. 100 hours is not exactly enough to train nutritionists, or even Senior Nutritional Therapists. And the diploma exam?? All of 25 multiple-choice questions (http://www.itecworld.co.uk/Itec2005Syllabus/Diet%20&%20Nutrition/Diet%20&%20Nutrition%20for%20Complementary%20Therapists%20Test%20Specification.pdf). Wow!!! Toughie. No wonder dentists are flocking to take this exam, to supplement their meagre income presumably???

Heck, Senniyo's own beautician certificates take 3 times longer in training. What does that say about a Nutritionist, or Senior Nutritional Therapists trained by ITEC? Obviously ITEC is more focussed on beauticians than nutritions, hence my comment that ITEC trains beauticians!!!

Another interesting fact is Senniyo is run by a Ms Jenny Law, who also happens to be an "Associate Provost" (what's with quacks and big academic titles??) of University of Health Science, USA - our mysterious school where “Dr” Jessie Chung recently - and mysteriously - earned a M.Sc. in Psychology. Here is another weird connection - programs at Senniyo is "approved and affiliated" with the University of Health Science, USA.

So, a beautician is a university provost (a very high-level academic title equivalent to a President) … so what kind of a university is the University of Health Science? An non-accredited one of course … the State of Michigan does not recognize this “university” http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Non-accreditedSchools_78090_7.pdf, nor does the State of Oregon (http://0-www.osac.state.or.us.library.lanecc.edu/oda/unaccredited.html). In fact Oregon goes as far as officially calling it a diploma mill!! But who are the states of Michigan and Oregon, never mind a lone canuck academic, argue with a prominent Malaysian dentist and nutritional therapist?

Convenient Rebuttal #2
Borneo Research and Educational Institute - Another exotic niche medical school which offers degrees, patronized by royalty, but no addresses nor is searchable (on Google or Nexus). But of course … I must be the most ignorant and misinformed academic in this part of the world!!!

Either that or “Dr” Jessie Chung always seeks out these highly specialized programs that admit and train the very best and few!!! My confidence in myself is beginning to wane.

Convenient Rebuttal #3
Stop saying she is not too young or is too nice a person to NOT to have these credentials. Prove it!!!

I have stated many times, I will retract my statements on the face of evidence. And I have with the CutePDF issue, and with the Dr. Rebecca Tiew’s title (albeit reluctantly since it is a BDS).

I still maintain that, even at 37, the math does NOT add up. Full professor? Doctorate without a track record of publications? Every one of my doctorate colleagues who are full professors is well into their late 40’s and early 50’s when they EARNED all those titles and credentials. Unless “Dr” Jessie was a child prodigy – if so, say so.

Convenient Rebuttal #4
False accusations … where did I once say that the radio programs/stations do not exist? I said "* Host of Health-care programme at Radio 5 & RFM 98.8 - don’t live in Malaysia so can’t vouch for this". Seems like Dr. Tiew is not beneath levelling false accusations herself.

Something Constructive
I suggest that both Pierce and Rebecca answer the tough questions … which I have raised many times before, but here’s another check list:

1. Can Jessie explain why Lafayette University was dropped from her list of credentials? Was the M.Sc. with emphasis in Nutrition purchased? I am NOT convinced that she did any course work towards this degree at this university. Here’s the big give away - the dissertation focus - Enzymatic Therapy and Treatment - is too broad a topic for a master’s dissertation. Having supervised a few theses myself, I know that ALL dissertation focus are narrowly defined within a very particular context. If you wish to be convincing, try a title like, “Enzymatic Therapy in Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis” (maybe for her doctorate at St. Andrews?? … oops, cannot have it – already published here: