Ace of Spades HQ

November 29, 2013

Trust us...well OK, maybe not
— Purple Avenger

[Update: Science mag runs a piece saying Academia operates like drug cartels]

BioMed Central has a stable of various "open access" journals they publish. It looks like the one on head/neck oncology had some ahhh...problems and has been completely shutdown.

While conducting an internal audit of publications between January and June 2012, BioMed Central discovered a number of apparent major irregularities in the content and editorial handling of the journal Head & Neck Oncology. In order to maintain the integrity of the BioMed Central portfolio of journals, we decided to cease publication of the journal with effect from 9th August 2012...

There's a lot more here at RetractionWatch.

The RetractionWatch breadcrumb trail put me onto another related tale of sordidness detailed in this fellow's dissection and documentation of http://www.integrity-ethics.com. They performed a RatherGate style investigative journalism document comparison of text on the PIE website and found that major portions had been stolen directly from other genuinely reputable outfits like Elsevier. "Ethical" behavior apparently involves blatant cut/past plagiarism. This is the new normal I suppose.

A whois lookup of this freshly minted "integrity" and "ethics" group, which appears to be focusing on medical/sciency stuff shows 99.999 pure reagent grade NOTHING. They've hidden all their shit behind a domain cloaking service.

There's something significantly sketchy afoot here, the nature of which isn't entirely clear at this point. Stay tuned. There's sure to be more.

"Everybody lies" -- Dr. Gregory House.

Best plagiarism quote evah:

...From Chemistry Â– A European Journal, Â“the paper was constructed by copying a number of passages from the paper entitledÂ…The authors apologize for this approach.Â” As we wrote on Retraction Watch, plagiarism is an Â“approachÂ” to writing the way bank robbery is an approach to banking...

***[Insert rant about lying liars who lie]
***[Insert rant about sordid history of medical frauds, ref:Lysenkoism, data fabrication, etc]
***[Conspiracy theory: is all this somehow related to Obamacare and the need to justify its "effectivness" using turfed faux-research in the years to come.]

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 07:45 AM | Comments (101)
Post contains 283 words, total size 3 kb.

1 Oneth?

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:47 AM (0HooB)

2 yeah for backwardsboy!!!!

Posted by: phoenixgirl at work at November 29, 2013 07:48 AM (8v/hq)

3 Hot Dawg! Let me see, that's one Near Oneth, one genuine Oneth and one ruined Moron monitor and it's not even noon yet.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:48 AM (0HooB)

4 Is 'BioMed Central' a thing? Never heard of it.

Posted by: t-bird at November 29, 2013 07:50 AM (FcR7P)

5 The science is settled.

Posted by: Minus 3 ° F at November 29, 2013 07:50 AM (xQZ+T)

6 yeah for backwardsboy!!!! Y'all are gonna miss me starting next Monday, so I gotta get in as much squirellery as I can between now and then.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:51 AM (0HooB)

7 Those eyes.

Posted by: Infidel at November 29, 2013 07:51 AM (IEbb0)

8 You didn't write that.

Posted by: USA at November 29, 2013 07:51 AM (VIaw0)

9 Where you going BB? New job?

Posted by: Infidel at November 29, 2013 07:52 AM (IEbb0)

10 Is 'BioMed Central' a thing?

Yea, its a thing of sorts. Still a bit squishy, not hard yet.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at November 29, 2013 07:52 AM (Xlbr8)

11 A family member announced over the holiday that he has just resigned his post as the lead scientist on an important stem cell research project at a major university. He quit in protest over number-fudging by the other "scientists".

Posted by: mama winger at November 29, 2013 07:52 AM (P6QsQ)

Cliff notes version of what the "major irregularities" were?

Giving tic tacs to patients instead of chemo? Irish mafia diverting the real stuf?

What???

Some of us have to work here (sort of).

Posted by: BurtTC at November 29, 2013 07:53 AM (TOk1P)

13 Welcome to Ocare.

Posted by: Infidel at November 29, 2013 07:53 AM (IEbb0)

14 omparison of text on the PIE website and found that... If "Proto Indo-European" automatically popped into my head, am I a hopeless nerd?

Posted by: t-bird at November 29, 2013 07:53 AM (FcR7P)

15 Where you going BB? New job? Yeppers. I join the ranks of the UnFunemployed promptly at 9:00am Monday. After nearly six years, our long national nightmare is at last over.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:54 AM (0HooB)

16 All too often, scientists don't do "scientific research". They do "funding research".

Posted by: BCochran1981 - Credible Hulk at November 29, 2013 07:56 AM (GEICT)

17 I wondered what Retracto, the Correction Alpaca was up to these days.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:56 AM (0HooB)

18 I subscribed to Head and Neck Oncology for a while, but it was only for the articles. I swear I hardly even looked at the pictures.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 29, 2013 07:56 AM (8ZskC)

19 Congratulations BackwardsBoy!! YAY for you !!

Posted by: mama winger at November 29, 2013 07:56 AM (P6QsQ)

Plagiarists are people, too!

Posted by: Joe Biden at November 29, 2013 07:57 AM (NlMyb)

21 There's a magazine about pie?

Posted by: Joe Biden at November 29, 2013 07:57 AM (8ZskC)

Congrats.

On topic, that is what this entire administration is based on. Lies. Things are going downhill fast. Just wait until the farce of gorebal warming is revealed, shit will really hit the fan.

Of course, that assumes the liv actually wake up and have brain function.

Posted by: Infidel at November 29, 2013 07:58 AM (IEbb0)

23 Everybody, that is a Democrat, lies.

Posted by: Gmac-Pondering the impotence of Democrat lies at November 29, 2013 07:58 AM (4pjhs)

24 He quit in protest over number-fudging by the other "scientists". Posted by: mama winger --------------------- Bullshit! Real scientists never do that. If you do that, then you're not a real scientist..., huh, what?..., no, you can not see my data, and those emails were none of your business.

Posted by: Michael Mann at November 29, 2013 07:58 AM (aDwsi)

25 All too often, scientists don't do "scientific research". They do "funding research".

Posted by: BCochran at November 29, 2013 11:56 AM

------------------

My family member told me "anyone can make a million dollars off this stuff. But I want to actually produce something of worth."

So he is starting up his own project.

Posted by: mama winger at November 29, 2013 07:58 AM (P6QsQ)

26 This season lies are the new black.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 29, 2013 07:59 AM (8ZskC)

27 Wow, thanks for the pointer to the FB bake sale, Horde. That was awesome.

I'm gonna read it again.

Posted by: ConservativeMonster at November 29, 2013 07:59 AM (ioT3q)

28 What I find really ironic about plagiarism in academic research, is that, as long as you attribute sources and don't "cut and paste" entire pages/chapters it ain't plagiarism. Of course, that is precisely what the perpetrators are doing. I guess it's a symptom of poor writing skills and the inability to express how experimental results lead to research conclusions. One of my profs mentioned a plagiarism incident with one of his Masters Degree research assistants. It seems this student happened to swipe most a chapter from a book where the prof knew the author and happened to have a copy on the bookself. Needless to say the prof and RA had a "Come to Jesus" meeting.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at November 29, 2013 08:00 AM (2Jy1U)

29 Wow, thanks for the pointer to the FB bake sale, Horde. That was awesome. Will they be made out of real Democrats?

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 08:01 AM (0HooB)

30 I support Michel Mann in this. What?..., No..., I will not be returning the NASA grant money I received for bogus research. That's none of your business.

Posted by: Felisa Wolfe-Simon at November 29, 2013 08:01 AM (aDwsi)

31 So, I'm not the only one who "wrote" a piece with significant originality issues.

Posted by: Jayson Blair at November 29, 2013 08:03 AM (4eNxd)

32 Good reminder: The majority of published research is false. Why Most Published Research Findings Are False John P. A. Ioannidis http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1182327/ Remember this when the State appoints a panel of "experts" to make life and death decision for your family. Nobody, not even an "expert", has the time to become an expert in every specialty. So all they will do is refer to the "consensus" of published expert findings. The panel will say, for people with condition X, here's research papers that say do treatment Y and not treatment Z. And that will be that. The Death Panels will say, here's a research paper that says Treatment Z is uneffective for condition X, therefore the Govt will not pay for Treatment Z.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 29, 2013 08:04 AM (ZPrif)

33 One of my profs mentioned a plagiarism incident with one of his Masters Degree research assistants. It seems this student happened to swipe most a chapter from a book where the prof knew the author and happened to have a copy on the bookself. Needless to say the prof and RA had a "Come to Jesus" meeting. Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at November 29, 2013 12:00 PM (2Jy1U) Too bad he didn't have the author himself sit in on the meeting. Just for shits and giggles.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 29, 2013 08:05 AM (c2oll)

34 Man, those nutty wingnuts were sure nutty to doubt Science like that one survey said.

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 08:05 AM (Gk3SS)

35 I support Michel Mann in this. What?..., No..., I will not be returning the NASA grant money I received for bogus research. That's none of your business. Posted by: Felisa Wolfe-Simon at November 29, 2013 12:01 PM (aDwsi) Heh. I wrote Mann an email a few years ago and expressed my hope that future generations would remember him a "Piltdown" Mann. I received an angry reply so I knew I scored a hit.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at November 29, 2013 08:06 AM (2Jy1U)

36 No little girl, you can not have a lung transplant. I know about these things because I am the head of our healthcare system because smart, and use experts.

Posted by: Kathy Sebelius at November 29, 2013 08:07 AM (aDwsi)

37 "Piltdown" Mann. I received an angry reply so I knew I scored a hit. Posted by: Retired Buckeye -------------------- When you're taking flack, you know that you are over the target.

Posted by: Kathy Sebelius at November 29, 2013 08:08 AM (aDwsi)

38 I'm sure the Death Panels will be all, "If it saves just one life..." and all.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 08:09 AM (0HooB)

39 So plagiarism is bad?

Posted by: Empire of Jeff at November 29, 2013 08:09 AM (lyL2N)

40 Oops, sorry Buckeye. Sebelius sock was sticky and hard to remove.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 08:09 AM (aDwsi)

41 This is NOT Black Friday action. Only a pre-season warm-up at Brawl-Mart. Still, popcorn worthy. https://vine.co/v/hMXeh7jl0DK

Posted by: USA at November 29, 2013 08:10 AM (VIaw0)

42 So plagiarism is bad? Posted by: Empire of Jeff ------------------------ Not really. Heck it got me a few nights in the Lincoln bedroom.

Posted by: Doris Kearns Goodman at November 29, 2013 08:10 AM (aDwsi)

43 38 I'm sure the Death Panels will be all, "If it saves just one life..." and all.
Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit at November 29, 2013 12:09 PM (0HooB)

Close. "we could only save one life..." will be the excuse for the hundreds of cases evaluated.

Care to guess which case the MSM focuses on?

Posted by: jwb7605[/u][/i][/b] at November 29, 2013 08:11 AM (Qxe/p)

44 OK experts, I'ma gonna go do stuff. Y'all have fun and try not to trash the place, 'k?

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 08:12 AM (0HooB)

45 No little girl, you can not have a lung transplant. I know about these things because I am the head of our healthcare system because smart, and use experts. Posted by: Kathy Sebelius at November 29, 2013 12:07 PM Plus, I used to work with a partial birth abortion doctor, so dead kids give me lady wood.

Posted by: Secundus at November 29, 2013 08:12 AM (B4x3t)

46 Close. "we could only save one life..." will be the excuse for the hundreds of cases evaluated. The cross-reference to voter party affiliation records is totes coincidental. Totes.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 29, 2013 08:13 AM (c2oll)

47 Most successful prof I knew got caught stealing work. It was handled internally and he was not punished. He was a rock-star prof when I knew. Got tenure 2 years early. Then left that school to go to the big time. He knew how to play the media. Most of his "research" was bullshit and useless -- but it sounded impressive to journalists and media morons. The university loved the press he got. The other profs hated him since he was so blatantly, and effectively, gaming the system. I never saw him punished for it. Only rewarded. He almost got tripped up when he stole another's work -- but he was able to keep that internal. The school didn't want their star prof that got them so much good PR to be taken down either, and was happy to sweep it under the rug. In his case he stole some unpublished work and published it under his own name, not giving credit to the guy who actually did the work (a PhD student). The settlement was he gave the PhD student credit on a few papers he had nothing to do with it. I only know because the PhD student drunkenly told a group of us one night. He was willing to keep quiet cause he got 3 papers out of the deal for the one he had stolen, which really helped his job prospects in a tough academic market.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 29, 2013 08:14 AM (ZPrif)

48 Too bad he didn't have the author himself sit in on the meeting. Just for shits and giggles. Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 29, 2013 12:05 PM (c2oll) That would have been pretty funny for everyone involved expect the plagiarist! Having strong report-writing skills myself, I don't get the appeal of plagiarism. The pounding the square peg of experimental results into the round hole of desired conclusions is an entirely different problem. Oh well, I must be off to brave the hordes in order to purchase the only perfume fragrance acceptable to She Who Must Be Obeyed. Mrs. Cop expects me to do something other than read all day today while she's at work.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at November 29, 2013 08:14 AM (2Jy1U)

49 It can't be just plagiarism. If that's all it was, Biomed central wouldn't have shut the site down. They'd just have authors add missing citations if the rest of the work was sound.

There had to be systematic fake data, sketchy clinical work, editors getting bribed to accept papers, etc for them to pull the plug on the whole thing

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at November 29, 2013 08:16 AM (Xlbr8)

50 14 omparison of text on the PIE website and found that... If "Proto Indo-European" automatically popped into my head, am I a hopeless nerd? Posted by: t-bird at November 29, 2013 11:53 AM (FcR7P) I was thinking pumpkin or pecan, but I guess I'm still stuck in a Thanksgiving Day mindset.

Posted by: Insomniac at November 29, 2013 08:17 AM (UAMVq)

51 So... When do large families and communities start selecting one of their members and sending him/her through medical school, for the purpose of securing a doctor for themselves?

Posted by: Secundus at November 29, 2013 08:17 AM (B4x3t)

52 Not really. Heck it got me a few nights in the Lincoln bedroom. Posted by: Doris Kearns Goodman at November 29, 2013 12:10 PM (aDwsi) ---------------------- It also eventually got Jennifer Rubin her blogging gig at the Washington Post.

Posted by: Empire of Jeff at November 29, 2013 08:18 AM (lyL2N)

53 Heh. I wrote Mann an email a few years ago and expressed my hope that future generations would remember him a "Piltdown" Mann. I received an angry reply so I knew I scored a hit. Heh. Nicely done!

Posted by: Insomniac at November 29, 2013 08:18 AM (UAMVq)

54 The Feds are all ready to fight the wrong battles. It's the Democratic base and the (nominal) Moderates that are going to take them down. Money for nothing, "I want my sub-si-dee...."

Posted by: Huggy at November 29, 2013 08:22 AM (Es6aA)

55 I resemble the grumpy weasel on the side bar after reading this. I spent 2 hrs at the fucking doctors office this morning for a pre-surgery physical. This thread was not what I wanted to see. Oh well, I should count my blessings. Hope you morons & 'Ettes had a wonderful thanksgiving.

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at November 29, 2013 08:26 AM (HVff2)

56 So... When do large families and communities start selecting one of their members and sending him/her through medical school, for the purpose of securing a doctor for themselves? Posted by: Secundus -------------------------- OK..., that reminds me of an old, tedious story. There was, once upon a time, an Indian reservation with a reservation school. One young man proved to be so exceptionally bright that the teacher approached the reservation elders and suggested that resources should be pooled in order to finance his enrollment at a good university. The elders concurred, and the kid hied off to MIT. Six years later he emerged with BSEE, and MSEE degrees. Being a thoughtful young man, he immediately returned to the reservation and placed his skills at the pleasure of the reservation. The elders conferred, and asked the young man to electrify the common bath house, which currently had no electrical service The young man proceeded to do so. Electrical service, lighting, outlets, etc. In doing so, he became the first Indian to wire ahead for a reservation. With that, I am out of here.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 08:27 AM (aDwsi)

57 I received an angry reply so I knew I scored a hit.

Check out the deranged screed he wrote at HuffPo recently. Its epic. He's really cracking under the pressure of exposure.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ michael-e-mann/michael-mann-richard-muller_b_4313508.html

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at November 29, 2013 08:29 AM (Xlbr8)

58 Yuck, yuck Mr. Hammer

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at November 29, 2013 08:30 AM (HVff2)

59 I'm confused by what exactly is the scam with the PIE situation. My impression seems to be that what happened is: 1) Unethical researchers have been creating fake journals to publish their fake research -- cause real journals keep rejecting their bullshit. 2) The spread of fake academic journals has spawned a series of journal-approving authority groups that try to separate the real journals from the fake journals. 3) So the unethical researchers have started creating their own fake journal-approving authority groups. 4) So now we can have fake journal-approving authority "ethics" groups giving approval to fake journals that publish fake research. And research, the journal, and the authority group are all run by the same frauds. ... Is that what's happening? I'm trying to understand why someone would go through such effort to create a fake "ethics" group. Makes sense if the goal is so their fake journal can claim they've been vetted and labeled legit by some fake "ethics" authority.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 29, 2013 08:31 AM (ZPrif)

60 OK..., that reminds me of an old, tedious story.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 12:27 PM (aDwsi)

That young man later married, and had children.
He was so successful that he sent his kids to college.
They joined the San Diego Yacht club.

The tribe was proud of their Red Sons of the Sailset.

Posted by: jwb7605[/u][/i][/b] at November 29, 2013 08:32 AM (Qxe/p)

61 ***[Conspiracy theory: is all this somehow related to Obamacare and the need to justify its "effectivness" using turfed faux-research in the years to come.] Posted by: Purp Conspiracy theory ? Srsly ? When so much "public policy" is already based on "turfed faux-research" already ? I'd say more like "established fact beyond a doubt" that that is exactly what will happen.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at November 29, 2013 08:32 AM (3X3ZR)

62 I found the greatest love of all inside of me.

Posted by: Prez'nit 404 at November 29, 2013 08:32 AM (Dwehj)

63 Whoop dee doo. Climate 'scientists' have been pulling the same shit for two decades now. It's the same math that gave us "99%" of climate scientists agree that _______. When the real number is 51%.

Posted by: BlueFalcon in Boston at November 29, 2013 08:33 AM (KCvsd)

64 I've put the Black Friday 404Care specials up on the website.

Posted by: Prez'nit 404 at November 29, 2013 08:34 AM (Dwehj)

65 Didn't BioMed Central used to open for Graham Central Station? It was in the Bay Area back during the Summer of Love, so I don't remember.

Posted by: BlueStateRebel at November 29, 2013 08:34 AM (7ObY1)

66 Universities operate like drug cartels:

http://alexandreafonso.wordpress.com/

Fascinating post!

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at November 29, 2013 08:35 AM (Xlbr8)

67 The eco-nazis took over Harvard and Yale and the top journals. That's the ideal. This seems to be more outsiders who are rejected by the top journals and institutions trying to create an alternate path around their authority. The eco-nazis did it the ideal way, you just completely take over the existing authority.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 29, 2013 08:36 AM (ZPrif)

I found the greatest love of all inside of me.

Who found the gratest love of all?

Posted by: Reggie Love at November 29, 2013 08:36 AM (NlMyb)

69 Whoop dee doo. Climate 'scientists' have been pulling the same shit for two decades now. The nutrition guys have that beat by miles.

Posted by: t-bird at November 29, 2013 08:36 AM (FcR7P)

70 Who found the gratest love of all? Barack Parmesana?

Posted by: BlueStateRebel at November 29, 2013 08:39 AM (7ObY1)

71 Makes sense if the goal is so their fake journal can claim they've been vetted and labeled legit by some fake "ethics" authority.

It provides the compliant media cover when pimping politically generated bullshit. Kind of a PoliFact for scientific sketchiness that applies a faux imprimatur of "authority"

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at November 29, 2013 08:39 AM (Xlbr8)

72 Om nom leftover time.

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 08:41 AM (Gk3SS)

73 It's like how leftists create bullshit "Fact Checkers". So they publish bullshit, in a bullshit paper, that gets certified as True by an "independent" Fact-Checker. And the writer, the paper, and the independent Fact-Checker are all funded by Soros or Podesta or Obama.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 29, 2013 08:43 AM (ZPrif)

74 Don't forget Islamic Studies. The one-reputable journal "Muslim Studies" is now literally run by an Islamist, Ingrid Mattson (sp?). No conflict of interest there! And let's not forget scholars on the Saudi payroll like Esposito and (I suspect) Denny. It's less bad than it looks, because real scholars have been routing around the damage; this mainly hurts undergraduates in the soph-level courses. They then get a shock when they first hear the words "John" and "Wansbrough"

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at November 29, 2013 08:43 AM (YQ5LG)

75 Is cloning plagiarism? http://tinyurl.com/m756usz "Miss Me Yet?" Nostalgic for Jimmy? Carter tried to pass universal health care legislation via Teddy Kennedy spearheading the effort in Congress. Carter and Congress could not get along. Carter's "hit list" of public works projects to cut federal "pork" burned fellow Democrat fingers caught in the public tax fund cookie jar. Carter vetoed public works construction, favoring cleaning up ecologically destroyed industrial dump sites, while demanding taxes be spend funding "green" energy. Remember the solar panels on the White House roof? Now more than evah...those Carter years were unforgettable. Carter's Malaise Speech "raised" his ratings to 37% --quote: I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy. . . . I do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might. The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation. During negotiation stalemate, Carter took Begin and Sadat to visit the Gettysburg battlefield to illustrate their own necessity to secure a Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt. That peace ultimately cost Sadat his life, assassinated just as Lincoln had been cut down after finally "winning peace." "With malice toward none" proved wishful thinking as US/Egyptian relations worsened thereafter. Gave Away Panama Canal that required LIVES, blood sweat and tears of American citizen labor to construct under the WORST of circumstances, swamp diseases, not to mention US tax dollars and personal investments, still not addressing the lost national/international security since US Military no longer in control of the Canal for global shipping. Promoted and enabled the fundamentalist Islamist theocracy to revolutionize Iran, which of itself was made UGLY "in your face" given the US Embassy captives taken by radical students -- no negotiations for release tolerated. Created the federal Dept. of Education (split out of Health, Education and Welfare) and the new Dept. of Energy -- failing to correct problems, regulations make matters worse. Cost of public education and curriculum reform sky rocket cost with less literacy results; and price of oil doubles, and supply curtailed from OPEC. Horrible Economy and Astronomic interest rates: STAGFLATION: Savings and Loans crisis mounting ...What?! That was all then. This is now.

Posted by: Jason Carter at November 29, 2013 08:44 AM (MhA4j)

76 Heh. I wrote Mann an email a few years ago and expressed my hope that future generations would remember him a "Piltdown" Mann. I received an angry reply so I knew I scored a hit.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at November 29, 2013 12:06 PM (2Jy1U)

Ha! I propose a change to the AoS Style Guide: All references to hockey stick Michael Mann shall read: Michael "Piltdown" Mann.

Posted by: J. Random Dude at November 29, 2013 08:46 AM (8OfdL)

Purp wrote, "Conspiracy theory: is all this somehow related to Obamacare and the need to justify its "effectivness" using turfed faux-research in the years to come."

Yes, because some conspiracy theories are true. For example, the White House ordered the ATF to persuade several gun sellers along the border--most prominently J[and]G Sales--to go along with obvious straw buys by men working for the major Central American drug cartels, telling the gun sellers that they (the ATF) were going to track those weapons. However, no means of tracking those weapons was put in place. The only means of tracking those weapons would be to find them at murder scenes and trace the serial number to the point of sale.

The reason for this was so that the White House could support its often-repeated claim that American gun shops were a major source of weaponry for murderous drug cartels, and therefore influence various state gun control legislative efforts and justify increasingly tightening regulatory restrictions on gun ownership and sales. So far, over 300 Mexican nationals are dead (and counting), along with two American federal agents.

Thus, over 300 people are now violently, horribly dead because the White House--and there's no doubt this came from the White House--was using a federal agency to run a covert operation intended to influence domestic politics. The deaths of those people were not an unhappy byproduct of a rogue operation gone awry. Their deaths were the point of the whole affair.

That's a conspiracy. It happened. It's real. And the people responsible--willing to orchestrate multiple murders to push their agenda--will never be punished for it.

Posted by: troyriser at November 29, 2013 08:46 AM (V9ol4)

78 Jason Carter - You left out "Blanket pardon of deserters"

Posted by: Still Angry Vet at November 29, 2013 08:48 AM (aDwsi)

79 Oops, sorry Buckeye. Sebelius sock was sticky and hard to remove. Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 12:09 PM (aDwsi) I don't even want to know why it was sticky.

Posted by: Zombie John Gotti at November 29, 2013 08:49 AM (uzmcT)

80 Weren't there accusations that various left of center groups were funding academic "research" about gun control that then formed the basis for various bits of gun grabbing? I seem to remember that he who must not be named was involved in this.

Posted by: John Roberts at November 29, 2013 08:51 AM (XFTOV)

81 hashtag DeathPanels

Posted by: Prez'nit 404 at November 29, 2013 08:52 AM (Dwehj)

82 73 Om nom leftover time.

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 12:41 PM (Gk3SS)

I had some leftover stuffing that didn't fit into the bird yesterday. I put into a casserole dish and put it into the fridge to put into the oven later. Well, I forgot to do that yesterday so I put it into the oven this morning.

It's gone. Delicious though.

Posted by: J. Random Dude at November 29, 2013 08:52 AM (8OfdL)

51: " So... When do large families and communities start selecting one of their members and sending him/her through medical school, for the purpose of securing a doctor for themselves?"

I envision that concept to be done for many things in a smaller community that has the resources to do so. Private security, on site doctors, grocery stores, and schools all within the confines of a walled and gated community.

Fans of the Shadowrun universe (both RPG and novels) may not be suprised to see the rise of real life Corporate Enclaves.

I'm just waiting for the first home security company to start offering armed patrols and call themselves Lonestar.

Posted by: Azenogoth at November 29, 2013 08:53 AM (/qzu7)

84 It's an odd situation since, as scams go, creating a fake "ethics" group isn't the first one that comes to mind. My understanding is the problem of fake research and bullshit academic journals is a huge problem in China right now as the competition is so fierce for academic jobs. So this scam is probably a straightforward scam of selling access to inferior/fraudulent academic researchers. And part of the sales pitch is our bullshit fake journals have been "certified" legit. The crap researchers probably just want publications that will hold up in job interviews in China or India. They are probably trying to get a job in Northwest Beijing Cow College Tech and want to claim they got published in some legit US or UK academic journals The people hiring them probably don't know enough to distinguish real from fake journals -- and that's where the fake ethics groups come in. See, the Minnesota Vikings Institute of Spines and Cheese published my research! They are totally legit. The Southern North Dakotan Institute of Ethics said so! And you know they are legit.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 29, 2013 08:53 AM (ZPrif)

85 Walid setup a 320point accredited course scam for Â£1k. The whole PIE, from tin to filling.

Dead drops at his property somewheres in the UK.

Posted by: 13times at November 29, 2013 08:54 AM (fGPLK)

86 Food-related injuries will not be covered by 404Care.

Posted by: Prez'nit 404 at November 29, 2013 08:55 AM (Dwehj)

87 All scams end up with someone getting paid at some point. How does this one make money, and for whom? What's the payoff and who is getting scammed?

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 29, 2013 08:57 AM (ZPrif)

88 Food-related injuries will not be covered by 404Care.

You've definitely lost my support.

Posted by: Meggie McMac at November 29, 2013 08:59 AM (Dwehj)

89 Oh, come now. Scientists are no more corrupt than auto mechanics or politicians. Also, no less.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of Somethingorother at November 29, 2013 09:05 AM (qyfb5)

90 I'm at Costco!

Posted by: Joe Biden at November 29, 2013 09:06 AM (L8ct0)

91 Fraud in the academy ? Never heard of it . Besides you americans have too many guns .. Michael Bellesils

Posted by: awkward davies at November 29, 2013 09:07 AM (WK8VM)

92 Biomed Central is a very large and reputable open-access publisher. A few of my papers have been published there. I think the problem here is that they've gotten too big: to the point where the management can't keep a close enough eye on the editors of the individual journals and [stuff] like this happens. This shouldn't be used to run down the rest of the scientific publishing enterprise, though there are definitely some bad actors in the field, which make their money by accepting just about anything and charging the authors hefty fees (see "predatory publishers"). Those guys are always e-mailing to try and get me on their editorial boards.

Posted by: Otto Zilch at November 29, 2013 09:08 AM (eEa5w)

93 So China is sending fighters to "ID" the Japanese and American planes flying in their newly created air defense zone. What could go wrong? It just seems inevitable with the clowns running our foreign "policy," one of these incidents is going to get WAY the fuck out of hand, REALLY fucking fast.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at November 29, 2013 09:09 AM (CcNYi)

94 When most published scientific research is false, then the entire scientific publishing industry does have a major problem. Why Most Published Research Findings Are False John P. A. Ioannidis http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1182327/

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 29, 2013 09:10 AM (ZPrif)

95 Out of all the graduate students I've met I would say at least 70% would resort to unethical behavior to get ahead. I've met some doozies too. Real head cases.

Posted by: Rev dr beside e buzz at November 29, 2013 09:11 AM (imOSY)

96 The former biochemist and academic ethicist agrees with everything in this post. Plus what bcochran said about "funding research" above.

Posted by: tsrblke (Phone) at November 29, 2013 09:12 AM (cWpCn)

97 Ionnidis did that in 2005. So it's not like the scientific publishing industry can claim they aren't aware of this problem. It's a difficult problem, but it doesn't seem the institutions of science are dealing with it head on. It's not in anyone's interests -- not the individual researchers, not the academic institutions, not the academic journals -- to admit, "Yeah, most of what we publish is actually false."

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 29, 2013 09:14 AM (ZPrif)

98 The problems Ionnidis highlighted mostly aren't due to fraud like this PIE situation, just the much more difficult problems of poor stats understanding, unconscious bias, a weak peer-review system, lack of transparency with data and computer models, lack of replication. The incentive structure means most published research is false. I still think science is our best way to actually know things. It just takes a large body of research and papers to nail things down when any individual paper is likely to be false. But it's individual papers that drive the media, policy, and individual careers.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 29, 2013 09:19 AM (ZPrif)

99 Also isn't most of this "as predicted by John Brignell of numberwatch.co.uk"?

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of Somethingorother at November 29, 2013 09:20 AM (qyfb5)

100 I still think science is our best way to actually know things. Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 29, 2013 01:19 PM (ZPrif) Science is a process. The community is not the process. Unfortunately this particular community has been conflating process and community for many decades because it serves them to do so.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of Somethingorother at November 29, 2013 09:21 AM (qyfb5)

101 The drug cartel article was funny, but it understates the fact that becoming a poorly paid postdoc is no longer a choice. I would have loved to have gotten an industry job immediately after defending my thesis, but no one will hire a new PhD unless they prove themselves postdocing in a new lab after graduating. Then once you have dotted the i's and crossed the t's, no one wants to pay you what you are worth. If I had it to do over, I would have just gotten my MS. Salary starts a little lower, but you get into the market sooner and get an adult salary in half the time.

Posted by: Luis at November 29, 2013 09:31 AM (1Kszv)

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