Thursday, December 24, 2015


A crooked scientist


Judging by the name, she might be of Greek origin.  Greek ladies often come under a lot of pressure from their families

This is just one episode in a trend.  There has been a lot of publicity in recent times about unreplicable and fabricated research, so the reputation of science should be declining.  Once the global warming scare is also recognized as crooked science, the reputation of science will be permanently damaged, which will be a good thing. People should always question authority and ask for evidence as a first response.  An example of how Green/Leftists do not below




The research of a promising Australian scientist has been retracted after an investigation found she faked results in the trial of a blood pressure drug.

Dr Anna Ahimastos was a researcher at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne when she fabricated data that was published in two international journals.

What we hope to do in the fullness of time is reanalyse that data independently.

Bronwyn Kingwell, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute
On Tuesday, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) retracted Dr Ahimastos' paper on a three-year clinical trial of a blood pressure drug, Ramipril. The study found the drug, a safe and effective treatment for lowering blood pressure, also helped patients with artery disease walk for longer and with less pain.

While the study has been retracted, Baker IDI said participants involved in the trial were not exposed to any danger. Subsequent studies also suggest the original finding may still be correct.

In June, another Baker IDI researcher noticed inconsistencies in the original study data, which promoted an internal investigation.

Bronwyn Kingwell, the head of the laboratory where Dr Ahimastos worked, said during the investigation Dr Ahimastos admitted to making up data about several patients that did not exist. She resigned in July.

A note from the paper's other authors to the JAMA journal editors said Dr Ahimastos was the person "responsible for data collection and integrity for the article".

"No other coauthors were involved in this misrepresentation," the note read.

"All authors recognise the seriousness of this issue and apologise unreservedly to the editors, reviewers and readers of JAMA."

Professor Kingwell said while data collected from study participants in Melbourne had been compromised, the information gathered from patients in Townsville and Brisbane was credible.

"What we hope to do in the fullness of time is reanalyse that data independently and get a research finding from that," she said.

A smaller subsequent trial also found that ramipril improves patient with walking time.

Professor Kingwell said while this was an isolated event, the institute was reviewing its practices around how investigators report study data and results to prevent this type of incident recurring.

She said Dr Ahimastos had a PhD, 10 years of experience and was trained in good clinical practice, making her well qualified for the job.

"We work in a high-trust environment as a team and each individual has serious responsibilities," Professor Kingwell said. "Unfortunately [in this instance] the individual who breached [this trust] was the one who had responsibility for the data collection."

In 2010 Dr Ahimastos was honoured with a Young Tall Poppy Science Award by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science.

Another of Dr Ahimastos' papers, published in the journal Circulation Research, has also been retracted.

"We are currently investigating other studies for which Dr Ahimastos had oversight of data collection," Professor Kingwell said.

SOURCE

JAMA has just published the Notice of Retraction





Incorrect to celebrate Australia day?

My family always celebrate it in the traditional Australian way -- with a BBQ at my brother's place

AN AUSTRALIA DAY celebration, which more than four thousand people said they were interested in attending, has been axed following a series of angry outbursts on social media.

However, as soon as it was cancelled, a new event was created in its place.

The event, called Floatopia, was due to be held on 26 January at Gordons Bay in Sydney’s east.

Police and the local council have expressed concern at the location of the event and another one, due to be held on New Year’s Day, saying it could harm local ecosystems.

They also reminded partygoers of a strict alcohol ban.

As with similar events overseas, Floatopia sees revellers bring a variety of flotation devices as well as sound systems, and often alcohol, down to the beach to enjoy the warm weather.

In recent years the celebration has been held at other Sydney beaches including Manly.

However, this morning one of the organisers cancelled the Australia Day event blaming “mean spirited behaviour” including racism.

It followed a heated to and fro online between people who were looking forward to attending Floatopia and others who were variously concerned with issues such as littering.

Some questioned whether it was appropriate to hold the event on a public holiday that marked the beginning of colonisation in Australia.

On the page, one user posted, “Imagine I went and partied about someone in yr fam [sic] dying. That might be how it feels for some Aboriginal people.”

Another person went further saying the event celebrated racism.

“Invasion Day is a day where drunk yobbos scream ‘straya’ for 12 hours and have absolutely no regard for the atrocities that have been and are still being committed to my race to this day. If you’re celebrating on the day of which my people suffered mass killings and genocide. Well then there is something seriously wrong with you.”

On the opposite side of the fence, one person said “We can’t have a celebration of unity of Australia becoming a country without someone getting on their high horse about something that happened a hundred of years ago ... but that’s not what Australia Day is about. Back off and let people have their BBQs and fun without carrying on like a pork chop.”

The thread garnered hundreds of comments and some of which descended into insults.

Another user complained about the possible ramifications of the event which could ruin “our beautiful, quiet vista,” of Gordons Bay.

The organiser, Jaime Lawrence, today posted on the page, which had been liked by 4200 people that the event was cancelled after debate “went from zero to 100 really quickly.”

RACISM

“We don’t condone bullying, name calling, racism or any other type of mean spirited behaviour,” the post said.

“Watching that unfold over the last 12 hours is a pretty f***ing awful demonstration of humans. “We’re local ocean-loving hippies too and by no means do we support anyone harming beautiful Gordons Bay on this day or any other. So with that in mind, we’re pulling the event down.”

However, within an hour an almost identical event, with the same images used and at the same location, was launched called the ‘Australia Day Floaty Party’.

Talking to news.com.au, Tatiana Sugarplum Sparkle Craufurd-Gormly, one of the fiercest critics of the event, said she was pleased it was axed. “It is small step towards breaking away from the stigma that this is a day of celebration rather than mourning.”

She said anyone who publicly celebrated on Australia Day should be conscious of their actions given Aboriginal communities continue to name it Invasion Day. “Not only are individuals being insensitive to the true meaning of this day but they are also disrespecting and disregarding the land which was nurtured peacefully for thousands of years up until it was colonised.”

While private celebrations were more acceptable, Ms Craufurd-Gormly said it would better if the date was changed to a less controversial anniversary. Those that decded to celebrate Floatopia anyway were, “ignorant, obstinate and disrespectful,” she said.

A similar event, called Float Your Boat, is still planned for New Year’s Day at Gordons Bay. With more than 9000 people potentially attending, it has alarmed authorities.

SOURCE






Melbourne authorities caught extremist days after Paris bombings

MELBOURNE authorities nabbed a French extremist trying to enter Australia with chemicals just two days after the deadly Paris bombings.

The French national of Arab descent was caught as he arrived at Tullamarine airport two days after the Islamic State’s co-ordinated massacre which killed 130 people.

The man flew in from Abu Dhabi in the Middle East and was detained by the Australian Border Force.

A search revealed extremist material on his phone and a supply of chemical mace.

The man was kept overnight at the Maribyrnong Detention Centre and deported the next day.

A spokesman for the Australian Border Force said an anomaly with the man’s passport raised the alarm for security officers.

“The Australian Border Force can confirm the detention of a French national on 15th November who arrived inbound to Melbourne airport from a Middle Eastern airport,” the spokesman said.

“The man was detained by ABF counter-terrorism unit team officers as a result of an assessment of advance passenger processing information which revealed an anomaly with his electronic travel authority.

“A subsequent search of his belongings revealed objectionable material of an extremist nature on his mobile devices and prohibited goods in his luggage.

“The man was issued with an infringement notice and then detained at the Maribyrnong Detention Centre until his removal from Australia the next day.”

The man’s entry has reportedly sparked a security review of Europeans travelling to Australia. Experts have already warned a terrorism attack on Australian soil is “inevitable”.

Security efforts have been beefed up at Melbourne airport with more staff members screening travellers, especially from France and Belgium.

Safety measures have also been upgraded at the MCG for the Boxing Day Test between Australia and the West Indies with a new security compound around the stadium. The Australian Open tennis is also increasing security.

Three out of four Australians surveyed by Newspoll last month believe a large scale terror attack is still likely.

SOURCE






Silent majority is toasting Trump as Left wallows in its vitriol

By Jennifer Oriel

The political year is ending as it began, with a sustained attack on conservatives and their replacement by a populist Right less willing to compromise on free speech and immigration. The New Right, embodied by political figures such as Donald Trump, is a counterforce to the continuing campaign of censorship and vilification by leftists determined to remove all traces of conservative thought from public life.

When Tony Abbott proposed a secular reformation of Islam, the Left compared him to Trump in a contorted campaign of guilt by association. Rather than address the problem of Islamist theocracy and the terrorism it produces, the Left urged Abbott to self-censor, framing him as a divisive element in society and the Liberal Party.

Network Ten’s The Project ran its coverage with the words “Abbott the Wrecker” splashed across the screen. SBS went into full scold mode, chiding: “Mr Abbott had promised to sit quietly on the backbench … but he’s already causing problems.”

Abbott certainly is causing problems — for theocrats and terrorists. The establishment Left did not complain so loudly when Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz called for a reformation of Islam, but Abbott embodies a combination of traits deemed intolerable by self-appointed political elites: he is white, male and Christian. From the lofty bureaucracy of the left clerisy, however, Abbott’s cardinal sin is conservatism.

The editor of the University of Adelaide’s student magazine On Dit, Leighton McDonald-Stuart, described the corrosive effects of left bigotry on campus in The Courier-Mail: “The attitudes of … social justice warriors … is not conducive to (free) speech … You risk being labelled ‘fascist scum’ if you happen to be of conservative ilk … If you seek to express a view that doesn’t conform to … the revolutionary socialist groups on campus, then you are ‘racist’.”

Across US campuses, the Left’s campaign to impose its ideology by censorship has turned violent. Radical minority groups are attacking people whose skin colour is deemed politically incorrect. A multi-university group called the Afrikan Black Coalition stated: “White people need to be stopped. Period.”

Last month, The Dartmouth Review reported a large group of Black Lives Matter activists storming the university library and attacking students while screaming: “F..k you, you filthy white f..ks!” They pinned one woman to a wall, shouting “filthy white bitch!” at her. Vice-provost of student affairs Inge-Lise Ameer responded not by condemning the violent racism of Black Lives Matter activists but the media that criticised it: “There’s a whole conservative world out there that’s not being very nice.”

The Left’s systematic and increasingly violent campaign of bigotry is fuelling the rise of political figures such as Trump. One cannot understand the Trump effect and the emergent populist Right without analysing the forces that produced them.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the odious treatise that produced the modern Left: Herbert Marcuse’s Repressive Tolerance. Marcuse was a neo-Marxist who prescribed two methods to eliminate conservatism: censorship of free speech and the introduction of majority rule. The new majority would comprise Marcuse’s “radical minority” and come to power by dominating public debate.

The neo-Marxist equation for equality is: “Not equal but more representation of the Left.” The old standard of universal equality was superseded by a new formula to force the Right into political oblivion by engineering an over-representation of Left-approved minorities across public institutions. Media, academe and politics were all targets of the New Left’s doublethink formula for social justice: inequality = equality.

Trump has crashed through the apex of neo-Marxism. His carefully crafted target group, the “silent majority”, is a two-fingered salute to the Left’s censorious activists. Trump’s success rests on the premise that the silent majority is so angered by the decades of censorship and oppression devised by neo-Marxists that it will support any man whose free speech most offends their manufactured minorities.

Unlike the genuinely perse­cuted minorities of the Islamist and communist worlds, the minority groups of the Western Left have been manufactured primarily for political purposes. They enjoy equal and often greater rights under law than their fellow citizens. Affirmative action policy offers them privileged places in education and employment. They can access a range of special benefits under welfare, health and housing schemes. And the state shields them from words that may offend by encoding anti-free speech provisions in anti-discrimination legislation.

Minority politics may help some people genuinely in need, but it is also an expression of codified bigotry against the only group wholly excluded from its benefits: white men.

Trump is wielding such devastating effect because he embodies everything neo-Marxists have oppressed for a half-century.

He is white, male and capitalist. A determined freethinker and free speaker. A politically incorrect pundit who does not resile from attack but ups the ante after every blow. He pursues targets so aggressively that Republicans are at pains to disown him, especially after his call to halt Muslim immigration while America learns to manage the jihadist threat. But to everyone’s surprise, Trump continues to dominate.

While public poll results vary, a Fox News poll held in South Carolina across four days showed that two days before Trump proposed a halt to Muslim immigration, his rating was at 30 per cent. He polled 38 per cent for the two nights following it. He is poll favourite to lead Republicans into the next election. And despite media portrayals of Trump followers as rednecks, a Rasmussen poll last week found the majority of Americans (46 per cent) support a temporary ban on Muslim immigration with 14 per cent undecided.

Trump is voicing the politically incorrect concerns of the silent majority and, for better or worse, they are rewarding him for it.

Trump is a middle finger aimed squarely at the establishment and the backlash against him has come from both sides of the political divide. It was The New York Times columnist David Brooks who distilled the complex issue into a sound bite, accusing Trump of bigotry. Brooks may be right, but the main challenge Trump’s ascendancy leaves the Left is less to prove his bigotry than to disprove its own.

SOURCE



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