Walker notifies unions of layoffs, but gives Democrats 15 days to reverse move
Walker notifies unions of layoffs, but gives Democrats 15 days to reverse move. This article is a nice summary of the present situation in Wisconsin.
Year: 2011
The future of NASA’s planetary program does not look good
Due to the budget situation, it appears that planetary scientists have scaled back their plans for future NASA missions to other planets.
We will know more on Monday, when the planetary community releases its much awaited decadal survey, outlining their recommendations for the next decade.
Former MIT Researcher Convicted of Fraud
More science cheating: A former MIT researcher has been convicted of fraud.
NASA to announce future museum homes of shuttles on April 12
NASA administrator Charles Bolden revealed at House hearings this week that NASA will announce the future museum homes for the retiring shuttles on April 12.
There is something terribly sad and ironic about having this announcement occur on the 50th anniversary of the first manned flight into space by Yuri Gagarin.
Allan Sherman – Hail to thee, Fat Persons!
An evening pause: From 1963.
Weather scrubs X-37B launch
Weather has scrubbed today’s X-37B launch. They’ll try again tomorrow.
Democrat state lawmakers want to ban photography at accident sites
Freedom of speech alert: Democrat state lawmakers in Illinois want to ban photography at accident sites.
Biden leaving in middle of budget talks
How can anyone take this administration seriously? On Wednesday Obama announces that Biden will be his lead negotiator with Congress on the budget, even though Biden already had a prearranged trip to Europe beginning on Monday. He attended one meeting on Thursday, and then said goodbye!
Fraud in drug studies investigated
A research anesthesiologist has been stripped of his professorship, fired from a German hospital, and is under criminal investigation for forging the medical research for more than 90 papers. Key paragraph:
German medical authorities are examining 92 of Boldt’s published papers amid allegations he forged documents, tested drugs on patients without their consent and fraudulently claimed payments for operations he never performed. Twenty-nine of the 92 papers have been identified as “highly suspected” of containing forged or distorted data, authorities said.
One third or more of his peer-reviewed papers are now suspect? Isn’t it the claim of peer-review science journals that this kind of fraud is impossible because the work will be carefully reviewed by the best people, most qualified to spot any fraud in their field? Yet, in this case this system failed at least one third of the time, if not more so, and did so frequently.
To me, this is further evidence that the best method for finding fraud is not review, but independent competition. Let others challenge the result or try to duplicate it. That way, we find out very quickly whether it is real or not.
House Republicans attempt to impose a national ID card
House Republicans attempt to impose a national ID card.
Read the entire article. For more reasons than one can count (with the most important of all being that the public doesn’t want it), this is a bad idea at a bad time.
Senate Republicans introduce bill to defund public radio and television
Couldn’t be soon enough for me! Two senate Republicans introduced a bill on Friday to defund public radio and television.
Britain slashes spending to UN
Great Britain has slashed its UN contribution, including eliminating all funds to four UN agencies. Key quote:
The British actions change the focus of the debate, from gauzy generalizations about the need for and importance of the U.N. to a realistic look at what it actually achieves.