🚀 go-pugleaf

Junk science is nothing new.  It has been going on since I was a child
in the '40s.  The main difference is that now it is being used by
bureaucratic scientists who want to maintain and increase their empire
in conjunction with neo-luddites and others who benefit from this junk
science.

The only answer is for people to look at the evidence themselves and not
simply rely on so-called experts.  For example,  the thickness of tree
rings is believed to tell us the global temperature during that year.
They argue that they choose trees in an area in where only temperatures
effect the growth.  It is a theory that is easily tested but no data
that will prove the theory is offered.   Without proof it becomes junk
science.

This is just one recent example.

Science requires proof, not just accepting the word of experts.

The solution to the problem is for each of us to investigate the
question.  We should ask where is the proof.




Dr. Jai Maharaj wrote:

> junk science
>
> background report
> by neal lavon
> washington, dc, usa
>
> August 7, 1998
>
> introduction
>
> lawmakers often base regulations and policy on research conducted
> by the scientific community. but increasingly, some scientific
> studies used by lawmakers have proved to be faulty, or even
> biased toward producing a desired result.  this so-called "junk
> science" is threatening the integrity of science and the
> regulations on which they are based. neal lavon has further
> details.
>
> text
>
> in the 1980s, the u-s environmental protection agency ruled that
> alar, a chemical used by producers to prevent apples from rotting
> before harvest, was a cancer-causing agent and should be
> eliminated.
>
> the decision was based on e-p-a research which indicated a
> byproduct of alar, known as u-m-d-h, caused tumors in mice. but
> subsequent investigation into the testing showed that the mice
> were given doses of u-m-d-h up to 266-thousand times the highest
> estimated daily intake of the chemical by preschool chidlren.
> the e-p-a acknowledged the high doses given in the experiment but
> stuck to its conclusion that alar posed a cancer risk.
> eventually, alar was withdrawn from the marketplace.
>
> subsequent inquiries into alar by a united nations panel of
> scientists concluded alar was not a cancer-causing agent in mice.
> after much criticism of their  report, the e-p-a, in 1991,
> released a study saying alar was only half as potent as it had
> originally suggested.
>
> critics say the episode involving alar and the e-p-a is an
> example of the scientific method being exploited for political
> ends. the  e-p-a, they say, wanted to ban alar in any event and
> merely concocted a study which would support their policy goal.
> this, say those critics, is an example of "junk science".
>
> steven j. milloy, a public health expert, is one of a vocal band
> of critics attacking what they believe is junk science.
>
> milloy:
>          junk science is flawed analysis, data, information of a
>          scientific nature that is used to promote private or
>          personal, or hidden agendas.
>
> mr. milloy says scientists seeking fame and increased funding are
> the most likely to engage in junk science, but there are others.
>
> milloy:
>
>          it could be trial lawyers suing deep-pocket (wealthy)
>          corporations, we could be talking about overzealous
>          government regulators who seek to expand their budgets
>          or regulatory authority or even to protect their
>          regulatory turf.
>
> besides steven milloy, science journalist michael fumento has
> taken on those whom he believes engage in junk science. his
> latest investigation is aimed at the illnesses u-s military
> veterans say they suffer as a result of their service in the 1991
> gulf war.
>
> these illnesses, according to veteran's groups, include cancers,
> birth defects and miscarriages. they are lumped under the name of
> gulf war syndrome and are blamed on exposure to harmful chemicals
> unleashed during the conflict. while no major scientific panel or
> journal has ever confirmed their claims, veterans organizations,
> family members, advocates and news reporters insist that
> scientific evidence proves gulf war syndrome exists.
>
> but mr. fumento disputes their evidence as anecdotal and
> unscientific.  he adds that, medically, no basis has ever been
> found for gulf war syndrome.
>
> fumento:
>          the question is, are these vets, and their wives, and
>          their offspring, when it comes to things like
>          miscarriages and birth defects, are they suffering at a
>          higher rate than we would expect? and the answer is no.
>          studies printed in prestigious peer-reviewed journals
>          like the new england journal of medicine, have found
>          time and again, that for cancers, their rate is what you
>          would expect when compared to vets who did not deploy.
>          their rate of birth defects and miscarriages is exactly
>          the same as those among the children of vets who did not
>          deploy to the gulf.
>
> most scientific research strictly adheres to proven and accepted
> standards of methodology. but steve milloy believes a steadily
> increasing number of studies fail to maintain or even try to
> circumvent these standards in the name of achieving fame or a
> policy goal.
>
> milloy:
>          anytime an organization is giving a grant to someone to
>          do science, you've got to look at the motivation behind
>          the organization whether it's government or private
>          industry.  usually, if you read about it in the
>          newspaper, and it's a headline, odds are it's someone
>          trying to take advantage of somebody with junk science.
>
> public health expert and junk science critic, steven j. milloy.
> (signed) neb/nl/kl
>
> 7-August-1998 12:42 p.m. EDT (1642 UTC) Report 5-41104
> Source - Voice of America
>
> Jai Maharaj
> Jyotishi, Vedic Astrologer
> Billionaire financier J. P. Morgan used
> a scientific astrologer and so can you!
> Latest local and world news available at
> http://www.flex.com/~jai/topnews.html
> Om Shanti