November 11, 2011
The greatest fear I have of getting old is not so much the pain or suffering or sickness or debilitation but the degradation one may have to undergo.
I have always perceived the care of the elderly (and children) in Sweden as being perhaps the most compassionate and advanced in the world – especially the care from the public sector. The best care anywhere in the world is no doubt when it happens – and it does not always happen – within the family environment. In times past it was the care of the elderly within extended family groups, where up to 4 generations lived together, which probably provided the best care possible. But as family groups have become smaller, the wherewithal for the best geriatric care possible has shifted to institutions.
But recent events within the Swedish system where the public sector has been outsourcing geriatric care to private enterprise are not pretty. In the chase for profit margins the level of degradation being meted out seems to have increased. The equation is no longer “the best care possible at the lowest allowable cost” and it seems instead to have become “not more than the cost absolutely necessary to avoid public complaints”. And in this new equation the level of degradation that the elderly are subjected to carries no weight. And the degradation is of relevance only if it leads to noisy complaints from others.
Something is not quite right and and it only reinforces my equating ageing with degradation.
The case of the private care company Carema has been the subject of a series of investigative articles by Dagens Nyheter and the latest episode of weighing diapers is not only degrading to the elderly patients but also, I think, for those being forced to implement Carema’s profit objectives:
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Tags: Carema, Dagens Nyheter, Degradation of the elderly, Elderly care, Geriatric nursing, Old age, Sweden
Posted in Business, Ethics, Sweden | Comments Off on Degradation of the elderly in Sweden’s privatised care system
November 10, 2011
The last few days have been full of headlines about a UN report that showed that Iran was getting help from foreign scientists to develop nuclear weapons. Speculation has been rife about pre-emptive strikes by Israel or the US against Iran’s “weapons facilities” and the consequences of such a strike. Discussions about sanctions have been wide-spread from nations to US Presidential candidates. But now it seems that the so-called UN evidence is actually nothing more than information manufactured by an intelligence agency (probably Mossad) and speculation from a Washington “think tank” which is just another lobby group. The so-called foreign nuclear scientist does not exist and is actually a prominent Ukrainian nanotechnology and nanodiamond expert, Vyacheslav Danilenko who has been in the same field all his career.
Moon of Alabama first revealed the background of Danilenko.
November 7th: The Washington Posts alleges that the IAEA says foreign expertise has brought Iran to threshold of nuclear capability. This is of course, well, a lie. The IAEA has said nothing like that. It is simply an assertion made by the reporter and some “nuclear Iran” scare propagandists based on misinterpreting some factual points in the IAEA “evidence”. What that “evidence” says is: Iran is working on nanodiamond production.
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Tags: Danilenko, David Albright, Gareth Porter, IAEA, intelligence disinformation, Inter Press, Iran, Nanotechnology, nuclear weapons, United States
Posted in Alarmism, Iran, Politics, Technology | 1 Comment »
November 9, 2011
The jinx on Russia’s probes to Mars continues.
Phobos-Grunt launched successfully last night but failed to enter its departure trajectory when two engine burns failed – presumed due to computer problems. It is now in a “parking” orbit and the problem needs to be fixed within 3 days when its batteries will run out. The fuel tanks are still in place for the craft’s own thrusters and there is still thought to be some hope. If the problem cannot be fixed it will be the fourth successive failure of a Russian Mars mission.
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Tags: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Mars, Phobos, Phobos-Grunt, Ria Novosti, Russia, Vladimir Popovkin
Posted in Russia, Science, Space | Comments Off on Russia’s Mars jinx continues: Phobos-Grunt in big trouble; 3 days in parking orbit to fix computer problem
November 8, 2011
Much Russian news just now from the Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic going live today to an ambitious and critical Mars mission which will launch late today (November 8th).
Russia’s last interplanetary launch of a probe to Mars in 1996 failed at launch. Prior to that in missions to the larger of Mars’ 2 moons, Phobos 1 was launched on July 7, 1988 and Phobos 2 on July 12, 1988. Communication with Phobos 1 was lost in September 1988. Phobos 2 operated normally till it was within 50m of the surface of Phobos and again communication was lost in March 1989.
In the meantime the US Mars Rover has operated on Mars for thousands of hours, Chinese and Indian probes have reached the moon and a Japanese probe has brought back some minute quantities of matter from an asteroid. The Russians have been short of financing and are now trying to regain the pre-eminence they once had. To have the Chinese planting flags on the moon in 3 or 4 years would be unbearable.
Russian missions to Mars have never yet been completely successful and the launch on November 8th as part of the Phobos-Grunt (Фобос-Грунт meaning Phobos -soil) project is carrying a great deal of Russian prestige and – more importantly – the future of the Russian space program.
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Tags: Mars, Mars missions, Phobos, Phobos-Grunt, Russia
Posted in Russia, Science, Space, Technology | 5 Comments »
November 8, 2011
The Russian gas pipeline bypassing all transit countries to Germany by being routed under the Baltic Sea goes live today.
RT: After 13 years of planning and two years of construction, the Nord Stream pipeline will deliver its first supplies of Russian gas to an estimated 26 million homes in the EU on Tuesday.
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Tags: Baltic Sea, Dmitry Medvedev, European Union, Gazprom, Germany, Nord Stream, Russia, Vladimir Putin
Posted in Business, Energy, Gas, Germany, Russia | Comments Off on Nord Stream gas goes on-line today
November 7, 2011
The US Office of Research Integrity has now made a finding of research misconduct in the case of Jayant Jagannathan and has applied sanctions for a period of 4 years.
Jagannathan was a former resident physician at the University of Virginia Medical Center and was found to have committed plagiarism in research supported by the National Institutes of Health and published in 5 papers between 2005 and 2009:
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Tags: Jayant Jagannathan, Plagiarism, Scientific misconduct, United States Office of Research Integrity
Posted in Academic misconduct, Medicine, scientific misconduct | Comments Off on University of Virginia physician found to have plagiarised 5 papers and sentenced to be supervised for 4 years
November 7, 2011
Victor Roberto Muller has already tweeted that he is going back to the “drawing board” !!
But the pictures he draws are all illustrations for fairy tales.
Reuters:
General Motors Co said on Monday it had decided to sever its ties to Saab and its commitment to supply it with vehicle components and the 9-4X model because of the risks posed by the pending sale of the Swedish auto brand to Chinese owners.
“Although General Motors is open to the continued supply of powertrains and other components to Saab under appropriate terms and conditions, GM will not agree to the continuation of the existing technology licenses or the continued supply of 9-4X vehicles to Saab following the proposed change in ownership as it would not be in the best interests of GM shareholders,” GM spokesman Jim Cain said. ….
On Friday, GM had said that it would be difficult to support a sale of Saab if it hurt GM’s competitive position in Chinaand other key markets.
China’s Pang Da Automobile Trade Co and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile have struck a deal to buy Saab from its current Dutch owner, Swedish Automobile , in what amounts to a rescue plan for the Swedish auto brand formerly owned by GM.
But the deal had to be approved by GM, which still has preference shares in Saab and has supplied the Swedish auto brand with crucial components. …
The new deal which had been announced last week was for 100% ownership to pass to the Chinese. When asked if GM licences would be available if the plan went back to the Chinese buying just 53.9% of Saab – as originally envisaged – the GM spokesman refused to speculate.
Tags: China, General Motor, Pang Da Automobile Trade Co, SAAB, Victor Muller, Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile
Posted in Automobiles, China, Sweden, US | Comments Off on No GM licence to a Chinese-owned SAAB
November 7, 2011
The saga of potential misconduct at the National University of Singapore continues to escalate with further questionable papers regularly being identified by “whistleblowers” to Abnormal Science (Joerg Zwirner).
But the investigations initiated by the University are not totally above criticism especially as Prof. Barry Haliwell the Vice President at the University and responsible for these investigations is himself facing allegations of self-plagiarism and is a co-author on some of the questionable papers. There is an urgent need for some outside participation in the investigations to ensure independence and impartiality. My current perception is that the objective of the investigation will over-ridingly be to save the reputation of the University (any by extension of the government of Singapore) and that the investigation committee will be heavily blinkered. Since the government has effectively been trying to short-cut its way to a scientific reputation by “buying in” researchers, there is little chance that the investigations – as they are set up now – will not be contaminated by government meddling.
As Abnormal Science comments:
A more stringent management of quality and integrity issues in experimental (medical ) research needs to take center stage at NUS. Vice president Prof. Halliwell is in charge of the Office of Research and Technology at NUS, and therefore responsible for driving the University’s research agenda. Unfortunately, he also appears to handle issues related to science integrity at NUS himself. This constellation constitutes an inacceptable accumulation of responsibilities and should be banned since it carries the potential for conflict of interest. Prof. Halliwell, you might want to take a leave of absence from your position as vice president until these issues (including the allegation of self-plagiarism) have been resolved.
Tags: Abnormal Science, National University of Singapore, NUS, Plagiarism, Professor Barry Haliwell, Scientific misconduct, Singapore
Posted in Academic misconduct, Science, scientific misconduct, Singapore | 1 Comment »
November 7, 2011
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Il Cavaliere , Sylvio “bunga-bunga” Berlusconi is 75 years old, has a personal fortune of some $9billion, and has been Italy’s Prime Minister for longer than anyone else. He is clinging desperately to power as Italy slides towards a Greece-like crevice and it is not apparent as to why he bothers. Whereas the Greek debt is only about 4% of Eurozone debt, Italy’s debt is closer to 20%. Italy’s public debt in 2010 was 118.4% of GDP. The annual budget deficit was 4.6% of GDP. Italy’s public debt-to-GDP ratio is the second highest in the euro zone after Greece’s, while its debt in absolute terms, which stood at 1.84 trillion euros at the end of 2010, is second to Germany’s.
It might seem to be just a powerful politician in denial of the approaching flames when Berlusconi declares that “Life in Italy is good. The restaurants are full. It’s difficult to get a seat on a plane they’re so busy; holidays are all booked up”.
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Tags: Bunga bunga Berlusconi, European Union, Eurozone, Greece, International Monetary Fund, Italy, Silvio Berlusconi
Posted in Economy, Ethics, European Union, Italy, Politics | Comments Off on Berlusconi bungas while Italy burns
November 6, 2011
A very close encounter coming up on Tuesday at 6:28 pm US Eastern time.
(Reuters) – A huge asteroid will pass closer to Earth than the moon Tuesday, giving scientists a rare chance for study without having to go through the time and expense of launching a probe, officials said.
Earth’s close encounter with Asteroid 2005 YU 55 will occur at 6:28 p.m. EST (2328 GMT) Tuesday, as the space rock sails about 201,000 miles from the planet.
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Tags: Asteroid 2005 YU 55, NASA, Near-Earth object
Posted in Astronomy, Science, Space | 2 Comments »
