The troll is strong with this one.

This is what universities do. They don't want diversity of thought.

Is any legitimate news source carrying this story?

Aaaaand we're done in two...

That's not why he was fired, but whatever helps you sleep at night.

I posit that all conservatives are actually hatched from eggs, by the way. I guess if I lose my job it'll be a vast conservative conspiracy.

So which part of the trucking industry was his report on diesel fumes funded by?

Headline =/= article.

Unless people are smoking diesel fuel now.

SECOND HAND SMOKE DENIER!!!!!

/next he'll be saying Fartbongo is a Seekrit Mooslim born in Kenya

FTA:
"In 2003 he wrote a study, published in the British Medical Journal, in which he found no causal relationship between secondhand smoke and tobacco-related death - a conclusion that drew fire both because it was contrary to popular scientific belief and because it was funded by Philip Morris."

Yep, this guy sounds like a class act.

And holy troll-tastic headline Batman.

Enstrom, an epidemiologist at UCLA's School of Public Health, has a history of running against the grain. In 2003 he wrote a study, published in the British Medical Journal, in which he found no causal relationship between secondhand smoke and tobacco-related death - a conclusion that drew fire both because it was contrary to popular scientific belief and because it was funded by Philip Morris.

I suspect the quality of his research may have had something to do with it.

He wasn't fired for his views but for being a whore to any industry that paid for a "study"

Not everyone who disagrees with mainstream scientific thinking is the next Galileo. Very often, they're just attention-whoring hacks. This guy published a study about second-hand smoke that was funded by Phillip Morris. Surely conservatives can find a better hero for their cause than someone like that. Or maybe they can't, which says a lot about their beliefs when it comes to science.

It took one paragraph to see this guy is just bitter and Fox News sees it as part of its agenda (and perhaps subby's) rather than actually giving any insight to what really happened.

"The nature of research results, political views or popularity are not appropriate factors and are not considered when evaluating individuals for reappointment," Hilary Godwin, associate dean for academic programs at UCLA's School of Public Health, said in a statement.

Godwined!

The problem isn't the stance you take, it's what you back it up with. You can say anything you want so long as you can defend your claim against other claims and studies. In this case it was also clear that he was taking funds from a heavily vested party. He can rot in the private sector now.

darksasami: Is any legitimate news source carrying this story?

This. And the troll-fu is indeed strong with the headline... His contract wasn't allowed to lapse based on something he did over 7 years ago.

"In 2003 he wrote a study, published in the British Medical Journal, in which he found no causal relationship between secondhand smoke and tobacco-related death - a conclusion that drew fire both because it was contrary to popular scientific belief and because it was funded by Philip Morris."

Anti-intellectualism is cool.

"Right now at Bank of American..."

*snerk*

/that's all this troll-tastic headline deserves

People are idiots for letting right-wing evangelical f*ckheads take the helm of the "anti-PC" movement. All they're doing is invent the "religiously-correct" while you're busy childproofing your f*cking lives.

Ponzholio: How could he be at a university for 36-years and not be tenured?

I think he is a research professor there, which is usually not a tenure track position.

wpmulligan: Enstrom!

+1 internets to you, sir.

zedster: Professor willing to become corporate shrill fired for lack of integrity

Fox News backs said shrill due to funding from same corporations

Mod likes hits on trolling articles and green lights overly misleading, rambling and factually light headline

Is a "corporate shrill" when a company's voice goes up an octave because its ranting so much?

Dracolich: The problem isn't the stance you take, it's what you back it up with. You can say anything you want so long as you can defend your claim against other claims and studies. In this case it was also clear that he was taking funds from a heavily vested party. He can rot in the private sector now.

Yeah I'm not seeing the cause of outrage, here. There's probably plenty more teachers who have been teaching for that long and deserve to be shiatcanned.

The guy seems like a corporate shill to me. He can go join some private company and appear as an "expert witness" in medical insurance cases, now.

I learnt all about "income redistribution" in business school. Take from the poor and give to me, but first make it legal.

The comments on the Fox article are comedy gold.

"says he's being fired after 36 years at the prestigious school because his scientific beliefs are 'politically incorrect.'"

Fixed that for ya.

Yes, there really is a California Dump Truck Owners Association.

FTFA

Enstrom also blew the whistle on a CARB staffer, Hien Tran, who authored a report that was central to the legislation - after faking his credentials.

"He said he had a Ph.D. from UC Davis. Turns out he had bought his Ph.D. online for $1,000," Enstrom said.

Tran was demoted, but his report was still used to "set the context for the health benefits of reducing diesel emissions" when the board voted on the trucking regulations, CARB spokesman Stanley Young told FoxNews.com.

So the Phillip Morris funded study is bad but buying a online PHD & making law is ok???

There was a lot of money at stake here. His studies aren't so important to the treatment of anything caused so much as the the liability of tobacco companies. He was basically positioning himself to make a lot of money as an expert witness (something not uncommon in the university setting). The problem is when he puts greed before credibility at which point any university should drop him before he tarnishes their reputation.

I bought some second hand-smoke effects off Ebay once. They were apparently from a Bon Jovi concert.

/Would not buy again.

A longtime professor at UCLA, told that he would not be rehired because his "research is not aligned with the academic mission"

Scientific research is not aligned with their academic mission? Well I guess that says a fark of a lot about them then. Now if they found his research was improperly conducted in some way that would be different, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all.

"Cal EPA had been talking internally for a while just about encouraging some more diversity on the board, in terms of expertise and in terms of opinion, so that's part of the reason for the new appointments,"

Keeping the same farking people for 20 years raises all sorts of questions, their 'opinions' are probably the least of them. The concept of 'seniority' is moronic and has absolutely no place in science or politics, yet stupid people are incapable of weighting people's value in any other way. I expect as much out of US politics, but the scientific community is usually better at judging by merit (though it sounds like they're taking the right steps in that regard now)

AshHousewares18: because it was funded by Philip Morris."

All research is funded by someone. You need money to make it happen and researchers are expected to get grants. Sometimes it comes from a fairly major, mostly neutral organization like the NSF, but other times it comes form companies and such.

Do you also say that any research that is funded by the Sierra Club (they hand out grants) is bunk? Or it is only bunk when someone you don't like finances it?

Airportmatt: "says he's being fired after 36 years at the prestigious school because his scientific beliefs are 'politically incorrect.'"

Fixed that for ya.

I thought the whole purpose of science was to test the "beliefs," leaving only "facts" as the observable results. Maybe different Universities can be set up as different religions, with Cardinals of different schools and each uni can have a "Pope" rather than a "Dean."

wpmulligan: Enstrom!

The very same...

canyoneer: Yes, there really is a California Dump Truck Owners Association.

Do they have meetings at the Museum of Science and Trucking?
/Probably my favorite joke in Sporanos...and NJ probably DOES have a museum of science and trucking...

DogNamedBox: FTFA

Enstrom also blew the whistle on a CARB staffer, Hien Tran, who authored a report that was central to the legislation - after faking his credentials.

"He said he had a Ph.D. from UC Davis. Turns out he had bought his Ph.D. online for $1,000," Enstrom said.

Tran was demoted, but his report was still used to "set the context for the health benefits of reducing diesel emissions" when the board voted on the trucking regulations, CARB spokesman Stanley Young told FoxNews.com.

So the Phillip Morris funded study is bad but buying a online PHD & making law is ok???

Of course, this is Fark. I find it really bad the part about government wanting to outlaw diesel trucks in CA with information from a board that uses people with fake PHD's to advise them.

zedster: Professor willing to become corporate shrill fired for lack of integrity
Fox News backs said shrill due to funding from same corporations
Mod likes hits on trolling articles and green lights overly misleading, rambling and factually light headline

Someone who can cut through the crap...in my Fark?

/Who needs facts or research when money makes better numbers?

I'm studying the effects of negative reinforcement on ESP ability.

His theories are the WORST kind of popular tripe, his methods are sloppy, and his conclusions are highly questionable. He is a POOR scientist, and has no place in the department, or in the University.

Yeah, seems like he sought funding after his results weren't like by the original funders.

Pretty lame UCLA and the American Cancer farkers. Pretty lame.

Well, in his defense we must remember that correlation does not imply causation.

Not trolling. Just saying.

Barakku Scientific research is not aligned with their academic mission?



/ In before "you just don't agree with the findings"

autopsybeverage: Airportmatt: "says he's being fired after 36 years at the prestigious school because his scientific beliefs are 'politically incorrect.'"

Fixed that for ya.

I thought the whole purpose of science was to test the "beliefs," leaving only "facts" as the observable results. Maybe different Universities can be set up as different religions, with Cardinals of different schools and each uni can have a "Pope" rather than a "Dean."

All things being conducted properly, the beliefs guide only the experiments you chose to undertake, not the results (double blinding is vital where steering the results is possible though) the findings are facts and can 'easily' (for the cost of the same experiment) be checked by anyone that reads the publication of the results. There is always a methods section in a journal article, if someone found fault in his findings they could have conducted a second study.
Some likely did check his results if they cared enough, but it at least doesn't sound like any factual findings were the cause of his dismissal.

DogNamedBox: FTFA

Enstrom also blew the whistle on a CARB staffer, Hien Tran, who authored a report that was central to the legislation - after faking his credentials.

"He said he had a Ph.D. from UC Davis. Turns out he had bought his Ph.D. online for $1,000," Enstrom said.

Tran was demoted, but his report was still used to "set the context for the health benefits of reducing diesel emissions" when the board voted on the trucking regulations, CARB spokesman Stanley Young told FoxNews.com.

So the Phillip Morris funded study is bad but buying a online PHD & making law is ok???

Of course it is, because he agrees with the liberal dogma.