The government looks into ghostwriting of scientific articles in medical journals: http://bit.ly/d6eM9U. The well-established procedure is: (1) pharmaceutical company does a study, (2) pharmaceutical company maintains the database, (3) pharmaceutical company hires a medical writer to write the article, and (4) pharmaceutical company arranges with a top academic professor to put his or her name as the lead author. Ghostwriting, if it were a Harvard student putting his name on the product, would be considered plagiarism. The student would typically be expelled.

High Dudgeon, or blowing the whistle at KCUMB on Peltz: http://ping.fm/CmXzL Morals of the story: One, whistleblowers are terrified of being found out; two, if you do whistleblow, blow OUTSIDE the organization and try to create a paper trail.

Dr. Matthew Mintz of George Washington Univ fails to disclose financial conflict of interest with GlaxoSmithKline to Forbes: http://ping.fm/z9zOf (1) Failure to disclose may lead to assumption of bias, but does full disclosure lead to assumption of no bias? (2) People who have conflicts of interest are usually the last to realize it.

Michael Shermer on Fraud in Science: http://bit.ly/dCcCJE. Recognition of the difference between deception and self-deception depends upon determination of intent. This is difficult. First, you have to pick the person who makes the determination. Second, they have to make the determination.

Aristotle, self-sufficiency, and its consequences: http://ping.fm/1d6V1

The macroeconomic equivalent of shrouded attributes: http://bit.ly/aZym9L.

Decades ago, Buffett bought Cities Service. Now it's Venezuela-owned. http://bit.ly/9OnC8D.