Friday, February 10, 2012

Susan Martinuk recycles previous (dubious) articles

Already dismantled here and here, Susan Martinuk deftly self-plagiarizes/recycles/repurposes chunks of not one, but two previous Calgary Herald articles to paste together another discredited piece about abortion and breast cancer.

Martinuk, 2008:

In 1996, a paper in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health provided the first real evidence of a connection between abortion and breast cancer. Pooled data from 28 different studies demonstrated that women who had abortions had increased their risk of developing breast cancer by 30 per cent.

Subsequent studies supposedly disproved this association, but a 2005 Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons paper showed these studies had methodologies that were sufficiently flawed "to invalidate their findings." And, in 2007, the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons reported that induced abortion was the risk factor that best predicted the incidence of breast cancer in European women.

Martinuk, 2012:

In 1996, a paper in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health provided the first evidence of a connection between abortion and breast cancer. Pooled data from 28 studies demonstrated that women who had abortions had increased their risk of developing breast cancer by 30 per cent.

Subsequent studies supposedly disproved this association, but a 2005 Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons paper showed these studies had methodologies that were sufficiently flawed “to invalidate their findings.” And, in 2007, the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons reported that induced abortion was the risk factor that best predicted the incidence of breast cancer in European women.

Martinuk, 2012:

For the past 15 years, there’s been a growing controversy over the link between induced abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer.

…a key researcher at the National Cancer Institute reversed her position and stated that abortion is a significant factor in raising the risk of breast cancer. Dr. Louise Brinton co-authored a 2009 study stating that induced abortion increased the risk of triple-negative breast cancer by 40 per cent in women under 45. The paper, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, stated the above and then lent its support to previous studies by saying that this increase was “consistent with the effects observed in previous studies on younger women.”

Martinuk, 2010:

(Published as “Silence on abortion's link to breast cancer suspect”, Calgary Herald, January 29, 2010)

For the past 15 years, there’s been a growing controversy over the link between induced abortion and increased risk of breast cancer...

...a key researcher at the National Cancer Institute has now reversed her position and stated that abortion is a significant factor in raising the risk of breast cancer…

…Dr. Louise Brinton…co-authored a 2009 study stating that induced abortion increased the risk of triple-negative breast cancer by 40 per cent in women under 45. The paper, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, stated the above and then further observed that this increase was “consistent with the effects observed in previous studies on younger women.”

Update: Hey look! The first additional article we check out by Susan Martinuk contains more self-plagiarism.

November, 2011:

In 2008, Canadian Muslim leaders admitted that hundreds of Muslim men in Ontario were claiming welfare and social benefits for their multiple wives.

The system is supposed to prevent applicants from claiming welfare for more than one spouse, but the fraud worked because the government didn't check for independent applications from multiple spouses in the same household. If the paperwork is handled properly, taxpayers can be on the hook for a huge monthly payment of social benefits.

February, 2008:

Canadian Muslim leaders admitted that hundreds of Muslim men in Ontario are now claiming welfare and social benefits for their multiple wives.

… The system is supposed to prevent applicants from claiming welfare for more than one spouse, but the fraud works because they don't check for independent applications from multiple spouses in the same household.... If the paperwork is handled properly, that can put taxpayers on the hook for a huge monthly payment of social benefits.

November, 2011:

Polygamy violates Canadian values such as the principles of equality and the rights of women. The act demeans and discriminates against women, and reduces them to slave-like status. Most repugnant is that it often involves the sexual abuse, exploitation and rape of minors.

February, 2008:

Polygamy violates Canadian values such as the principles of equality and the rights of women. The act demeans and discriminates against women, and reduces them to slave-like status. Most repugnant is that it often involves the sexual abuse, exploitation and rape of minors.


And again:

Martinuk, December 2007:

A recent issue of Nature, one of the best scientific journals, published a paper that calls for an end to the Kyoto Accord and warns against creating any similar agreements that are geared toward targets and timetables for cutting CO2 emissions. The authors say Kyoto is a “symbolically important expression” of concern, but it’s “the wrong tool for the job.” A major flaw is the simplistic assumption that global emissions quotas are the best way to confront climate change.

A second concern is the validity of the UN reports that are the foundation for discussions and policy-making at international meetings such as Bali.


Martinuk, December, 2011:


A 2007 issue of Nature, one of the best scientific journals, published a paper that calls for an end to the Kyoto accord and warns against creating any similar agreements that are geared toward targets and timetables for cutting CO2 emissions. The authors say Kyoto is a “symbolically important expression” of concern, but it’s “the wrong tool for the job.” A major flaw is the simplistic assumption that global emissions quotas are the best way to confront climate change.


Another flaw that has been widely addressed in the western media is the validity of the United Nations reports that are the foundation for all climate change discussions.