What's New Robert L. Park January 15, 2010

WHAT’S NEW   Robert L. Park    Friday, 15 Jan 10   Washington, DC

1. EARTHQUACK: PAT ROBERTSON EXPLAINS THE HAITI DISASTER.
With the death toll in Haiti now estimated at about 50,000, the evangelist 
broadcaster explained to "The 700 Club" what it all meant. In colonial 
times, he said, Haiti cut a deal with the devil to get rid of the French -- 
and has been cursed ever since. According to a BBC news report White House 
spokesman Robert Gibbs characterized Robertson's remarks as “stupid.”  
There was in fact a lot of "stupid" going around this week. 

2. CIA: HOW MANY SPIES HAS THE POLYGRAPH EXPOSED?   
According to a CBS News account of the suicide bombing at a CIA base in 
Afghanistan, "The double agent was brought onto the base without first 
being given a polygraph test, one of the basic tools in establishing a 
spy’s trustworthiness."  Really?  Aldrich Ames, the master Soviet spy who 
was a high-ranking CIA analyst, routinely passed polygraph exams, even as 
he passed information to the Soviets. Nor did the polygraph expose Larry Wu-
Tai Chin a Chinese language translator working for the CIA who sold 
information to China, or Robert Hanssen of the FBI.  In fact, not a single 
spy has been caught by a polygraph screening exam.  In 2003 the National 
Academy of Science issued a report, "The Polygraph and Lie Detection," that 
found the majority of polygraph research to be unreliable, unscientific and 
biased.  The high rate of false positives was considered unacceptable. I 
have argued, however, that the small number of true positives is the real 
problem. I propose replacing the polygraph with a coin toss. That would 
identify 50 percent of the double agents compared to zero with the 
polygraph. The unfortunate increase in false positives constitutes 
collateral damage, which is inevitable in war.

3. BABY GABRIEL: THE REALITY OF LIE DETECTION IN POPULAR CULTURE.
A prospective adoptive-couple have been named as "persons of interest" in 
the disappearance of an eight-month old baby in Arizona (Gabriel). The 
couple appeared on television early this week demanding a polygraph test 
to "determine absolutely whether we are telling the truth." The next day 
the polygraph examiners announced the result: "inconclusive." The public 
perception is that the polygraph is a scientific device that distinctively 
signals a lie. This is abetted by the media which rarely mentions the 
strong scientific objections to the polygraph. Devices claimed to be lie 
detectors are even used in television game shows (Fox of course).  In fact, 
the polygraph looks for spikes in blood pressure, heart rate, respiration 
and perspiration. In other words, you can’t tell a lie from the sex act.  

4. SEDENTARINESS: WATCHING TELEVISION IS LINKED TO HIGHER RISK OF DEATH.
The Personal Journal section of Tuesday's Wall Street Journal linked 
watching TV to a higher risk of death. Of course, it may be the programming 
rather than being sedentary that's bad for you.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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