ASA Connect

I think this could/should open a very important discussion among ASA members about how do you deliver news/results that the person we are working with don't want to know. 

I've been in the room when a biostatisticIan got yelled at in front of everyone because her results didn't confirm the PI's preconceived results. 

I've dealt with a P-hacker. He felt his survey was great and all the data valid, because he didn't have time to do it right. When all the data showed results he didn't like, he went into the "try this inappropriate method" mode. I walked out on him after 2 weeks of emails telling me my analyses were wrong. Cuz he knew the right answers.

------------------------------
Andrew Ekstrom

Statistician, Chemist, HPC Abuser;-)
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-11-2017 12:49
From: Barry Nussbaum
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Andreas Georgiou was the chief statistician of Greece and given the responsibility of accurately calculating the Greek debt.  He did his job well, probably too well.  His revised, and correct, figures showed the Greek debt to be greater than previously reported.  This resulted in greater austerity measures for the Greek population.   How did Greece thank the man for getting the numbers and the methodology correct: by prosecuting him.  A classic, but sad case, of shoot the messenger.  This is a concern to all of us who try to do analysis properly.   Kathleen Wallman, a previous ASA president and former chief statistician of the US and I have written an op-ed that was put online by the Huff Post.  Please read the op-ed and feel free to circulate it.  I think we need to  support not only Dr. Georgiou individually, but our profession as a whole, by increasing the awareness of this situation.   Thanks.    Barry Nussbaum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/595fe3b7e4b08f5c97d06987

--

Barry D. Nussbaum, President

American Statistical Association

StatisticsBarry@gmail.com

Statistics Count So Count On Us

Original Message------

Andreas Georgiou was the chief statistician of Greece and given the responsibility of accurately calculating the Greek debt.  He did his job well, probably too well.  His revised, and correct, figures showed the Greek debt to be greater than previously reported.  This resulted in greater austerity measures for the Greek population.   How did Greece thank the man for getting the numbers and the methodology correct: by prosecuting him.  A classic, but sad case, of shoot the messenger.  This is a concern to all of us who try to do analysis properly.   Kathleen Wallman, a previous ASA president and former chief statistician of the US and I have written an op-ed that was put online by the Huff Post.  Please read the op-ed and feel free to circulate it.  I think we need to  support not only Dr. Georgiou individually, but our profession as a whole, by increasing the awareness of this situation.   Thanks.    Barry Nussbaum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/595fe3b7e4b08f5c97d06987

--

Barry D. Nussbaum, President

American Statistical Association

StatisticsBarry@gmail.com

Statistics Count So Count On Us

Original Message------

Hi All,

Those interested in this issue should attend the late-breaking session National Governments, Coerced Narratives, Creative Language, and Alternative Facts at the 2017 JSM. The session is scheduled for Monday, May 31 from 8:30 AM - 10:20 AM in Ballroom I of the Baltimore Convention Center. In addition to Andreas Georgiou, the session will feature Wayne Smith (former Chief Statistician of Canada), Ryan McNeill (investigative political reporter with Reuters), and Nancy Potok (Chief Statistician of the United States, U.S. Office of Management and Budget).

This promises to be a very interesting session. I hope to see many of you there.

Jim

--

James J. Cochran

Associate Dean for Research

Professor of Applied Statistics and the Rogers-Spivey Faculty Fellow

Editor in Chief, The Wiley Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science

Department of Information Systems, Statistics, and Management Science

Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration

University of Alabama

347 Alston Hall

P.O. Box 870226

Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0226

(205) 348-8914

BTW, what's the current situation with Graciela Bevacqua in Argentina?

------------------------------
David Bernklau
(David Bee on Internet)
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-12-2017 07:49
From: James Cochran
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Hi All,

Those interested in this issue should attend the late-breaking session National Governments, Coerced Narratives, Creative Language, and Alternative Facts at the 2017 JSM. The session is scheduled for Monday, May 31 from 8:30 AM - 10:20 AM in Ballroom I of the Baltimore Convention Center. In addition to Andreas Georgiou, the session will feature Wayne Smith (former Chief Statistician of Canada), Ryan McNeill (investigative political reporter with Reuters), and Nancy Potok (Chief Statistician of the United States, U.S. Office of Management and Budget).

This promises to be a very interesting session. I hope to see many of you there.

Jim

--

James J. Cochran

Associate Dean for Research

Professor of Applied Statistics and the Rogers-Spivey Faculty Fellow

Editor in Chief, The Wiley Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science

Department of Information Systems, Statistics, and Management Science

Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration

University of Alabama

347 Alston Hall

P.O. Box 870226

Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0226

(205) 348-8914

David, 

The most recent updates of which I'm aware were reported in Amstat News (and Signficance) from the first half of last year: 

• Price Index Row Costs Statistician Her Job, Yet Again, May 2016
• Argentine Statistics Making Turnaround, February 2016

Best,
Steve

------------------------------
Steve Pierson
Director of Science Policy
American Statistical Association
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-14-2017 10:27
From: David Bernklau
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job


BTW, what's the current situation with Graciela Bevacqua in Argentina?

------------------------------
David Bernklau
(David Bee on Internet)
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-12-2017 07:49
From: James Cochran
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Hi All,

Those interested in this issue should attend the late-breaking session National Governments, Coerced Narratives, Creative Language, and Alternative Facts at the 2017 JSM. The session is scheduled for Monday, May 31 from 8:30 AM - 10:20 AM in Ballroom I of the Baltimore Convention Center. In addition to Andreas Georgiou, the session will feature Wayne Smith (former Chief Statistician of Canada), Ryan McNeill (investigative political reporter with Reuters), and Nancy Potok (Chief Statistician of the United States, U.S. Office of Management and Budget).

This promises to be a very interesting session. I hope to see many of you there.

Jim

--

James J. Cochran

Associate Dean for Research

Professor of Applied Statistics and the Rogers-Spivey Faculty Fellow

Editor in Chief, The Wiley Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science

Department of Information Systems, Statistics, and Management Science

Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration

University of Alabama

347 Alston Hall

P.O. Box 870226

Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0226

(205) 348-8914

​This is the sort of thing about which the ASA ought to make a strong public statement.

------------------------------
Emil M Friedman, PhD
emilfriedman@gmail.com
http://www.statisticalconsulting.org
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-11-2017 12:49
From: Barry Nussbaum
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Andreas Georgiou was the chief statistician of Greece and given the responsibility of accurately calculating the Greek debt.  He did his job well, probably too well.  His revised, and correct, figures showed the Greek debt to be greater than previously reported.  This resulted in greater austerity measures for the Greek population.   How did Greece thank the man for getting the numbers and the methodology correct: by prosecuting him.  A classic, but sad case, of shoot the messenger.  This is a concern to all of us who try to do analysis properly.   Kathleen Wallman, a previous ASA president and former chief statistician of the US and I have written an op-ed that was put online by the Huff Post.  Please read the op-ed and feel free to circulate it.  I think we need to  support not only Dr. Georgiou individually, but our profession as a whole, by increasing the awareness of this situation.   Thanks.    Barry Nussbaum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/595fe3b7e4b08f5c97d06987

--

Barry D. Nussbaum, President

American Statistical Association

StatisticsBarry@gmail.com

Statistics Count So Count On Us

Thanks for this, Barry. Is this the kind of topic on which the ASA would consider issuing a statement? The potential relevance of this case to the situation for statisticians in the United States is quite clear to me.

------------------------------
Erin Jonaitis
Madison, WI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-11-2017 12:49
From: Barry Nussbaum
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Andreas Georgiou was the chief statistician of Greece and given the responsibility of accurately calculating the Greek debt.  He did his job well, probably too well.  His revised, and correct, figures showed the Greek debt to be greater than previously reported.  This resulted in greater austerity measures for the Greek population.   How did Greece thank the man for getting the numbers and the methodology correct: by prosecuting him.  A classic, but sad case, of shoot the messenger.  This is a concern to all of us who try to do analysis properly.   Kathleen Wallman, a previous ASA president and former chief statistician of the US and I have written an op-ed that was put online by the Huff Post.  Please read the op-ed and feel free to circulate it.  I think we need to  support not only Dr. Georgiou individually, but our profession as a whole, by increasing the awareness of this situation.   Thanks.    Barry Nussbaum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/595fe3b7e4b08f5c97d06987

--

Barry D. Nussbaum, President

American Statistical Association

StatisticsBarry@gmail.com

Statistics Count So Count On Us

Dear All, 

As an FYI, the ASA has been active over the last many months on the Andreas Georgiou case through the leadership and counsel of the ASA Scientific Freedom and Human Rights Committee (CSFHR). CSFHR Chair Megan Price and ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein wrote a letter to the President of Greece in October 2016. CSFHR Acting Chair Robin Mejia and Ron Wasserstein followed that letter up in March 2017 with a letter to the Greek Prime Minister. We have followed these letters up with meetings or communications with the Administration and Congress. We have also worked to make other professional associations aware of the issue and are working with other supporters of Andreas Georgiou. I think we can also count the late-breaking session that Jim Cochran organized as work of the CSFHR to help raise the awareness of the Georgiou case.  Further, the piece shared by ASA President Barry Nussbuam, Greece's troubling prosecution of its former chief statistician: Why Congress and State should speak up, authored by him and former President Katherine Wallman is also a good example of ASA's work. You may also have seen in the June Enews that Barry Nussbaum and Ron Wasserstein signed a letter to Financial Times in support of Andreas Georgiou. Finally, CSFHR Acting Chair Robin Mejia, Ron Wasserstein and I posted this blog entry last month, "Statistician Prosecuted: Latest Developments in Andreas Georgiou Case."

Other steps are being considered and we'd welcome your ideas. 

We also ask you to share these concerns withyour networks, perhaps by sharing the Nussbaum/Wallman piece.

Thank you,
Steve


------------------------------
Steve Pierson
Director of Science Policy
American Statistical Association
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-12-2017 09:24
From: Erin Jonaitis
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Thanks for this, Barry. Is this the kind of topic on which the ASA would consider issuing a statement? The potential relevance of this case to the situation for statisticians in the United States is quite clear to me.

------------------------------
Erin Jonaitis
Madison, WI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-11-2017 12:49
From: Barry Nussbaum
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Andreas Georgiou was the chief statistician of Greece and given the responsibility of accurately calculating the Greek debt.  He did his job well, probably too well.  His revised, and correct, figures showed the Greek debt to be greater than previously reported.  This resulted in greater austerity measures for the Greek population.   How did Greece thank the man for getting the numbers and the methodology correct: by prosecuting him.  A classic, but sad case, of shoot the messenger.  This is a concern to all of us who try to do analysis properly.   Kathleen Wallman, a previous ASA president and former chief statistician of the US and I have written an op-ed that was put online by the Huff Post.  Please read the op-ed and feel free to circulate it.  I think we need to  support not only Dr. Georgiou individually, but our profession as a whole, by increasing the awareness of this situation.   Thanks.    Barry Nussbaum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/595fe3b7e4b08f5c97d06987

--

Barry D. Nussbaum, President

American Statistical Association

StatisticsBarry@gmail.com

Statistics Count So Count On Us

Thank you, Steve. I now realize I don't know what options an organization like ASA has for responding. What constitutes issuing a statement -- does a piece like the one in HuffPo count? Assuming not, what additional weight does a formal statement carry? When lobbying Congress to take some action in response, what should we ask for? And what committees does ASA target, and who serves on those committees?

------------------------------
Erin Jonaitis
Madison, WI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-13-2017 14:50
From: Steve Pierson
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Dear All, 

As an FYI, the ASA has been active over the last many months on the Andreas Georgiou case through the leadership and counsel of the ASA Scientific Freedom and Human Rights Committee (CSFHR). CSFHR Chair Megan Price and ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein wrote a letter to the President of Greece in October 2016. CSFHR Acting Chair Robin Mejia and Ron Wasserstein followed that letter up in March 2017 with a letter to the Greek Prime Minister. We have followed these letters up with meetings or communications with the Administration and Congress. We have also worked to make other professional associations aware of the issue and are working with other supporters of Andreas Georgiou. I think we can also count the late-breaking session that Jim Cochran organized as work of the CSFHR to help raise the awareness of the Georgiou case.  Further, the piece shared by ASA President Barry Nussbuam, Greece's troubling prosecution of its former chief statistician: Why Congress and State should speak up, authored by him and former President Katherine Wallman is also a good example of ASA's work. You may also have seen in the June Enews that Barry Nussbaum and Ron Wasserstein signed a letter to Financial Times in support of Andreas Georgiou. Finally, CSFHR Acting Chair Robin Mejia, Ron Wasserstein and I posted this blog entry last month, "Statistician Prosecuted: Latest Developments in Andreas Georgiou Case."

Other steps are being considered and we'd welcome your ideas. 

We also ask you to share these concerns withyour networks, perhaps by sharing the Nussbaum/Wallman piece.

Thank you,
Steve


------------------------------
Steve Pierson
Director of Science Policy
American Statistical Association
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-12-2017 09:24
From: Erin Jonaitis
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Thanks for this, Barry. Is this the kind of topic on which the ASA would consider issuing a statement? The potential relevance of this case to the situation for statisticians in the United States is quite clear to me.

------------------------------
Erin Jonaitis
Madison, WI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-11-2017 12:49
From: Barry Nussbaum
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Andreas Georgiou was the chief statistician of Greece and given the responsibility of accurately calculating the Greek debt.  He did his job well, probably too well.  His revised, and correct, figures showed the Greek debt to be greater than previously reported.  This resulted in greater austerity measures for the Greek population.   How did Greece thank the man for getting the numbers and the methodology correct: by prosecuting him.  A classic, but sad case, of shoot the messenger.  This is a concern to all of us who try to do analysis properly.   Kathleen Wallman, a previous ASA president and former chief statistician of the US and I have written an op-ed that was put online by the Huff Post.  Please read the op-ed and feel free to circulate it.  I think we need to  support not only Dr. Georgiou individually, but our profession as a whole, by increasing the awareness of this situation.   Thanks.    Barry Nussbaum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/595fe3b7e4b08f5c97d06987

--

Barry D. Nussbaum, President

American Statistical Association

StatisticsBarry@gmail.com

Statistics Count So Count On Us

Dear Erin,

Thank you for the follow up. The ASA has many options for responding but the HuffPo piece is not an official ASA statement. The question of what additional weight a formal statement carries is one we hope to address at the JSM business meeting of the ASA Committee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights in two weeks.

For Congress, we think it's most constructive to approach the Congressional Hellenic Caucus without being too specific with our ask as they will know best the levers Congress can exert. If your U.S. Representative is a member of this caucus, we encourage you to her/him or her/his staffer that interfaces with the caucus. I'd be happy to help any ASA member make such contact, including on talking points.

By the way, we heard today that the EU's disbursement of seven-eight billion euros went ahead and included a promise by the Greek government to cover Dr. Georgiou's court costs. We are waiting on details for what that means. I also note that Dr. Georgiou's violation of duty trial is scheduled to continue tomorrow, July 18. Our thoughts are with Dr. Georgiou as his ordeal continues. 

Thanks again,

Steve

------------------------------
Steve Pierson
Director of Science Policy
American Statistical Association
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-17-2017 09:47
From: Erin Jonaitis
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Thank you, Steve. I now realize I don't know what options an organization like ASA has for responding. What constitutes issuing a statement -- does a piece like the one in HuffPo count? Assuming not, what additional weight does a formal statement carry? When lobbying Congress to take some action in response, what should we ask for? And what committees does ASA target, and who serves on those committees?

------------------------------
Erin Jonaitis
Madison, WI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-13-2017 14:50
From: Steve Pierson
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Dear All, 

As an FYI, the ASA has been active over the last many months on the Andreas Georgiou case through the leadership and counsel of the ASA Scientific Freedom and Human Rights Committee (CSFHR). CSFHR Chair Megan Price and ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein wrote a letter to the President of Greece in October 2016. CSFHR Acting Chair Robin Mejia and Ron Wasserstein followed that letter up in March 2017 with a letter to the Greek Prime Minister. We have followed these letters up with meetings or communications with the Administration and Congress. We have also worked to make other professional associations aware of the issue and are working with other supporters of Andreas Georgiou. I think we can also count the late-breaking session that Jim Cochran organized as work of the CSFHR to help raise the awareness of the Georgiou case.  Further, the piece shared by ASA President Barry Nussbuam, Greece's troubling prosecution of its former chief statistician: Why Congress and State should speak up, authored by him and former President Katherine Wallman is also a good example of ASA's work. You may also have seen in the June Enews that Barry Nussbaum and Ron Wasserstein signed a letter to Financial Times in support of Andreas Georgiou. Finally, CSFHR Acting Chair Robin Mejia, Ron Wasserstein and I posted this blog entry last month, "Statistician Prosecuted: Latest Developments in Andreas Georgiou Case."

Other steps are being considered and we'd welcome your ideas. 

We also ask you to share these concerns withyour networks, perhaps by sharing the Nussbaum/Wallman piece.

Thank you,
Steve


------------------------------
Steve Pierson
Director of Science Policy
American Statistical Association
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-12-2017 09:24
From: Erin Jonaitis
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Thanks for this, Barry. Is this the kind of topic on which the ASA would consider issuing a statement? The potential relevance of this case to the situation for statisticians in the United States is quite clear to me.

------------------------------
Erin Jonaitis
Madison, WI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-11-2017 12:49
From: Barry Nussbaum
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Andreas Georgiou was the chief statistician of Greece and given the responsibility of accurately calculating the Greek debt.  He did his job well, probably too well.  His revised, and correct, figures showed the Greek debt to be greater than previously reported.  This resulted in greater austerity measures for the Greek population.   How did Greece thank the man for getting the numbers and the methodology correct: by prosecuting him.  A classic, but sad case, of shoot the messenger.  This is a concern to all of us who try to do analysis properly.   Kathleen Wallman, a previous ASA president and former chief statistician of the US and I have written an op-ed that was put online by the Huff Post.  Please read the op-ed and feel free to circulate it.  I think we need to  support not only Dr. Georgiou individually, but our profession as a whole, by increasing the awareness of this situation.   Thanks.    Barry Nussbaum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/595fe3b7e4b08f5c97d06987

--

Barry D. Nussbaum, President

American Statistical Association

StatisticsBarry@gmail.com

Statistics Count So Count On Us

Oh, this is very sad; I agree that ASA should issue some statement on this issue; we should always have our statistical figures right without fear of any hostility from the people/ authority who are supposed to view these figures.

------------------------------
Felista Nganga
Instructor
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-11-2017 12:49
From: Barry Nussbaum
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Andreas Georgiou was the chief statistician of Greece and given the responsibility of accurately calculating the Greek debt.  He did his job well, probably too well.  His revised, and correct, figures showed the Greek debt to be greater than previously reported.  This resulted in greater austerity measures for the Greek population.   How did Greece thank the man for getting the numbers and the methodology correct: by prosecuting him.  A classic, but sad case, of shoot the messenger.  This is a concern to all of us who try to do analysis properly.   Kathleen Wallman, a previous ASA president and former chief statistician of the US and I have written an op-ed that was put online by the Huff Post.  Please read the op-ed and feel free to circulate it.  I think we need to  support not only Dr. Georgiou individually, but our profession as a whole, by increasing the awareness of this situation.   Thanks.    Barry Nussbaum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/595fe3b7e4b08f5c97d06987

--

Barry D. Nussbaum, President

American Statistical Association

StatisticsBarry@gmail.com

Statistics Count So Count On Us

Thank you, President Nussbaum, for posting the link to the explanation you co-authored in the Huffington Post. 
It reminds me that one of America's earliest contributions to the cause of freedom stemmed from the Peter Zenger case in the colony of New York, which won early acceptance of the then novel idea that truth could be an adequate defense against charges of libel; i.e. one cannot be convicted of libel for telling the truth, a principle essential to freedom of the press in order to root out corruption.  Apparently it took over seventy years for this notion to become accepted in Common Law.

------------------------------
Ray Marr
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-11-2017 12:49
From: Barry Nussbaum
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Andreas Georgiou was the chief statistician of Greece and given the responsibility of accurately calculating the Greek debt.  He did his job well, probably too well.  His revised, and correct, figures showed the Greek debt to be greater than previously reported.  This resulted in greater austerity measures for the Greek population.   How did Greece thank the man for getting the numbers and the methodology correct: by prosecuting him.  A classic, but sad case, of shoot the messenger.  This is a concern to all of us who try to do analysis properly.   Kathleen Wallman, a previous ASA president and former chief statistician of the US and I have written an op-ed that was put online by the Huff Post.  Please read the op-ed and feel free to circulate it.  I think we need to  support not only Dr. Georgiou individually, but our profession as a whole, by increasing the awareness of this situation.   Thanks.    Barry Nussbaum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/595fe3b7e4b08f5c97d06987

--

Barry D. Nussbaum, President

American Statistical Association

StatisticsBarry@gmail.com

Statistics Count So Count On Us

​Did ASA make a public statement on this case? I believe ASA can offer a third party (volunteers) to reanalyze the data for Greece.

------------------------------
Gideon Bahn
Biostatistician at Hines VA Hospital
Research Assistant Professor at Loyola University Chicago
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-11-2017 12:49
From: Barry Nussbaum
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Andreas Georgiou was the chief statistician of Greece and given the responsibility of accurately calculating the Greek debt.  He did his job well, probably too well.  His revised, and correct, figures showed the Greek debt to be greater than previously reported.  This resulted in greater austerity measures for the Greek population.   How did Greece thank the man for getting the numbers and the methodology correct: by prosecuting him.  A classic, but sad case, of shoot the messenger.  This is a concern to all of us who try to do analysis properly.   Kathleen Wallman, a previous ASA president and former chief statistician of the US and I have written an op-ed that was put online by the Huff Post.  Please read the op-ed and feel free to circulate it.  I think we need to  support not only Dr. Georgiou individually, but our profession as a whole, by increasing the awareness of this situation.   Thanks.    Barry Nussbaum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/595fe3b7e4b08f5c97d06987

--

Barry D. Nussbaum, President

American Statistical Association

StatisticsBarry@gmail.com

Statistics Count So Count On Us

We were saddened to learn of  a guilty verdict this morning, in one of the cases in which Dr. Georgiou had been previously acquitted:
Former Greek stats chief guilty of breach of duty over fiscal data
The Committee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights helped draft a statement issued this morning, which should be on the website soon, as well:  ASA Science Policy on Twitter

Twitter		remove preview
ASA Science Policy on Twitter Former Greek ELSTAT Chief Andreas Georgiou Handed Suspended 2-Yr Jail Sentence https://t.co/bgipoPqHeF ASA response https://t.co/EuuoQRwwT0 View this on Twitter >

------------------------------
Robin Mejia
Manager, Statistics and Human Rights Program
Carnegie Mellon University
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-18-2017 15:29
From: Gideon Bahn
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

​Did ASA make a public statement on this case? I believe ASA can offer a third party (volunteers) to reanalyze the data for Greece.

------------------------------
Gideon Bahn
Biostatistician at Hines VA Hospital
Research Assistant Professor at Loyola University Chicago

Original Message:
Sent: 07-11-2017 12:49
From: Barry Nussbaum
Subject: Statistician Prosecuted in Greece for Doing His Job

Andreas Georgiou was the chief statistician of Greece and given the responsibility of accurately calculating the Greek debt.  He did his job well, probably too well.  His revised, and correct, figures showed the Greek debt to be greater than previously reported.  This resulted in greater austerity measures for the Greek population.   How did Greece thank the man for getting the numbers and the methodology correct: by prosecuting him.  A classic, but sad case, of shoot the messenger.  This is a concern to all of us who try to do analysis properly.   Kathleen Wallman, a previous ASA president and former chief statistician of the US and I have written an op-ed that was put online by the Huff Post.  Please read the op-ed and feel free to circulate it.  I think we need to  support not only Dr. Georgiou individually, but our profession as a whole, by increasing the awareness of this situation.   Thanks.    Barry Nussbaum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/595fe3b7e4b08f5c97d06987

--

Barry D. Nussbaum, President

American Statistical Association

StatisticsBarry@gmail.com

Statistics Count So Count On Us