New report accuses Bush of suppressing scientific research data

[Guest guest]

New report accuses Bush of suppressing scientific research data

 

 

Allegations prompt defensive response; White House blames " poor

communication "

 

Dan Greenberg reporting from Washington

 

Relations between the Bush administration and the scientific

establishment continue to worsen. Last month, 62 of the nation's leading

scientists endorsed a report that accused the administration of

repeatedly misusing scientific data for political purposes and stacking

advisory committees with political partisans. The signatories included

20 Nobel laureates and 19 recipients of the National Medal of Science,

the federal government's highest award for scientific achievement.

Issued by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)--a non-profit

organisation that claims 100 000 members--the report spelt out

scientists' concerns in strong language. It said: " There is a

well-established pattern of suppression and distortion of scientific

findings by high-ranking Bush administration political appointees across

numerous federal agencies. " It further accused the administration of

manipulating " the government's scientific advisory system to prevent the

appearance of advice that might run counter to the administration's

political agenda " . 10 days later, as if in confirmation of the

scientists' allegations, press reports revealed several membership

changes on the presidentially appointed Council on Bioethics, a key

junction in administration policymaking for matters related to abortion

and human embryonic stem-cell research. According to the Washington

Post, after completion of their terms, two members who support stem-cell

research were not reappointed. Three new members whose expressed views

on religion, biomedical research, and related matters harmonise with the

president's were appointed as replacements. The specific allegations in

the UCS report included distortion or suppression of data concerning

global change and the health hazards of mercury and airborne bacteria

from farm waste, misrepresenting the health risks of abortion,

undermining the Endangered Species Act, suppressing technical doubts

about Iraq's nuclear potential, and ideologically inspired editing of

public reports by the Environmental Protection Agency--plus many others.

(For full text and signatories see http://www.ucsusa.org.) Implying

presidential contempt for independent scientific advice, the UCS noted

that a 2002 State Department report that listed the " likely negative

consequences of climate change " was dismissed by the President as " a

report put out by the bureaucracy. " Russell Train, who headed the EPA

under Presidents Nixon and Ford, accused the Bush administration of

abusing environmental science " in ways that were unheard of in any

previous administration. " Virtually all of these points have been made

previously in scientific journals or by Congressional Democrats during

Bush's time in office. But the UCS report, titled Scientific integrity

in policymaking: an inquiry into the Bush administration's misuse of

science, brought them together for the first time. And, in contrast to

previous accusations of anti-scientific misdeeds, it elicited a response

from the administration's highest-ranking scientist, John H Marburger

III, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology

Policy. In a telephone press conference, Marburger said the Bush

administration has strongly supported science, which is true in

financial terms. Without disputing the UCS allegations, Marburger said

that reported episodes occurred in individual agencies and should not be

construed as products of broad government policy. The administration, he

suggested, may be suffering from poor communication about scientific

matters. Prior to taking the presidential job, Marburger headed the

Brookhaven National Laboratory and before that was long-time president

of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. A nominal Democrat

serving in a highly partisan Republican administration, he is regarded

in the scientific establishment as the best that could be hoped for

under Bush, who has shown scant interest in purely scientific matters,

or in the repeated allegations of misuse of scientific data. The UCS

report recommended that the President should instruct Marburger to

compose rules for scientific rectitude in federal agencies, and that

Congress should hold hearings to investigate the episodes alleged in the

report. Acknowledgment of the report could signal scientific

mobilisation in this year's presidential election. Though scientists

have rarely declared on behalf of a presidential candidate, some 750 of

them voiced support for Al Gore in 2000.

 

http://www.thelancet.com/journal/journal.isa

 

 

NIH panel holds conflicts of interest meeting [summary

<http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol363/iss9412/abs/llan.363.9412.news.29029.1>\

] [Full

Text

<http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol363/iss9412/full/llan.363.9412.news.29029.1\

>] [PDF

<http://pdf.thelancet.com/pdfdownload?uid=llan.363.9412.news.29029.1 & x=x.pdf>]

 

 

 

karl theis jr

 

 

http://groups.msn.com/exposureofthetruth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

--- Hello,

this pdf document may shed some light on what is going on with the

USDA and

the release of information concerning TSE's and any other

evironmental issues which are not being disclosed

It is titled

Safeguarding National Security Through Public Release of

Enviornmental

Information

and is archived at the

Federation of American Scientists website

FAS Project on Government Secrecy

http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html

 

Karl Theis

 

 

In , theis888

<k_t723> wrote:

> New report accuses Bush of suppressing scientific research data

>

>

> Allegations prompt defensive response; White House

blames " poor

> communication "

>

> Dan Greenberg reporting from Washington

>

> Relations between the Bush administration and the scientific

> establishment continue to worsen. Last month, 62 of the nation's

leading

> scientists endorsed a report that accused the administration of

> repeatedly misusing scientific data for political purposes and

stacking

> advisory committees with political partisans. The signatories

included

> 20 Nobel laureates and 19 recipients of the National Medal of

Science,

> the federal government's highest award for scientific achievement.

> Issued by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)--a non-profit

> organisation that claims 100 000 members--the report spelt out

> scientists' concerns in strong language. It said: " There is a

> well-established pattern of suppression and distortion of

scientific

> findings by high-ranking Bush administration political appointees

across

> numerous federal agencies. " It further accused the administration

of

> manipulating " the government's scientific advisory system to

prevent the

> appearance of advice that might run counter to the administration's

> political agenda " . 10 days later, as if in confirmation of the

> scientists' allegations, press reports revealed several membership

> changes on the presidentially appointed Council on Bioethics, a key

> junction in administration policymaking for matters related to

abortion

> and human embryonic stem-cell research. According to the Washington

> Post, after completion of their terms, two members who support

stem-cell

> research were not reappointed. Three new members whose expressed

views

> on religion, biomedical research, and related matters harmonise

with the

> president's were appointed as replacements. The specific

allegations in

> the UCS report included distortion or suppression of data

concerning

> global change and the health hazards of mercury and airborne

bacteria

> from farm waste, misrepresenting the health risks of abortion,

> undermining the Endangered Species Act, suppressing technical

doubts

> about Iraq's nuclear potential, and ideologically inspired editing

of

> public reports by the Environmental Protection Agency--plus many

others.

> (For full text and signatories see http://www.ucsusa.org.) Implying

> presidential contempt for independent scientific advice, the UCS

noted

> that a 2002 State Department report that listed the " likely

negative

> consequences of climate change " was dismissed by the President

as " a

> report put out by the bureaucracy. " Russell Train, who headed the

EPA

> under Presidents Nixon and Ford, accused the Bush administration of

> abusing environmental science " in ways that were unheard of in any

> previous administration. " Virtually all of these points have been

made

> previously in scientific journals or by Congressional Democrats

during

> Bush's time in office. But the UCS report, titled Scientific

integrity

> in policymaking: an inquiry into the Bush administration's misuse

of

> science, brought them together for the first time. And, in

contrast to

> previous accusations of anti-scientific misdeeds, it elicited a

response

> from the administration's highest-ranking scientist, John H

Marburger

> III, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology

> Policy. In a telephone press conference, Marburger said the Bush

> administration has strongly supported science, which is true in

> financial terms. Without disputing the UCS allegations, Marburger

said

> that reported episodes occurred in individual agencies and should

not be

> construed as products of broad government policy. The

administration, he

> suggested, may be suffering from poor communication about

scientific

> matters. Prior to taking the presidential job, Marburger headed the

> Brookhaven National Laboratory and before that was long-time

president

> of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. A nominal

Democrat

> serving in a highly partisan Republican administration, he is

regarded

> in the scientific establishment as the best that could be hoped for

> under Bush, who has shown scant interest in purely scientific

matters,

> or in the repeated allegations of misuse of scientific data. The

UCS

> report recommended that the President should instruct Marburger to

> compose rules for scientific rectitude in federal agencies, and

that

> Congress should hold hearings to investigate the episodes alleged

in the

> report. Acknowledgment of the report could signal scientific

> mobilisation in this year's presidential election. Though

scientists

> have rarely declared on behalf of a presidential candidate, some

750 of

> them voiced support for Al Gore in 2000.

>

> http://www.thelancet.com/journal/journal.isa

>

>

> NIH panel holds conflicts of interest meeting [summary

>

<http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol363/iss9412/abs/llan.363.9412.ne

ws.29029.1>] [Full

> Text

>

<http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol363/iss9412/full/llan.363.9412.n

ews.29029.1>] [PDF

> <http://pdf.thelancet.com/pdfdownload?

uid=llan.363.9412.news.29029.1 & x=x.pdf>]

>

>

>

> karl theis jr

>

>

> http://groups.msn.com/exposureofthetruth

>

>

>

>

>

 

>

> Search - Find what you're looking for faster.

>

>