Category: Uncategorized

SKEPTICISM. "The true meaning of the word skepticism has nothing to do with doubt, disbelief, or negativity. Skepticism is the process of applying reason and critical thinking to determine validity. It's the process of finding a supported conclusion, not the justification of a preconceived conclusion." http://skeptoid.com/skeptic.php View in LinkedIn

TOXIC MIX: LAWYERS, 'EXPERTS', AND RISK. "Product defense consultants ... have increasingly skewed the scientific literature, manufactured and magnified scientific uncertainty, and influenced policy decisions to the advantage of polluters and the manufacturers of dangerous products." http://lnkd.in/d3RYjh7 View in LinkedIn

DOUBT IS THEIR PRODUCT. "Doubt is our product," a cigarette executive once observed, "since it is the best means of competing with the 'body of fact' that exists in the minds of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a controversy." http://lnkd.in/d3RYjh7 View in LinkedIn

DAVID MICHAELS "who was the head of occupational safety and health in President Clinton’s ... examples showing how industries stack the deck against regulation of their products. From the tobacco, lead and asbestos industry cover ups to the Vioxx debacle and global warming, from chromium to beryllium and popcorn lung, industry follows a familiar pattern." http://forum.thefreedictionary.com/postst59380_-Doubt-is-Their-Product----Is-Your-Country-Attacking-Science-.aspx View in LinkedIn

SUBVERTING DEBATE is not limited to moneyed interests, but includes extreme religious and political positions (belief, power and money are usually intolerant drivers). Creationism, global warming, fracking, environmental issues, have all become fair game for legions of folk happy to create smoke-screens of doubt about opposing views. View in LinkedIn

DIRTY TACTICS are the characteristics of some memorable American corporation fights with their own public. These include tobacco, asbestos, lead, fluoride, chlorine, and various pharmaceuticals. In all instances, moneyed interests sought to subvert an honest debate by hijacking truth, manufacturing doubt, and playing a well funded PR game. View in LinkedIn

BACKGROUNDER ON CURRENT DEBATE in science is the next focus as a primer for having some understanding of the ongoing TTIP free trade talks between the US and EC. At first blush the vast differences of opinion are unfathomable. This becomes less so, at least for me, when considering the junction of science and policy in both jurisdictions. View in LinkedIn

"CONFLICTS OF INTEREST should be revealed. Scientists working for the industry should be excluded from peer review and science advisory boards. All tests done by industry should be publically announced and acknowledged, and their data, regardless of their outcome and interpretation, should be publically available." http://forum.thefreedictionary.com/postst59380_-Doubt-is-Their-Product----Is-Your-Country-Attacking-Science-.aspx View in LinkedIn

INDUSTRY OF DOUBT. "This has led to the rise of an industry devoted to the creation of uncertainty and doubt. David Michaels has described this industry in his excellent book, Doubt is Their Product. ... the world has been badly damaged by the cost-benefit approach in which all economic activities are assumed to produce more benefits than harms." http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/mm2009/032009/interview-montague.html View in LinkedIn

THE BURDEN OF PROOF in the Cost-Benefit model is on the government or private citizens to challenge the safety of a proposed product. This is why product reversals in the US can take decades even when academic studies have shown harm. It is also why non-profit agencies frequently sue regulators to take action and withdraw harmful products. View in LinkedIn