Bill, within your insulting attack on the integrity of Sir John
Beddington is your claim that his comments "were revised as the crisis
escalated and came more in line with what many others were reporting."
Where is your evidence to support this claim?
I gave a link to his comments on 15 March, in which he pointed out that
the Chernobyl reactor was very different in design to those at the
Fukushima plant, so assessments of the risks needed to take that into
account.
So why don't you stop regurgitating anti-nuclear rhetoric and simply
provide some evidence to justify your amazing claims?
Bob Ward
Policy and Communications Director
Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
London School of Economics and Political Science
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
http://www.lse.ac.uk/grantham
Tel. +44 (0) 20 7106 1236
Mob. +44 (0) 7811 320346
-----Original Message-----
From: psci-com: on public engagement with science
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bill O'Neill
Sent: 21 March 2011 06:10
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] British journalists spiralling out of control -
hysteria sweeps across newsrooms
sadly, sorry to disappointment, but that ain't necessarily so - although
it is a handy distraction from the point i've
been trying to make, regarding vested interests...
as i recall, beddington's comments (or the comments reported to him)
came late and contrasted in tenor with official
pronouncements from japan, the us and elsewhere, until they were revised
as the crisis escalated and came more in line
with what many others were reporting...
this is evidence of caution, or optimism, or incompetence, or
impracticalities, or pressure, or something else, or a
mixture...i assumed pressure because, i guess, some experience of the
chernobyl aftermath had prepared me for the worst,
and because, i guess, i'd heard comments from a minister - "this won't
affect our decision on nuclear power - such
decisions are not taken over a matter of days"- and from an industry
chief - "this doesn't mean there's a problem with
nuclear power - the accident will improve reactor/station designs" -
(all paraphased)...my assumption wasn't an attack
on beddington, just simply reflecting the way the world works...
in the end, the messenger brings the message and the message brings the
vested interest... and chopping the head off the
messenger still leaves a message with a vested interest. amen
============================================
Original Message
Bill, many thanks for confirming that your comments are not based on any
evidence!
Sent from my iPhone
On 20 Mar 2011, at 15:27, "Bill O'Neill" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> apologies, only just picked up on this...
>
> my reference to beddington (chosen only because he was the source in
the original contribution) was made in the context
> of what i was proposing re: messenger/message - that his comments
should be assessed, in my view, in the context of who
> he is, who his paymasters/advisers are, his audience and so on...i was
not judging his honesty or knowledge, nor that of
> his paymasters/advisers (how could i?) but, if you like, i was taking
vested interests into account...equally, being
> chief scientist doesn't make him the pope (infallible), or not in my
view...
>
> i might add that i did find it slightly irksome that beddington's
comments, which matched what the original contributor
> wanted to hear, were held up as exemplary while those of others, which
didn't, were dismissed as hysteria, but that's
> another issue...
>
> journalists (and scientists) are making such assessments every
day...gauging one piece of evidence against another,
> establishing extremes, then honing in on the truth (with any
luck)...it's a long, tricky process, especially as
> political, economic and social forces conspire to try to get their own
way...and deadlines don't help...
>
> to suggest that my comment on beddington amounts to a "slur" is daft -
and a typically extravagant response from a
> lobbyist with one agenda, and with one worldview...
>
> ============================================
> Original Message
>
> Wasn't the suggestion preceded by the words 'I assumed'? In other
words, just a personal opinion albeit not
complimentary.
>
> Carolyn
>
> On 18 Mar 2011, at 10:50, Francis Sedgemore wrote:
>
>> Questioning whether Beddington is giving his own, honest opinion, or
that of the state he serves, is perfectly
> legitimate. The evidence in my view points firmly to the former. We
should be focusing on the content of the discussion,
> and provocative interventions can help to do just that.
>>
>> Francis
>>
>> On 18/03/2011 10:39, Robert Ward wrote:
>>>
>>> I think the suggestion that the CSA's comments were the result of
having
>>> been "leant on" is a pretty offensive personal smear, particularly
as it
>>> is not supported by any evidence whatsoever. Perhaps the psci-com
list
>>> owner could take a views on whether the message is in breach of the
>>> list's rules?
>>>
>>> Bob Ward
>>
>> --
>> Dr Francis Sedgemore
>> journalist and science writer
>> www.sedgemore.com
>>
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