Instead of standing back while impartial scientists evaluated drugs, manufacturers were suddenly involved in every aspect of the process.
The point of strengthening Magnuson-Stevens was to give impartial scientists, not self-interested fishermen, a greater say in deciding how many fish to take from the sea and to tighten catch limits that historically have been much too generous.
He warns that CSPI's more stringent criteria could exclude some outstanding and impartial scientists, and that fuller public disclosure could raise issues of privacy.
"I consider myself an impartial scientist," he told me, adding he had not spoken to Syngenta until after his criticism was sent to Science.
The panel's inclusion of Phillip Campbell, editor of chief of Nature, raised some eyebrows as well, with one reporter asking if Campbell could be impartial, given CRU scientists, including Phil Jones who has been under the most scrutiny, have been authors of Nature papers and likely done peer-review for the journal.
With such balancing statements, Greenfield seeks to appear impartial – a neutral scientist simply following the evidence and placing it before us as objectively as possible so that we are in a position to reach our own informed conclusions about the risks posed by the digital world.
The allegation of "falsification or fabrication of the supporting data for the paper required an impartial review by qualified scientists," the lawyer, Henry J. Dane, wrote.
In short, lahar-hazard risk reduction cannot be effectively accomplished without the active, impartial involvement of qualified scientists.
In her 11 August response, Barr questioned whether the special agent who conducted the investigation "can be an impartial evaluator of academic scientists, or anyone with liberal political beliefs".
An overriding theme is that lahar-hazard risk reduction cannot be effectively accomplished without the active, impartial involvement of volcano scientists, who are willing to assume educational, interpretive, and advisory roles to work in partnership with elected officials, emergency managers, and vulnerable communities.
"They claim to be impartial but their principal scientist for the past several years has made a name going around and raising questions about the safety of biotechnology without any supporting scientific data," said Val Giddings, a top official at the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
