Scientist who lied to obtain Heartland documents faces fight to save job

[alp227]

The career and reputation of the scientist behind the Heartland Institute exposé was in jeopardy on Wednesday night, after his employers said they were reviewing his use of deception to obtain confidential documents.

The review, by the board of directors of the Pacific Institute, was the most serious potential repercussion to date of the admission by Peter Gleick that he had lied to obtain fundraising documents and a donor list from Heartland, the rightwing thinktank devoted to discrediting climate change.

A statement on the website of the Pacific Institute, which Gleick founded and now heads, said the board was "deeply concerned" about the ruse carried out against Heartland.

"Neither the board nor the staff of the Pacific Institute knew of, played any role in, or condones these events," the board said.

full: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/23/scientists-heartland-documents-under-fire

[TheMastersNemesis]

1. The Guy Should Be Promoted

How many times have the RW goons infiltrated progressive sites. The guy should be promoted.

The Heartland Institute should be destroyed as an institution. They are pathological liars. Too bad a hacker can't get in at wreck their data base.

[Scootaloo]

2. Except he DIDN'T use deception to obtain them

They were handed to him from an insider. He used deception to get confirmation - no different from what journalists frequently do.

Check the funding for the board of the Pacific Institute.

[Bozita]

6. +1

[former9thward]

11. They are funded mainly by government agencies plus some foundations.

2009 is the latest year available. http://www.pacinst.org/about_us/financial_information/Funders%202009.pdf

[NickB79]

14. It sounds like he was given one paper, and used deception to get additional ones

Granted, the additional papers did confirm the first one, but they were all separate papers. At least, that's how the AP story I read in the local newspaper made it sound.

[Monk06]

3. The guy is in desparate need of a medal for exposing these industry financed propaganda 'institutes'

Right wing propaganda shops are so common now that when I see the words, Fellow,
Institute, Foundation, Project etc I just automatically assume that it is right wing agit prop.

And I am almost always vindicated when I do a search into these phoney research institutes.
The biggest fraud being the Heritage Foundation and the blessedly defunct Project for the New American Century, (no overreaching chutzpa there)

[SunSeeker]

4. He was trying to save the world, they were trying to save a buck.

I mean there's deception to make a buck (Heartland) while destroying the world, and then there's deception in order to expose who is behind those lies that are destroying the world. There is not a moral equivalance here. I hope the Pacific Institute is just putting on a show for Heartland to make sure it doesn't get sued by Heartland, but they would be complicit in Heartland's lies if they fire Gleick for exposing Heartland's criminal conspirators. Gleick is the latest in a long line of scientists punished for exposing the truth...going back to Copernicus. What is amazing to me is that these heroes continue to risk their lives and livelihoods for no reward other than knowing they did the right thing. Almost makes me have faith in humanity.

[ronnie624]

5. "It also overwhelmed the debate

about Heartland's disinformation campaign – which included plans to distort science teaching for school children."

These fools want to thwart the very tool provided by natural selection -- our species' over sized brain -- that would enable the long term survival of our civilization. It almost seems like a crime against humanity. As far as I'm concerned, any tactic short of violence, that is needed to defeat this scum, is perfectly acceptable.

[wtmusic]

7. How you can support Dr. Gleick

Email the institute with your comments:

[e-mail]

[FarCenter]

8. Stupid -- you have your lawyer retain an investigator -- you don't do this yourself

That way his involvement would be minimal and covered by lawyer-client privilege.

[former9thward]

10. +1

[AngryAmish]

9. He represents the very best of what we stand for

His enemies must be made to pay.

[Mistwell]

12. He's a liar, a fraud, and probably a forger

Gleick admitted he lied.
Gleick admitted he acted fraudulently.
The primary memo in question is almost certainly a forgery.

How can you guys continue to support Gleick? Don't you realize the damage he's done? Don't you see the ramifications of promoting a forged document to attack deniers?

Here's what just came out today:
Computer forensics experts discovered the climate strategy document was created by a different computer program;
Computer forensics experts discovered the climate strategy document was created at a different time;
Computer forensics experts discovered the climate strategy document was written in a different format and font;
Writing analysts stated the climate strategy document was written in much different language and style;
Writing analysts stated the climate strategy document was striking similarity to the language and style of Gleick’s public writings.

And you guys want to continue to support this guy? He probably did more damage in one stupid stunt than a hundred legitimate climate scientists do in a lifetime. This is the last person we should be supporting. This is the kind of guy we should make an example of - we should not tolerate this sort of behavior. If we are going to convince people based on truth and reason and science, we cannot do it while supporting a liar, a fraud, and a forger.

I mean think about it - don't you realize the natural conclusion people will draw from this? If this formerly well-respected person in the field felt the need to sink to these depths to try and defame his opponents, doesn't that increase the odds that his opponents were correct? Why would you feel the need to resort to these tactics if you were confident that the truth was on your side?

This is a tragedy. And the worse tragedy is the more smart people continue to support this guy after he's found to be a fraud, the worse it will get.

[0rganism]

13. if this had been a right-wing troll like Breitbart infesting the Pacific Institute...

... all would be forgiven, promptly, and the media would focus on the content of the leaked documents, whatever they were, and a stink would be made about them regardless of the truth content thereof. The right winger would be honored with speaking engagements and interviewed repeatedly by mainstream media about how awful the Pacific Institute is.

The right wing rewards their dirty tricksters. We pillory ours.

[maddezmom]

15. Peter Gleick on leave from Pacific Institute over Heartland leak

guardian.co.uk, Friday 24 February 2012 21.44 EST

Peter Gleick, the scientist behind the sting on the Heartland Institute, has announced he is stepping down – at least temporarily – from the institute he has led for more than 20 years.

In a brief letter on Friday evening, Gleick asked the board of directors of the Pacific Institute to grant him a "temporary short-term leave of absence", while it investigated his use of deception to obtain sensitive documents from Heartland, which he then leaked to the press.

It was the longest public statement from Gleick since he admitted posing as a Heartland board member to obtain confidential documents. But on his twitter feed on 21 February, he thanked his defenders: "To all those sending kind words and thoughts, I deeply appreciate them," he tweeted.

Gleick makes his exit after days of ferocious debate about his tactics in exposing Heartland, a rightwing thinktank with a core mission of spreading disinformation about climate change.

more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/25/peter-gleick-leave-pacific-institute-heartland-leak?newsfeed=true

[BeHereNow]

16. I posted this in GD yesterday- check out a poster's replies... LOL

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101460149
BHN