i don't get it. what is it about information and this administration? they're(figuratively) burning down the EPA libraries which *will* hafta be rebuilt at a staggering cost of money and labor and resources. They simply ignore or don't publish/release scientific papers and reports they don't like, or redact portions that disagree with policy. i reckon every admin may have done a bit of this, but it's SOP for these guys. it's as if facts and science just don't exist, or they're like a room color you don't like. you just paint it over in a different color and everything is fine. but the problem here is the whole structure of the house is rotten from the roof to the foundation. and a new coat of paint won't even even cover up the smell of the shit backing up from the toilet.-nosmokes
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original-physorg.comAP) --
The Bush administration is clamping down on scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, the latest agency subjected to controls on research that might go against official policy.New rules require screening of all facts and interpretations by agency scientists who study everything from caribou mating to global warming. The rules apply to all scientific papers and other public documents, even minor reports or prepared talks, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Top officials at the Interior Department's scientific arm say the rules only standardize what scientists must do to ensure the quality of their work and give a heads-up to the agency's public relations staff.
"This is not about stifling or suppressing our science, or politicizing our science in any way," Barbara Wainman, the agency's director of communications, said Wednesday. "I don't have approval authority. What it was designed to do is to improve our product flow."
Some agency scientists, who until now have felt free from any political interference, worry that the objectivity of their work could be compromised.
"I feel as though we've got someone looking over our shoulder at every damn thing we do. And to me that's a very scary thing. I worry that it borders on censorship," said Jim Estes, an internationally recognized marine biologist in the USGS field station at Santa Cruz, Calif.
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complete article
here