Delaware's FOIbles

WUWT has the most extraordinary tale from guest blogger Jan Blits, who reports that the University of Delaware seems to have adopted an FOI policy that involves sceptics handing over anything asked for by anyone, whether falling under the letter of the law or not, while everyone else can withhold what they like. Worse than that, the university seems to have decided that sceptics should also hand over things that have not been asked for at all, presumably just in case environmentalists might find something useful in it.

It's that blatant.

Perhaps readers can suggest what should be done with a public university as thoroughly subverted as this one seems to be?

Comments

[Athelstan.]

Land of the free?

Maybe, Delaware don't quite comprehend the concept of 'university'?

Mind you, as Mr. M. Ridley pointed out in the Times the other day - juggling semantics, the opposite of [mental] diversity is UNIVERSITY.

[nzrobin]

I have recollection of a very similar thing happening with another US university. The two scientists were Mann and Michaels.

[oebele bruinsma]

As the top end of research organisations are very often part of the political machine, this political machine does not want surprises or the truth for that matter. It wants support for its policies.

[TinyCO2]

In transmitting all that stuff to Geenpeace it sounds like White broke basic copyright rules since some of it soulds like writing that wasn't even Uni property. Even stuff on the internet isn't free to transmit to others. In the UK, he'd have also broken data protection rules especially sending Legates CV. I wonder how the students partiularly the engineering students feel about White rolling over for Greenpeace? Greenpeace offer them zero future. Global warming or no energy. Not much point studying engineering for a 'sustanable' future.

[TinyCO2]

nzrobin, what was the similarity with Mann other than requests were made?

[geronimo]

Tiny: "In transmitting all that stuff to Geenpeace..."

Nothing was given to Greenpeace, which I suppose indicates that sceptical scientists are more professional in their private correspondence than the "plotters" that infest alarmist climate science. Either that, or the 3rd year student (yes, a tenured professor was humiliated by having all his email read by a 3rd year student - they are really horrible people these alarmist fanatics), took it upon himself to not find anything that would lead to Greenpeace getting anything interesting.

[geronimo]

"nzrobin, what was the similarity with Mann other than requests were made?"

Greenpeace asked to have Pat Michaels emails, the UVa were willing to provide them for a fee of $3000. Greenpeace didn't want to pay for them so they never got them. I, for the life of me, can't understand why the CEI didn't raise this issue with the Supreme Court.

[TinyCO2]

I'll go back and read it but despite the law student not finding much relevant, I got the impression White put a load of stuff together and sent it anyway. "White said that he would “turn them over [to Greenpeace] only because it seems potentially provocative to me NOT to surrender documents that are already in the public domain” (his caps)"

[davidchappell]

I wonder if White or any of his family are members of Greenpeace? Stranger things have happened.

[John Shade]

There just seems to be one man at the heart of this scandalous behaviour at U. of D., but part of the scandal is the apparent failure of his colleagues and supervisors in the administration their to hold him to account.

My guess is that the man is a deep believer in that most ancient of faiths, Nature Worship. For the faithful, nothing else matters. The vanguards, the missionaries of the environment movement such as Greenpeace, are, I suppose, seen in hallowed, respectful light as scarce able to do wrong. This crude model does explain the reported behaviour at Delaware, but it does not excuse it.

I have a more jaundiced view of this faith and its vanguards. I think they are destructive and reactionary, and are scarce able to do right. One of the founders of Greenpeace, Patrick Moore now sees the monster he helped create in a similar light. Perhaps when more of the general public thinks 'Frankensteins' when the word Greenpeace is mentioned, rather than 'Brave Saints', we shall really see a turn of the political tide. Here are some recent comments from Moore:

Much has gone wrong over the years. In summary: when Greenpeace started, it was not just about the environment, but also about the people. ‘Green’ stood for the environment and ‘Peace’ for ending the threat of global nuclear war and the destruction of human civilisation. Over the years, Greenpeace drifted to where the organisation now characterises people as the enemies of the earth.

So, eventually, any claim to science and logic was abandoned in favour of zero-tolerance campaigns. Genetic engineering and nuclear power became the prime topics for unilateral, uncompromising demonisation, including the demand for total bans.

Greenpeace rejected the concept from the beginning. They did not want ‘sustainable’ development, because they opposed development altogether.

When I realised that the humanitarian philosophy had disappeared from Greenpeace, I understood that I had to leave.

Because the environmental movement has basically become a religion, or rather a kind of hybrid between religion and political ideology. When people internalise new values, a desire to be environmentally conscious, to save the world, etc, and Greenpeace makes claims that fit this desire, then the organisation indeed must enjoy great popularity. It apparently does not matter that any reference to reality is given up. Take the example of mining. Greenpeace is against mining, not only certain mining, but any. If one asks a green politician to name a mine that is environmentally okay, you get no answer. That would be against the rule: no mining. But how do you get cellphones and bicycles and rapid transit, buildings and windmills? It is an absolute dream world. They call it idealism, but in reality it is a fairytale world.
An important aspect of this religion plays on fear and guilt. This works best when it comes to global warming. First, the problem needs to be a global one – they threaten you with the end of the world. Second, everyone is consuming energy and therefore must feel guilty. Therefore, the so-called climate-change movement is extremely successful because it means that people are scared and feel bad and guilty and believe they should give money – to the Church of Greenpeace.

It is unfortunately almost always used in the wrong way. The key here is to weigh the risks of inaction against the risks of action. Golden rice, a strain of rice genetically modified to produce vitamin A, is the classic example. What is the risk of the cultivation of golden rice, which could make a huge contribution to the terrible consequences of vitamin-A deficiency? I do not know of any.... If Greenpeace concentrated on collecting money from wealthy Europeans in order to protect them from evil genetic engineering, one could live with it. Unfortunately, Greenpeace is not content to only scare the people of Western countries. They have massively infiltrated Africa and Asia with the help of their outposts and are financing people who support the anti-GMO agenda. The best example is the campaign against golden rice in the Philippines. Greenpeace operates on the political and legal level. They work to influence the environment minister who wants to present himself as an environmentalist.

All the quotes are taken from: http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/environmentalism-has-become-a-religion#.U3sP_fldUVE

I conclude that 'UD Vice President and General Counsel. Lawrence White' wants to 'present himself as an environmentalist.' Given the harm that modern 'environmentalism' is bringing about, great care is required to avoid moral turpitude in so doing. I think he has not managed that.

[Cheshirered]

Such bias is particularly strange as Delaware is seen as one of the most secretive US states regarding corporate confidentiality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware#Incorporation_in_Delaware

More than 50% of all U.S. publicly traded companies and 63% of the Fortune 500 are incorporated in Delaware.[46] The state's attractiveness as a corporate haven is largely because of its business-friendly corporation law. Franchise taxes on Delaware corporations supply about one-fifth of its state revenue.[47] Although "USA (Delaware)" ranked as the world's most opaque jurisdiction on the Tax Justice Network's 2009 Financial Secrecy Index,[48] the same group's 2011 Index ranks the USA fifth and does not specify Delaware.[49]

[Roy]

This reminds me of the film "Minority Report." Apparently climate models are now so good that not only can they predict any trends in weather that we have already had, but can also predict that sceptics are likely to commit crimes against Gaia, such as travelling by plane even when they are not going to an exotic location to talk about saving the planet.

[geronimo]

TinyCO2. Read about it on Jo Nova's site. It's actually an old story it took place in 2009.

[ptw]

It is obvious these posh left waterholes need to be closed down.
There are very likely honest well meaning and hard working people amongst the scumbags, but this is the case with all broke corporations. they will be better off with whatever is provided and rises out of the ashes of these dysfunctional institutes.

The new universities should have a few caveats built into them from day1: zero admin, floating temp assignmemts for the mgmt hired via unbiased recruitment agencies.

Also, "teaching" = public talks, should be PUBLIC. The general public should have access where the brainwashers proliferate. they are very brave towards 18y olds, but I could give some "feedback" to a scum leftbag with some humanities degree spreading froth from a culprit. Feedback she would remember for the rest of her life.

[ptw]

it is obvious we ALL need to educate ourselves through our entire lives.
Life's about getting educated and educate !

In this context it should be noted that the present day setup where 18y olds are sequestred for brainwashing by leftist scum for 5 consecutive years is a bit out of date.

What worked 250y ago does not work today.

As much as I want to be brain surgeoned by the best brain surgeon, it does not make sense to take an 18y old , "educate" him for 10years and then call her a brain surgeon. Things do not work like that.

the left scum brainwashes us, with the help of taxoverpaid meejah left scum, that this is the only way, but it is a DYSFUNCTIONAL way. Things do not work like that.

the best brain surgeon of the future, is an 18y old, that today joins a hospital cleaning floors crew.

[cedarhill]

Voting is about the only permanent way. Replace the Governor, the State legislatures and impose sanctions on the University. Zero fund the University via budgetary controls. The Governor can appoint only 8 of the 26 Boad members but that's a start. All while conducting a political campaign against them. I.E., do to them what they do to you else nothing will change during your lifetime and you'll be left with the Goebbels Effect.

[John R T]

Most states offer classes, gratis, to residents over 60/65, if seats are available.
Sign up, sit down, speak up.

[ptw]

the point is to make the Left Scum their brainwashing a bit more exposed.
All talk over a culprit should be OPEN ACCESS, video installed, planned over an internet page.

I do not see the point of year long / semester long training programs in fact.
Everybody has her own life planning, some people cannot fit theirs into these "academic" bureau-rats organised froth.

An access to, say a pyrogenics chemistry lab, should be dependent on a competency validation: That means you have to pass a chemistry theory (multiple choice, not multiculti choice ) exam, a h&s exam, and a preparatory requirements exam for this specific entry.

Whether you live next doors or in ghana, are 90y of age, or evil white wing hetero with an agenda to bash the leftist assistant does NOT matter.

We need to take the leftist scum sting OUT of taxoverpaid for education

[nzrobin]

Apologies Tiny for not replying to your question sooner. Thanks Geronimo for your help in explaining. The observation was as Geronimo described. The university on one hand was very happy to hand over sceptic Michael's data, where on the other hand they put up immense barriers to protect believer Mann's data.