NP RE: Pynchon wrote in his defense...we think they are some kind of friends

[Joseph Tracy]

Yes those opinions are all mine. Didn't mean to imply anything else.  
Brand has been saying some pretty outrageous things both about the  
costs and the safety of nuclear power with virtually no evidence  
either to disprove the history of radioactive contamination, or to  
account for the history of high costs, cost overruns and the future  
costs of decommissioning plants and cleaning up the waste.   I live  
in Vermont and we know the people here that run nuclear power plants  
lie on a regular basis. I admit that I am of a mind that pimping  
could be too mild a word for the promotion of nuclear power, but my  
real intent is to point out that Mr Brand's integrity is compromised  
by the lack of disclosure of serious financial interests in the  
debate and people should take that into account. His quarterly  
introduced me to some great ideas and thinkers, but his role has  
always been the packager, promoter, salesman.  I found his comments  
on the radio to be flat-out deceptive.


On Mar 7, 2010, at 5:06 PM, Monte Davis wrote:

> Joseph Tracy unloaded on Stewart Brand (and, glancingly, Ian  
> McEwan), ending
> with:
>
>> The information about these ties [clients of GBN Consulting, where
>> Brand is a partner] are from FAIR, Fairness and Accuracy In  
>> Reporting.
>
> Quite so, and I agree that those reporting Brand's views should  
> note the
> affiliation.
>
> The rest, though -- "pimping"... "bullshit about being 'convinced'"...
> "salesman and an ad man," etc., is your own.
>
> As McEwan says in another connection, "I suppose it's the sort of  
> thing I
> should re-examine at some stage, as these things do become a habit."