Monckton Alerts World to NASA Conspiracy, Cures Common Cold

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Lord High Climate Denier Christopher Monckton, fresh from his latest appearance on the radio show of 9/11 Truther Alex Jones (during which he compared President Obama to Adolf Hitler), told an Australian audience yesterday that NASA deliberately planned the crash of a satellite during launch last year, because it would have revealed that global warming is a hoax. That’s how evil NASA is.

A NASA satellite that would have measured atmospheric carbon dioxide with unprecedented accuracy fell into the Indian Ocean in February last year.

NASA said the crash was ”extremely disappointing”. Viscount Christopher Monckton of Brenchley, dubbed the ”high priest of climate sceptics”, doubts the space agency meant it.

”Not greatly to my surprise - indeed I predicted it - the satellite crashed on take-off because the last thing they want is real world hard data,” he told a climate sceptics’ lunch in South Yarra yesterday.

NASA understood that getting the satellite into orbit would have demonstrated ”the whole darn thing” - climate-change science - ”is nonsense”.

When he isn’t saving the world from evil tricksy scientismists and their nefarious hoaxes, Monckton retires to his laboratory and produces cures for diseases such as AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and the common cold.

Yep, that’s what he says. Would Monckton lie?

His interests stretch beyond climate change. He makes the extraordinary claim, one that he admits sounds ”bonkers”, that he has also manufactured a cure to a long-term illness that attacked his endocrine system and patented the cure in conjunction with a British surgeon.

Though stressing it was in its early stages, he said the drug had had positive results treating HIV and multiple sclerosis. ”It also has been used to cure cases of colds, flu,” he said.

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179 comments
1 Obdicut  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:50:17am
Though stressing it was in its early stages, he said the drug had had positive results treating HIV and multiple sclerosis. ”It also has been used to cure cases of colds, flu,” he said.

What an asshole. Raising false hope is a very shitty thing to do. Wasn't it enough for him to crap all over climate science?

2 Buck  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:50:28am

OK, I don't believe in AGW,

But I don't want to be linked with this kook...

3 Killgore Trout  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:51:25am

He's also a regular on the Glenn Beck show.

4 Jack Burton  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:52:20am

Well he went on the right show to say this crap. This is mellow for Alex Jones.

5 wrenchwench  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:52:37am

Scientismists have been withholding the cure for the common cold for decades.

After all,

Frank says:

Sometimes you got to get sick before you can feel better.

/that's the Frank I was dealt...

6 Obdicut  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:52:54am

re: #2 Buck

Well, he's about as credible a figure as the AGW-denying group has, unfortunately for them.

7 Feline Fearless Leader  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:52:58am

Depending on how you define "cure" you could get similar results using potassium cyanide.

///

8 Jack Burton  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:53:51am

re: #4 ArchangelMichael

Oh it was after the AJ Show... nvm. He should have whipped out this whopper on Inforwars or PrisonPlanet though.

9 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:56:46am

re: #8 ArchangelMichael

Oh it was after the AJ Show... nvm. He should have whipped out this whopper on Inforwars or PrisonPlanet though.

Following the spy for various reasons, I got this comment confused with the one about the guy who divorced his wife for lack of sexual satisfaction.

Not a good mental image; not one I wanted.

10 Dark_Falcon  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:58:01am

re: #1 Obdicut

What an asshole. Raising false hope is a very shitty thing to do. Wasn't it enough for him to crap all over climate science?

No, he's going for a full-on Wingnut Trifecta. First there's the denial of science, then the Godwin's Law violation, then the sheet of flaming woo from his phony drug idea. Hopefully, once he completes the trifecta the Wingularity will swallow him up, never to be heard from again.

11 researchok  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:58:18am

Monckton has found a gig that pays- appealing to the lowest common denominator. He's no different than Jones, Beck, Olbermann, Matthews et al.

Mark Twain once noted that if you have an English accent people will assume you are smart, even if you are an idiot.

He was right.

12 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 11:59:56am

re: #11 researchok


Mark Twain once noted that if you have an English accent people will assume you are smart, even if you are an idiot.

He was right.

Reminds me of Rita (aka Mr. F) on Arrested Development.

13 Virginia Plain  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:00:03pm

LOL Charles, love the picture of googly eyes Monckton you got there.

14 Ericus58  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:00:10pm

That is ONE FREAKY PHOTO of him you posted, Charles....

fitting.

15 silentbob27  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:00:30pm

The cure is made from distilled rainbow blood, unicorn tears, and chupacapra farts. It also cures the ghey.

He went on to warn that there were powerful men, controlled by the pharmaceutical companies and Bilderberger group, that would do anything to stop it from being released to the public. He would do his best to make sure that didnt happen though.

16 Virginia Plain  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:01:02pm
17 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:01:20pm

Ahh Lord Monkton.. The renowned scientist (his career was in tabloid journalism), brave Galileo like soul (at least that is his pimping), fierce speaker of truth to power (as in he speaks for the powerful and moneyed), aristocratic viscount (but he is not elitist like those elitist scientists who are not lords - wait he was denied a peerage, oh never mind, he is definitely NOT elitist like those NASA guys from places like MIT and Princeton)....

If this fellow were not actually taken seriously by the wingnut base, he would be comical. As it is, it is a tragic combination of American's love of inbred Brit aristocrats and wingnut fervor said with a British sneer...

Ohhh he sounds so upper class... He can tell us why AGW is a fraud in sneering tones over tea... we can be so classy (but that is NOT elitist damn it!)

I truly detest this fraudulent creep. He is the one I actually can not stand the most of the wingnut base. I suppose the reason is that unlike INhofe, he tries to present himself as a scientist. Inhofe is a hick and he is proud of it. the fact that the good people of Oklahoma like to elect a Palin grade intellect is no shocker. However, Monkton claims to know physics. I really can't forgive him for that.

18 Virginia Plain  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:01:44pm

re: #15 silentbob27

The cure is made from distilled rainbow blood, unicorn tears, and chupacapra farts.

Does it also have Vitamin D? That seems to be the new miracle cure for everything these days.

19 silentbob27  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:04:08pm

re: #18 Virginia Plain

Does it also have Vitamin D? That seems to be the new miracle cure for everything these days.

I cannot give away the whole recipe, for fear of making me a target also. I just gave some of the more common ingredients.

20 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:04:19pm

re: #13 Virginia Plain

Image: criswell.gif

21 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:04:37pm

Monckton reminds me of the Amazing Criswell for some reason.

22 sergeant major  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:04:59pm

After reading this story I hope no one would take this guy seriously. I thought it was some skit from SNL But after all I don't believe everything I read.

23 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:05:07pm

re: #21 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Monckton reminds me of the Amazing Criswell for some reason.

GMTA

24 Varek Raith  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:05:38pm
A NASA satellite that would have measured atmospheric carbon dioxide with unprecedented accuracy fell into the Indian Ocean in February last year.

NASA said the crash was ”extremely disappointing”. Viscount Christopher Monckton of Brenchley, dubbed the ”high priest of climate sceptics”, doubts the space agency meant it.

”Not greatly to my surprise - indeed I predicted it - the satellite crashed on take-off because the last thing they want is real world hard data,” he told a climate sceptics’ lunch in South Yarra yesterday.

NASA understood that getting the satellite into orbit would have demonstrated ”the whole darn thing” - climate-change science - ”is nonsense”

So...if NASA knew this, why launch it in the first place...Hell, why even build the damn sat???
LOL Monckton, you fool.
XD

25 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:06:16pm

Wouldn't it have been easier for NASA just to fake the data?
///

As for Monkeyton's cold cure, it is yet another example of the link between commercially profitable "alternate" health products (ie quackery) and other forms of antiscience.

26 Dark_Falcon  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:06:34pm

re: #17 LudwigVanQuixote

Ahh Lord Monkton.. The renowned scientist (his career was in tabloid journalism), brave Galileo like soul (at least that is his pimping), fierce speaker of truth to power (as in he speaks for the powerful and moneyed), aristocratic viscount (but he is not elitist like those elitist scientists who are not lords - wait he was denied a peerage, oh never mind, he is definitely NOT elitist like those NASA guys from places like MIT and Princeton)...

If this fellow were not actually taken seriously by the wingnut base, he would be comical. As it is, it is a tragic combination of American's love of inbred Brit aristocrats and wingnut fervor said with a British sneer...

Ohhh he sounds so upper class... He can tell us why AGW is a fraud in sneering tones over tea... we can be so classy (but that is NOT elitist damn it!)

I truly detest this fraudulent creep. He is the one I actually can not stand the most of the wingnut base. I suppose the reason is that unlike INhofe, he tries to present himself as a scientist. Inhofe is a hick and he is proud of it. the fact that the good people of Oklahoma like to elect a Palin grade intellect is no shocker. However, Monkton claims to know physics. I really can't forgive him for that.

That's what I've been waiting to see: Ludwig beats Monckton's limey ass like a rented mule! And the Lord High Denier deserves every bit of it.

27 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:07:44pm

re: #14 Ericus58

That is ONE FREAKY PHOTO of him you posted, Charles...

fitting.

"I'M SPEAKING DIRECTLY INTO YOUR BRAIN"

28 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:09:06pm

re: #24 Varek Raith

So...if NASA knew this, why launch it in the first place...Hell, why even build the damn sat???
LOL Monckton, you fool.
XD

I've seen Avatar. If they could make the special affects in Avatar, they could fake a satellite launch. So where did the money really go?

///

29 keloyd  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:10:12pm

The problem is that we are beset on all sides by bufoons who will play the Nazi card frequently. Remember this? "Today, the evidence of an ecological Kristallnacht is as clear as the sound of glass shattering in Berlin..." Al Gore is no more honest or competent than this Monckton clown, but the Man gave him a Nobel prize. Earth in The Balance was full of exaggeration and distasteful hyperbole. I have read swathes of it but never bought a copy. I even have a Satanic Verses, The Bell Curve, and the first English edition of Mein Kampf but not his self serving pulp. I even agree with Gore on certain environmental issues, but just like Pat Robertson on religion, Gore's dishonesty has created more AGW than Rush Limbaugh, imho.

30 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:10:20pm

re: #28 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

I've seen Avatar. If they could make the special affects in Avatar, they could fake a satellite launch. So where did the money really go?

///

If Hollywood did the launches, they would be dramatic. I've watched the launches; there's no love story, no last-minute desparate saves, nothing.

Hollywood was nowhere near the launches.

31 filetandrelease  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:10:28pm

re: #17 LudwigVanQuixote

Oddly, I agree with you on Monkton. And I even like this line,

He can tell us why AGW is a fraud in sneering tones over tea...

You do have a sense of humor after all.

32 Decatur Deb  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:10:30pm

re: #2 Buck

For your taste in kooks, not scientists.

33 Sol Berdinowitz  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:10:31pm

re: #28 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

I've seen Avatar. If they could make the special affects in Avatar, they could fake a satellite launch. So where did the money really go?

///

Did they really make Avatar or was it just all an enormous fake to lure us into the cinemas and then use mind control to make us think we had just seen a blockbuster?

34 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:10:54pm

I wrote this last night in a convo with Ice, but I really think it fits here.

She commented on the way the wingnut side flips from claiming there is no problem, to assuming that if there is one science will just magically make a miracle happen before it is too late.

I replied (edited for typos and such)

Well that is the joy of being in science... You are an elitist egghead to be disrespected if the science you bring is inconvenient or unpopular, but the great scientist when you say something they want to hear or are needed - even if you are not a scientist at all!

It is the intellectual parallel on the low brow right to what the military is to the low brow left. The military is that horrible dog that you kick around in times of peace but are really happy for when needed.

God forbid that the scientist is smarter than you.. that rejects your comfortable sense of false superiority earned for free. But everyone begs the doctor and medical science at the end for a miracle. And everyone begs the scientist for one when they need one as well.

With AGW, we see the science world saying that if we blow it, we really have blown it, and there will be nothing we can do. The public can not accept that... American ingenuity, which is different from science of course, will always win out.

"Those eggheads will figure it out for us... That is why we hire them."

Damn I am reminded of Mozart quipping about eating with the servants below the butler, but above the salt.

Scientists take this lying down as well. We are taught not to be arrogant or proud. It is shameful to be too smart. We should be good little dogs in our proper places and serve the real masters of the universe who got MBAs and other such degrees. I for one am totally sick of it.

We do something that most of the world can not do because of our talents. I do not begrudge the Olympic swimmer for being able to swim past me like a torpedo. No one should begrudge the scientist for actually being smarter and better educated - as well as actually trained to figure new things out.

I am not saying scientists are saints, but the wingnut world vacillates between discounting science and then expecting us to do miracles. It is always on demand like a good puppy. Well this dog has told you the score.

35 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:11:15pm

re: #26 Dark_Falcon

That's what I've been waiting to see: Ludwig beats Monckton's limey ass like a rented mule! And the Lord High Denier deserves every bit of it.

Ohh I gots lots more where that came from...

36 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:11:31pm

re: #28 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

I've seen Avatar. If they could make the special affects in Avatar, they could fake a satellite launch. So where did the money really go?

///

Most of it was spent designing the perfect blue alien boobies.

[Link: www.imdb.com...]

37 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:12:46pm

re: #30 EmmmieG

If Hollywood did the launches, they would be dramatic. I've watched the launches; there's no love story, no last-minute desparate saves, nothing.

Hollywood was nowhere near the launches.

No, they got producers from NPR and PBS to run things.

38 Buck  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:13:04pm

re: #6 Obdicut

Well, he's about as credible a figure as the AGW-denying group has, unfortunately for them.

I prefer Dr. Timothy F. Ball

39 Vicious Babushka  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:13:07pm

re: #36 Mad Al-Jaffee

Most of it was spent designing the perfect blue alien boobies.

[Link: www.imdb.com...]

Huh....what? Na'vi women have no boobs. That hot Marine helicopter chick was the only girl in the movie with boobs.

40 filetandrelease  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:13:38pm

re: #30 EmmmieG

If Hollywood did the launches, they would be dramatic. I've watched the launches; there's no love story, no last-minute desparate saves, nothing.

Hollywood was nowhere near the launches.

They can be quite spectacular, especially at night. This is one area Hollywood may not be able to improve upon.

41 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:14:08pm

re: #39 Alouette

Huh...what? Na'vi women have no boobs. That hot Marine helicopter chick was the only girl in the movie with boobs.

Michelle Rodriguez.

wawaweewa.

42 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:14:31pm

Am I the only one who gets the feeling that he's just this side of accusing NASA of making the launch fail?

43 lawhawk  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:15:02pm

re: Climategate emails: Penn State is advancing an investigation into whether Michael Mann violated certain academic standards:

The recommended investigation will focus on determining if Mann "engaged in, directly or indirectly, any actions that seriously deviated from accepted practices within the academic community for proposing, conducting or reporting research or other scholarly activities."

The profession has to do a better job of policing itself and not opening itself up to claims of coverups and other malfeasance, which allow peoples' attention to move away from the fact that emissions are increasing and that they can have negative consequences.

Then again, the media and those quoted in stories can't jump on the global warming bandwagon at every turn either - such as claiming that because there's insufficient snow in Vancouver it's a sign of global warming. That's not any different than a report noting that parts of the NE US have seen several times their average snowfall thus far this season and saying that it's just weather. Would help to be consistent.

44 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:15:07pm

re: #40 filetandrelease

They can be quite spectacular, especially at night. This is one area Hollywood may not be able to improve upon.

Yes, but as was already discussed, Hollywood does not do anything without boobies getting involved. Hollywood could not make a documentary on squid without having a marine biologist with her wetsuit zipped halfway down.

45 Varek Raith  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:15:21pm

re: #42 MandyManners

Am I the only one who gets the feeling that he's just this side of accusing NASA of making the launch fail?

That's exactly what he's saying.

46 Decatur Deb  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:15:27pm

re: #24 Varek Raith

So...if NASA knew this, why launch it in the first place...Hell, why even build the damn sat???
LOL Monckton, you fool.
XD

Shhhh. They splashed the remains of the saucer from Groom Lake.

47 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:15:39pm

re: #42 MandyManners

Am I the only one who gets the feeling that he's just this side of accusing NASA of making the launch fail?

I think its implied.

48 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:16:00pm

re: #39 Alouette

Huh...what? Na'vi women have no boobs. That hot Marine helicopter chick was the only girl in the movie with boobs.

Yeah but I am thinking about the possibilities of a hyper flexible cat monkey girl... It isn't all about the boobs ;) Now only if she weren't ten feet tall.

49 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:17:01pm

re: #45 Varek Raith

That's exactly what he's saying.

re: #47 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

I think its implied.

Oh, good. I'm not crazy after all.

50 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:17:04pm

re: #33 ralphieboy

Did they really make Avatar or was it just all an enormous fake to lure us into the cinemas and then use mind control to make us think we had just seen a blockbuster?

You must not have worn the proper 3-D glasses. It was supposed to brainwash you into selling out your country to gay, communist zombies.

51 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:17:23pm

re: #48 LudwigVanQuixote

Yeah but I am thinking about the possibilities of a hyper flexible cat monkey girl... It isn't all about the boobs ;) Now only if she weren't ten feet tall.

I dont know. A giant blue Sigourney Weaver with a tail has certain possibilities.

52 Varek Raith  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:17:49pm

re: #49 MandyManners

Oh, good. I'm not crazy after all.

You most certainly are not. Monckton, however, most certainly is crazy.
;)

53 Sol Berdinowitz  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:18:21pm

re: #50 Slumbering Behemoth

You must not have worn the proper 3-D glasses. It was supposed to brainwash you into selling out your country to gay, communist zombies.


I thought they already won the elections in 2008...


/

54 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:18:31pm

re: #51 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

I dont know. A giant blue Sigourney Weaver with a tail has certain possibilities.

So does a regular, Ghostbusters era Sigourney Weaver.

55 PhillyPretzel  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:18:39pm

re: #49 MandyManners

No Mandy. You are not crazy. He appears to be heavily touched.

56 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:19:07pm

re: #54 Mad Al-Jaffee

So does a regular, Ghostbusters era Sigourney Weaver.

True dat.

57 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:21:07pm

Wait...does thinking blue alien Sigourney Weaver looked good mean I'm a furry now? Shit, I hope not.

58 filetandrelease  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:21:13pm

My favorite Weaver line

"get away from her you bitch!" (close i hope)

59 Varek Raith  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:23:08pm

re: #57 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Wait...does thinking blue alien Sigourney Weaver looked good mean I'm a furry now? Shit, I hope not.

No. Not a furry.
;)

60 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:24:18pm

re: #58 filetandrelease

My favorite Weaver line

"get away from her you bitch!" (close i hope)

"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

61 filetandrelease  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:25:02pm

re: #60 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

LOL, great flick.

62 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:25:17pm

Wingnut: "They can put a man on the Moon but they can't cure the common cold!"

Monckton obviously has set out to change this. I wonder if he is also a Moon landing denialist? Off to google to find out.

63 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:25:52pm

re: #34 LudwigVanQuixote

We do something that most of the world can not do because of our talents. I do not begrudge the Olympic swimmer for being able to swim past me like a torpedo. No one should begrudge the scientist for actually being smarter and better educated - as well as actually trained to figure new things out.

That's the paragraph that can be unhelpful. Many of us who aren't scientists didn't lack the ability to become so. We simply chose to pursue a different degree.

64 Jack Burton  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:26:03pm

re: #62 Shiplord Kirel

Wingnut: "They can put a man on the Moon but they can't cure the common cold!"

Monckton obviously has set out to change this. I wonder if he is also a Moon landing denialist? Off to google to find out.

I hope Buzz Aldrin punches him if he is.

65 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:26:06pm

re: #52 Varek Raith

You most certainly are not. Monckton, however, most certainly is crazy.
;)

re: #55 PhillyPretzel

No Mandy. You are not crazy. He appears to be heavily touched.

I wonder if he thinks we really didn't go to the Moon.

66 Varek Raith  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:26:41pm

re: #62 Shiplord Kirel

Wingnut: "They can put a man on the Moon but they can't cure the common cold!"

Monckton obviously has set out to change this. I wonder if he is also a Moon landing denialist? Off to google to find out.

67 Feline Fearless Leader  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:26:50pm

re: #33 ralphieboy

Actually, Avatar *is* real and the Hollywood movie is a propaganda piece cover-up masquerading as fiction to gauge our reaction before the Obama Administration deigns to publicly announce that we've got an interplanetary space program going back to the Eisenhower Administration. The ships are based off tech recovered at Roswell, the Russians are complicit in a massive false flag operation (along with the Chinese and Vietnamese) to act as a massive decoy. All of our MIA troops from the last four wars are actually serving as the army of the Terran Army as it conquers the stars for the Human Race uber alles...

/ :-D /

68 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:26:59pm

re: #62 Shiplord Kirel

Wingnut: "They can put a man on the Moon but they can't cure the common cold!"

Monckton obviously has set out to change this. I wonder if he is also a Moon landing denialist? Off to google to find out.

GMTA.

69 Dark_Falcon  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:27:12pm

re: #34 LudwigVanQuixote

I wrote this last night in a convo with Ice, but I really think it fits here.

She commented on the way the wingnut side flips from claiming there is no problem, to assuming that if there is one science will just magically make a miracle happen before it is too late.

I replied (edited for typos and such)

Well that is the joy of being in science... You are an elitist egghead to be disrespected if the science you bring is inconvenient or unpopular, but the great scientist when you say something they want to hear or are needed - even if you are not a scientist at all!

It is the intellectual parallel on the low brow right to what the military is to the low brow left. The military is that horrible dog that you kick around in times of peace but are really happy for when needed.

God forbid that the scientist is smarter than you.. that rejects your comfortable sense of false superiority earned for free. But everyone begs the doctor and medical science at the end for a miracle. And everyone begs the scientist for one when they need one as well.

With AGW, we see the science world saying that if we blow it, we really have blown it, and there will be nothing we can do. The public can not accept that... American ingenuity, which is different from science of course, will always win out.

"Those eggheads will figure it out for us... That is why we hire them."

Damn I am reminded of Mozart quipping about eating with the servants below the butler, but above the salt.

Scientists take this lying down as well. We are taught not to be arrogant or proud. It is shameful to be too smart. We should be good little dogs in our proper places and serve the real masters of the universe who got MBAs and other such degrees. I for one am totally sick of it.

We do something that most of the world can not do because of our talents. I do not begrudge the Olympic swimmer for being able to swim past me like a torpedo. No one should begrudge the scientist for actually being smarter and better educated - as well as actually trained to figure new things out.

I am not saying scientists are saints, but the wingnut world vacillates between discounting science and then expecting us to do miracles. It is always on demand like a good puppy. Well this dog has told you the score.

Nothing new about that phenomenon:

Then it's "Tommy this" and "Tommy that",
And "Chuck 'im out, the brute!"
But it's "Savior of 'is Country" when the guns begin to shoot!

And its "Tommy this", and "Tommy that",
And everything you please.
But Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool.
You bet that Tommy sees!

- Rudyard Kipling

70 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:27:34pm

re: #62 Shiplord Kirel

Wingnut: "They can put a man on the Moon but they can't cure the common cold!"

Monckton obviously has set out to change this. I wonder if he is also a Moon landing denialist? Off to google to find out.

This sentiment is not restricted to Wingnuts.

71 Political Atheist  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:27:41pm

re: #48 LudwigVanQuixote

You might get a better idea about that after all. The eventual DVD release is rumored to have the sex scene intact. James Cameron already said that would not be real soon anyway. But FYI...

72 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:28:01pm

re: #43 lawhawk

re: Climategate emails: Penn State is advancing an investigation into whether Michael Mann violated certain academic standards:

The profession has to do a better job of policing itself and not opening itself up to claims of coverups and other malfeasance, which allow peoples' attention to move away from the fact that emissions are increasing and that they can have negative consequences.

Then again, the media and those quoted in stories can't jump on the global warming bandwagon at every turn either - such as claiming that because there's insufficient snow in Vancouver it's a sign of global warming. That's not any different than a report noting that parts of the NE US have seen several times their average snowfall thus far this season and saying that it's just weather. Would help to be consistent.

Umm you are aware that Mann was already attacked by no less than the GOP congress under Bush and that they ordered the NAtional Academy to look into his work and that the National Academy vindicated him. You are alos aware that as of the time of the report on Mann, six other groups had produced similar graphs from other proxy data sets and they all tell the same story?

Here is his revised paper following the NAS recommendations

[Link: www.pnas.org...]

The full report that vindicates Mann is also available online and I have linked it here before but I am having difficulty finding it. Though I will note in passing that it was also referred to in a video that Charles posted.

What is very, very disappointing is that the press keeps beating this dead horse and good folks like you keep falling for it. This is not just a witch hunt but a double jeopardy witch hunt conducted for pure politicking.

73 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:28:24pm

re: #60 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

I don't remember that line from Avatar. :)

74 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:28:42pm

re: #63 Aceofwhat?

That's the paragraph that can be unhelpful. Many of us who aren't scientists didn't lack the ability to become so. We simply chose to pursue a different degree.

That's fine. There aren't a lot of you either.

75 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:29:27pm

re: #57 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Wait...does thinking blue alien Sigourney Weaver looked good mean I'm a furry now? Shit, I hope not.

I'm tempted to say no, but that dog collar you're wearing leaves me a bit skeptical.

76 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:29:43pm

re: #67 oaktree

I wanna go too

77 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:29:55pm

re: #74 LudwigVanQuixote

That's fine. There aren't a lot of you either.

fair enough!

78 Charles Johnson  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:31:01pm

re: #43 lawhawk

re: Climategate emails: Penn State is advancing an investigation into whether Michael Mann violated certain academic standards:

The profession has to do a better job of policing itself and not opening itself up to claims of coverups and other malfeasance, which allow peoples' attention to move away from the fact that emissions are increasing and that they can have negative consequences.

Then again, the media and those quoted in stories can't jump on the global warming bandwagon at every turn either - such as claiming that because there's insufficient snow in Vancouver it's a sign of global warming. That's not any different than a report noting that parts of the NE US have seen several times their average snowfall thus far this season and saying that it's just weather. Would help to be consistent.

Uh, you missed something here. The initial investigation actually cleared Michael Mann of any misconduct.

US 'climategate' scientist all but cleared of misconduct - environment - 03 February 2010 - New Scientist

The internal enquiry has found that Mann did not "participate in, directly or indirectly, any actions with an intent to suppress or to falsify data". For the full report, click here (pdf).

Nor did he "delete, conceal or otherwise destroy emails, information and/or data" relating to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 2007 report. One email that has received much media attention was sent to Mann by Phil Jones, then director of the UEA's Climatic Research Centre, on 29 May 2008. It asked Mann to delete some emails regarding the 2007 IPCC report.

In the months since the email leak, Mann has repeatedly said that he did not heed to Jones' request. Penn State's enquiry confirmed this.

The report is not clear about whether Mann's behaviour has harmed the public trust in science. It cites Penn State's official ethical standards, which says faculty have an obligation to boost maintain high ethical standards in order to foster public trust in science. It then goes on to discuss the fall-out from the email leak which, it says, may have polarised the public into two camps: one which believes the leak undermines climate science and another which does not.

"After careful consideration of all the evidence and relevant materials, the inquiry committee could not make a definitive finding whether there exists any evidence to substantiate that Dr. Mann did engage in, or participate in, directly or indirectly, any actions that deviated from accepted practices within the academic community," reads the report. This final point will now be at the centre of a further investigation.

"This is very much the vindication I expected since I am confident I have done nothing wrong," Mann told New Scientist. "I fully support the additional inquiry which may be the best way to remove any lingering doubts."

79 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:31:18pm

re: #62 Shiplord Kirel

Wingnut: "They can put a man on the Moon but they can't cure the common cold!"

Monckton obviously has set out to change this. I wonder if he is also a Moon landing denialist? Off to google to find out.

Do you believe the moon landing was fake, Lord Monckton?

LORD MONCKTON: Oh, Glenn, it was actually filmed in the Scottish Highlands. We made a fortune out of it.

GLENN: Really, that's weird.

[Link: www.glennbeck.com...]

80 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:31:27pm

re: #71 Rightwingconspirator

You might get a better idea about that after all. The eventual DVD release is rumored to have the sex scene intact. ..

In 3D?

81 Charles Johnson  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:31:35pm
82 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:31:58pm

re: #79 MandyManners

Do you believe the moon landing was fake, Lord Monckton?

LORD MONCKTON: Oh, Glenn, it was actually filmed in the Scottish Highlands. We made a fortune out of it.

GLENN: Really, that's weird.

[Link: www.glennbeck.com...]

Even Beck thinks he's weird.

83 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:32:00pm

re: #72 LudwigVanQuixote

you mean that PSU is not really investigating him?

84 jamesfirecat  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:32:20pm

re: #30 EmmmieG

If Hollywood did the launches, they would be dramatic. I've watched the launches; there's no love story, no last-minute desparate saves, nothing.

Hollywood was nowhere near the launches.

There was also no musical number.

85 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:32:25pm

re: #73 Mad Al-Jaffee

I don't remember that line from Avatar. :)

The Business Manager guy said it on the shuttle back to the starship.

86 Decatur Deb  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:32:28pm

re: #79 MandyManners

Do you believe the moon landing was fake, Lord Monckton?

LORD MONCKTON: Oh, Glenn, it was actually filmed in the Scottish Highlands. We made a fortune out of it.

GLENN: Really, that's weird.

[Link: www.glennbeck.com...]

Explains that haggis among the rock samples.

87 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:32:39pm

re: #83 Aceofwhat?

you mean that PSU is not really investigating him?

Nevermind, Charles answered the question!

88 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:33:24pm

re: #82 MandyManners

Even Beck thinks he's weird.

Heh. that ranks pretty high up on the list of "signs you are crazier than a run-over dog..."

89 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:33:34pm

re: #67 oaktree

90 Jack Burton  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:33:40pm

re: #79 MandyManners

Do you believe the moon landing was fake, Lord Monckton?

LORD MONCKTON: Oh, Glenn, it was actually filmed in the Scottish Highlands. We made a fortune out of it.

GLENN: Really, that's weird.

[Link: www.glennbeck.com...]

It's hard to tell if he's being serious in that though.

91 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:33:44pm

re: #86 Decatur Deb

Explains that haggis among the rock samples.

I Googled "Monckton moon landing conpiracy" and that was the second hit.

92 lawhawk  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:33:52pm

re: #72 LudwigVanQuixote

So you're saying that Penn State is politicizing this by going and investigating Mann on their own seeing how others found his work to be acceptable? Is it possible that Mann's work was acceptable to the National Academy but didn't meet Penn State's own standards?

If, as you say, Mann was vindicated, then the Penn State investigation (if using the same standards as the National Academy) should also find him without fault here.

93 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:34:19pm

re: #88 Aceofwhat?

Heh. that ranks pretty high up on the list of "signs you are crazier than a run-over dog..."

Oh, yes.

94 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:34:31pm

re: #90 ArchangelMichael

It's hard to tell if he's being serious in that though.

I'd have to see the video.

95 Locker  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:35:24pm

re: #1 Obdicut

What an asshole. Raising false hope is a very shitty thing to do. Wasn't it enough for him to crap all over climate science?

I believe that was the same motivation for the South Park spoof of John Edward (Biggest Douche in the Universe) with regard to the false hope thing. Completely accurate.

96 Varek Raith  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:35:40pm

re: #94 MandyManners

I'd have to see the video.

Probably in jest but, with Monckton... you never know...

97 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:36:09pm

Monckton reminds me of Miller from Repo Man:

Miller: I'll give you another instance. You know the way everybody's into weirdness right now. Books in all the supermarkets about Bermuda triangles, UFO's, how the Mayans invented television. That kind of thing.

Otto: I don't read them books.

Miller: Well the way I see it it's exactly the same. There ain't no difference between a flying saucer and a time machine. People get so hung up on specifics. They miss out on seeing the whole thing. Take South America for example. In South America thousands of people go missing every year. Nobody knows where they go. They just like disappear. But if you think about it for a minute, you realize something. There had to be a time when there was no people. Right?

Otto: Yeah. I guess.

Miller: Well where did all these people come from? hmmm? I'll tell you where. The future. Where did all these people disappear to? hmmm?

Otto: The past?

Miller: That's right and how did they get there?

Otto: How the fuck (hell) do I know?

Miller: Flying saucers. Which are really? Yeah you got it. Time machines. I think a lot about this kind of stuff. I do my best thinking on the bus. That how come I don't drive, see?

98 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:36:39pm

re: #83 Aceofwhat?

you mean that PSU is not really investigating him?

NO they had to for the sake of form because of the politics and false allegations brought by the climate gate scum bags. There is not a single worst accusation that can be made about a scientist than that he or she cooked their data. It is always taken seriously if the charges are public. The scum bags throw it out willy nilly. After all, killing scientist careers would be a serious "win" for them. Of course Mann and his work is not only kosher, but because of previous politicking against him, he had already been given substantially more scrutiny than most other scientists.

No one expected to find anything un kosher. Of course they did not.

99 Dark_Falcon  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:38:12pm

re: #95 Locker

I believe that was the same motivation for the South Park spoof of John Edward (Biggest Douche in the Universe) with regard to the false hope thing. Completely accurate.

Upding for the great use of the South Park reference. I agree entirely.

100 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:38:21pm

re: #98 LudwigVanQuixote

sorry, Charles answered my question

101 jamesfirecat  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:38:26pm

re: #97 Mad Al-Jaffee

Monckton reminds me of Miller from Repo Man:

Well all people coming from the future goes neatly hand in hand with not believing in evolution.

But if we had time machines wouldn't they find out that the world is more than 6,000 years old?

102 lawhawk  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:38:40pm

re: #78 Charles

Those are the other three allegations as referenced here. That's why the New Scientist piece states "all but cleared":

The report is not clear about whether Mann's behaviour has harmed the public trust in science. It cites Penn State's official ethical standards, which says faculty have an obligation to boost maintain high ethical standards in order to foster public trust in science. It then goes on to discuss the fall-out from the email leak which, it says, may have polarised the public into two camps: one which believes the leak undermines climate science and another which does not.

"After careful consideration of all the evidence and relevant materials, the inquiry committee could not make a definitive finding whether there exists any evidence to substantiate that Dr. Mann did engage in, or participate in, directly or indirectly, any actions that deviated from accepted practices within the academic community," reads the report. This final point will now be at the centre of a further investigation.

. This could be simply dotting i's and crossing t's, but this one issue is being investigated further.

103 Political Atheist  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:38:53pm

re: #80 Mad Al-Jaffee

I suppose. Blu Ray

104 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:38:54pm

re: #100 Aceofwhat?

sorry, Charles answered my question

And he did it better than I did. However, there you have it from two sources.

105 Cato the Elder  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:39:15pm

What is his cure for the economy?

106 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:39:17pm

re: #101 jamesfirecat

Well all people coming from the future goes neatly hand in hand with not believing in evolution.

But if we had time machines wouldn't they find out that the world is more than 6,000 years old?

Plate of shrimp.

107 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:39:48pm

re: #102 lawhawk

Those are the other three allegations as referenced here. That's why the New Scientist piece states "all but cleared":

. This could be simply dotting i's and crossing t's, but this one issue is being investigated further.

NO when they say they could not find, they mean there was no evidence.

108 jamesfirecat  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:40:01pm

re: #106 Mad Al-Jaffee

Plate of shrimp.

Don't get the reference.....

109 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:40:23pm

re: #108 jamesfirecat

Don't get the reference...


See Repo Man and you will.

110 Locker  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:40:49pm

re: #108 jamesfirecat

[Link: blogs.msdn.com...]

111 Varek Raith  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:40:50pm

re: #105 Cato the Elder

What is his cure for the economy?

He'll get to that once he successfully initiates cold fusion.
;)

112 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:41:12pm

re: #96 Varek Raith

Probably in jest but, with Monckton... you never know...

That's what I mean. If he had a twinkle in his eyes and a silly smile on his lips it'd be easier to tell if he were joking.

But, even if he were, that's not something to joke about in a serious conversation.

113 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:41:37pm
114 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:42:12pm

re: #105 Cato the Elder

What is his cure for the economy?

A great, big bowl of chicken noodle soup.

115 Nervous Norvous  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:42:18pm

re: #7 oaktree

Depending on how you define "cure" you could get similar results using potassium cyanide.

///

The difference between sayanora and cianide?

Sayanora is goodbye in Japanese
Cianide is goodbye in any language.

116 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:42:22pm

re: #82 MandyManners

Even Beck thinks he's weird.

Interesting quote from Monckton in that interview:

LORD MONCKTON: Al Gore lives in a fantasy world of his own and, of course, it's he who's the flat Earther and not us because before Tolomai (ph) and Copernicus came along, the scientific consensus was near unanimous that the Earth was indeed flat apart from here in the Highlands and it was only when the scientists had another look they found the consensus of being wrong all the time. It is going to be exactly the same with global warming. There is supposed to be a consensus, actually more and more scientists --


That is entirely false, a ridiculous myth. Scientifically minded people knew at least from the time of Aristotle (and probably a lot earlier) that the Earth is essentially a sphere. Beyond that, "Tolomai" (Ptolemy) and Copernicus lived at very different times. The latter, to the best of my knowledge, never addressed the sphericity of the Earth since it was taken for granted among educated people in his time.

117 Feline Fearless Leader  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:42:42pm

re: #113 Mad Al-Jaffee

The Onion FTW.

If that was true, elect USX POTUS and then whatever is good for US Steel would be good for the United States!

:)

118 Dark_Falcon  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:43:08pm

re: #98 LudwigVanQuixote

NO they had to for the sake of form because of the politics and false allegations brought by the climate gate scum bags. There is not a single worst accusation that can be made about a scientist than that he or she cooked their data. It is always taken seriously if the charges are public. The scum bags throw it out willy nilly. After all, killing scientist careers would be a serious "win" for them. Of course Mann and his work is not only kosher, but because of previous politicking against him, he had already been given substantially more scrutiny than most other scientists.

No one expected to find anything un kosher. Of course they did not.

The problem is that it's assymetric warfare: The Scientists have to be vindicated every single time. If the Deniers ever do catch an AGW scientist who cooked his data, then they'll use it to claim media respectability and they'll become twice as hard to beat.

119 Miss Molly  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:43:09pm

Right now I would like the cure for the common cold -- the economy later.

120 jamesfirecat  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:43:44pm

re: #113 Mad Al-Jaffee

Supreme Court Allows Corporations To Run For Political Office

Wonder how long it will be before we become the United Stores of Wallmart....

121 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:45:46pm

re: #118 Dark_Falcon

The problem is that it's assymetric warfare: The Scientists have to be vindicated every single time. If the Deniers ever do catch an AGW scientist who cooked his data, then they'll use it to claim media respectability and they'll become twice as hard to beat.

Sooo...not cooking data would be a good place to start, then, and there won't be anything to worry about!

122 RogueOne  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:46:17pm

re: #120 jamesfirecat

Wonder how long it will be before we become the United Stores of Wallmart...

You think Wal-mart could do worse than our current political class?

123 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:46:20pm

re: #118 Dark_Falcon

The problem is that it's assymetric warfare: The Scientists have to be vindicated every single time. If the Deniers ever do catch an AGW scientist who cooked his data, then they'll use it to claim media respectability and they'll become twice as hard to beat.

Yes, you have the game precisely. The deniers in a military analogy really are a militant terror group.

Of course, the one thing we have on our side is that the typical denier can not do algebra let alone find a flaw in someone's actual paper. However, their lobby group types can come up with crap that continues to smear and obfuscate. It is kinda like constantly calling others pedophiles and assuming guilty until proven innocent will stick.

124 Locker  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:46:46pm

re: #113 Mad Al-Jaffee

Supreme Court Allows Corporations To Run For Political Office

I wonder if Corporations are allowed to marry here in California under Prop 8. I guess we should use the Spanish language as a guide to find out if it's a homosexual or heterosexual corporate marriage.

Coca-Cola + Walmart = OK!
Coca-Cola + Purina = VETO!

125 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:47:23pm

Gotta' git.

126 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:47:33pm

re: #119 Miss Molly

Right now I would like the cure for the common cold -- the economy later.

cold-eeze. take it at the sign of your first symptom and keep taking it. only proven working remedy out there.

Speaking of remedies...


127 MandyManners  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:48:15pm

KORPORASHUNS R EEEBILLL!!111!!1ELEVNTY!!111

128 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:48:47pm

re: #121 Aceofwhat?

Sooo...not cooking data would be a good place to start, then, and there won't be anything to worry about!

Yeah and no one has. Especially not Mann. And even if one paper was found to be cooked, the whole point of independent observers is that they can't all be cooking the books.

There are hundreds of thousands of researchers involved here from multiple backgrounds and disciplines. They have collectively millions of man years of observations worth of data. It all tells the same story.

You can not fake that.

You can not make a conspiracy that large for that long.

129 Varek Raith  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:49:06pm

re: #127 MandyManners

KORPORASHUNS R EEEBILLL!!111!!1ELEVNTY!!111

My front company, EeevilCorp, INC. most certainly is...

130 Locker  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:49:54pm

re: #129 Varek Raith

My front company, EeevilCorp, INC. most certainly is...

Yea I'm guessing my Guild of Calamitous Intent membership card probably gives me away as well.

131 Locker  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:50:39pm
132 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:50:43pm

re: #130 Locker

Yea I'm guessing my Guild of Calamitous Intent membership card probably gives me away as well.

Go Tean Venture! upding

133 Jeff In Ohio  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:50:45pm

re: #97 Mad Al-Jaffee

Miller: Well the way I see it it's exactly the same. There ain't no difference between a flying saucer and a time machine. People get so hung up on specifics. They miss out on seeing the whole thing. Take South America for example. In South America thousands of people go missing every year. Nobody knows where they go. They just like disappear. But if you think about it for a minute, you realize something. There had to be a time when there was no people. Right?

Classic.

134 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:50:54pm

re: #132 Mad Al-Jaffee

Team

pimf

135 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:51:11pm

re: #128 LudwigVanQuixote

then there isn't that much to worry about...

136 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:53:08pm

re: #122 RogueOne

You think Wal-mart could do worse than our current political class?

Difficult to say. Would they purchase dangerously lead tainted legislation from China rather than buying American?

137 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:54:53pm

What kind of pot does this?

138 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:55:46pm

re: #122 RogueOne

You think Wal-mart could do worse than our current political class?

The greeters would be nice.

139 Political Atheist  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:56:02pm

re: #128 LudwigVanQuixote

You can not make a conspiracy that large for that long.

I so wish that argument got more traction-Moon landings, 9/11, AGW, Kennedy assassination (both) Alien visits etc etc

140 Varek Raith  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:56:02pm

re: #137 Aceofwhat?

What kind of pot does this?

A San Francisco man claims he was high on a double dose of medical-marijuana cookies when he screamed, dropped his pants and attacked crew members on a cross-country flight, forcing its diversion to Pittsburgh, the FBI said Wednesday.

....SB?....nah...could it..be?
/:)

141 Kragar  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:56:11pm

re: #137 Aceofwhat?

What kind of pot does this?

Pol?

142 Political Atheist  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:56:18pm

re: #137 Aceofwhat?

The cast iron kind, after a blow to the head.

143 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:56:26pm

re: #137 Aceofwhat?

What kind of pot does this?

The kind used by the already mentally unstable.

144 RogueOne  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:57:13pm

re: #136 Slumbering Behemoth

Difficult to say. Would they purchase dangerously lead tainted legislation from China rather than buying American?

Good question. Why go outside the country to buy crap products when they can produce them themselves. cough-GM-cough.

145 Locker  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:57:16pm

re: #137 Aceofwhat?

What kind of pot does this?

He was trippin' on a double brownie. It happens.

I spent the entire Crystal Method show back in '99 on a couch in the chill room because I was afraid the waitresses would strip and attack me (I know I know, not a thing to be afraid of, in any way, shape or form.)

146 Mad Al-Jaffee  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:57:18pm

re: #138 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

The greeters would be nice.

"Welcome to Costco, I love you."

Idiocracy

147 Varek Raith  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:57:47pm

re: #138 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

The greeters would be nice.

Maybe...

148 Locker  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:58:42pm

re: #138 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

The greeters would be nice.

Welcome to Walmerica! No unions, living wage, health care, EPA regs, sweat shop laws or parking lot security allowed.

149 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:59:14pm

re: #63 Aceofwhat?

That's the paragraph that can be unhelpful. Many of us who aren't scientists didn't lack the ability to become so. We simply chose to pursue a different degree.

Will is as important as ability. I know a lot of talented artists who will never make a living off their work. Not because they're not able to, in a skill or capacity sense! They lack the will.

150 Jeff In Ohio  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:59:49pm

re: #148 Locker

Welcome to Walmerica! No unions, living wage, health care, EPA regs, sweat shop laws or parking lot security allowed.

B-B-B-But I can by Cabot Cheese in Ohio.

151 avanti  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:59:59pm

re: #28 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

I've seen Avatar. If they could make the special affects in Avatar, they could fake a satellite launch. So where did the money really go?

///

Speaking of Avatar, I suggested a Christian friend see the movie and he pointed me to this review.I was unaware that it was the "worst movie ever made"

Avatar.i

152 Decatur Deb  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:00:48pm

re: #150 Jeff In Ohio

B-B-B-But I can by Cabot Cheese in Ohio.

And tube socks are only 1.89/dozen.

153 Locker  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:01:15pm

re: #150 Jeff In Ohio

B-B-B-But I can by Cabot Cheese in Ohio.

As long as it's Walmerica Cabot Cheese then you are good to go and I'm sure you enjoy our every day low prices!

154 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:01:31pm

re: #130 Locker

Yea I'm guessing my Guild of Calamitous Intent membership card probably gives me away as well.

HAIL SOVERIGN

155 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:01:36pm

re: #144 RogueOne

Good question. Why go outside the country to buy crap products when they can produce them themselves.

Precisely, my good man.

cough-GM-cough.

Now wait just one damn minute! Don't you go bad mouthing my Camaro!

156 Dark_Falcon  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:02:12pm

re: #135 Aceofwhat?

then there isn't that much to worry about...

Yes, there is. The danger is not that AGW science as a whole would be misdirected, but that the fraudster might not be caught before the Deniers latched on to him. Give Inquisitors a real witch to 'prove' them right and they'll be even more dangerous and relentless. In the current media age, even losers without any real evidence can gain power simply by piggybacking onto some sort of scandal, because the scandal is what the media will concern itself with.

157 Locker  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:02:30pm

re: #154 WindUpBird

HAIL SOVERIGN

Well... I'm not as skinny as Bowie but I have a lot better taste in music and face paint.

158 acwgusa  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:02:31pm

re: #34 LudwigVanQuixote

I wrote this last night in a convo with Ice, but I really think it fits here.

She commented on the way the wingnut side flips from claiming there is no problem, to assuming that if there is one science will just magically make a miracle happen before it is too late.

I replied (edited for typos and such)

Well that is the joy of being in science... You are an elitist egghead to be disrespected if the science you bring is inconvenient or unpopular, but the great scientist when you say something they want to hear or are needed - even if you are not a scientist at all!

It is the intellectual parallel on the low brow right to what the military is to the low brow left. The military is that horrible dog that you kick around in times of peace but are really happy for when needed.

God forbid that the scientist is smarter than you.. that rejects your comfortable sense of false superiority earned for free. But everyone begs the doctor and medical science at the end for a miracle. And everyone begs the scientist for one when they need one as well.

With AGW, we see the science world saying that if we blow it, we really have blown it, and there will be nothing we can do. The public can not accept that... American ingenuity, which is different from science of course, will always win out.

"Those eggheads will figure it out for us... That is why we hire them."

Damn I am reminded of Mozart quipping about eating with the servants below the butler, but above the salt.

Scientists take this lying down as well. We are taught not to be arrogant or proud. It is shameful to be too smart. We should be good little dogs in our proper places and serve the real masters of the universe who got MBAs and other such degrees. I for one am totally sick of it.

We do something that most of the world can not do because of our talents. I do not begrudge the Olympic swimmer for being able to swim past me like a torpedo. No one should begrudge the scientist for actually being smarter and better educated - as well as actually trained to figure new things out.

I am not saying scientists are saints, but the wingnut world vacillates between discounting science and then expecting us to do miracles. It is always on demand like a good puppy. Well this dog has told you the score.

Ludwig,

The sad fact of the matter is, nothing is going to be done in any serious regards to try to prevent or reverse AGW. And the reason why? Humanity, by and large, is generally apathetic unless its going to affect them personally RIGHT NOW. Once you say that by 2100 people are going to go "Well, I'll be dead by then, so I don't care." You can ring the alarm bells and show them all the data, but unless the Pacific Ocean is bearing down on their house, they won't care.

159 acwgusa  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:03:54pm

re: #158 acwgusa

Ludwig,

The sad fact of the matter is, nothing is going to be done in any serious regards to try to prevent or reverse AGW. And the reason why? Humanity, by and large, is generally apathetic unless its going to affect them personally RIGHT NOW. Once you say that by 2100 people are going to go "Well, I'll be dead by then, so I don't care." You can ring the alarm bells and show them all the data, but unless the Pacific Ocean is bearing down on their house, they won't care.

Wow. I botched that. I was trying to say by 2100 the oceans are going to rise to catastrophic heights, people won't care.

160 Jeff In Ohio  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:04:39pm

re: #153 Locker

As long as it's Walmerica Cabot Cheese then you are good to go and I'm sure you enjoy our every day low prices!

Cabot is produced by a dairy co-operative in Vermont. It taint cheap and I used to only be able to buy it when I lived in western Mass.
[Link: www.cabotcheese.coop...]

Don't start knocking family farms!

161 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:07:00pm

re: #151 avanti

Speaking of Avatar, I suggested a Christian friend see the movie and he pointed me to this review.I was unaware that it was the "worst movie ever made"

Avatar.i

Heh.

I want to put this as plainly as I can. This film is so uniquely awful that it should be legal for me to enslave and neuter any movie critic who gives it a positive review. They should be forced to do my yard work and clip my toenails.

But then again, I can be an extremist about such things.

No shit?

Everyone involved with Avatar has made it clear that this is supposed to be a game changer like Star Wars or The Matrix. This is meant to be one of the seminal moments in cinematic history.

In a way it kind of is. Not for the story or the F/X, but for the fact that this is the first all digital movie. That is, when I went to see it at the theater, the movie was projected from storage on a hard drive, and not from a film reel.

162 Varek Raith  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:08:11pm

re: #161 Slumbering Behemoth

In a way it kind of is. Not for the story or the F/X, but for the fact that this is the first all digital movie. That is, when I went to see it at the theater, the movie was projected from storage on a hard drive, and not from a film reel.

Heh, yep, just like people played Crysis for its story!..
;)

163 Locker  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:09:24pm

re: #160 Jeff In Ohio

Cabot is produced by a dairy co-operative in Vermont. It taint cheap and I used to only be able to buy it when I lived in western Mass.
[Link: www.cabotcheese.coop...]

Don't start knocking family farms!

Laugh I'm not I thought he was saying that Walmart was his only source for this fine product!

164 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:17:21pm

re: #156 Dark_Falcon

Yes, there is. The danger is not that AGW science as a whole would be misdirected, but that the fraudster might not be caught before the Deniers latched on to him. Give Inquisitors a real witch to 'prove' them right and they'll be even more dangerous and relentless. In the current media age, even losers without any real evidence can gain power simply by piggybacking onto some sort of scandal, because the scandal is what the media will concern itself with.

Then they should make sure to police their own, like i said earlier. The opportunity to work on such pertinent research carries with it the responsibility not to allow the very thing that you fear.

165 Aceofwhat?  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:18:54pm

re: #161 Slumbering Behemoth

i thought the F/X more than made up for the relatively banal storyline. i really enjoyed it. (first movie i saw that was worth the 3D glasses)

166 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:22:58pm

re: #165 Aceofwhat?

The storyline was quite banal. The f/x were good, and the 3-D was done quite well.

It was just odd. I did not realize until after it was pointed out to me that movie projection was completely digital, no film reel. That's when I realized that the audio was perfect, no pops or hisses, and the the video was seamless, without any bits of funk or little hairs.

167 b_sharp  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:26:35pm

re: #17 LudwigVanQuixote

However, Monkton claims to know physics. I really can't forgive him for that.

I got hit on the head by a baseball, ergo I know physics too.

168 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:44:29pm

re: #158 acwgusa

Ludwig,

The sad fact of the matter is, nothing is going to be done in any serious regards to try to prevent or reverse AGW. And the reason why? Humanity, by and large, is generally apathetic unless its going to affect them personally RIGHT NOW. Once you say that by 2100 people are going to go "Well, I'll be dead by then, so I don't care." You can ring the alarm bells and show them all the data, but unless the Pacific Ocean is bearing down on their house, they won't care.

I pray you are wrong. If you are right, we will be the most cursed generation in human history. Our surviving descendants will rightfully hate us and we will have murdered many of them.

169 SixDegrees  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:46:17pm

re: #78 Charles

I don't know that anyone is claiming Mann is guilty of any wrongdoing. But Lawhawk is correct to point out that the profession needs to police itself better. Snarky emails, sloppy data maintenance processes, unprofessional comments in code, references to non-peer reviewed articles gleaned from advocacy groups and investigations into professional misconduct may not prove the science is wrong, but they all serve to damage the credibility of the scientists in the field and the results they present. Having them pile one on top of the other in rapid succession gives the appearance of carelessness, or worse, regardless of the quality of the results themselves.

There definitely needs to be more stringent adherence to simple professionalism. Part of being a professional is managing appearances - because appearances matter, whether people want to accept that or not.

170 Feline Fearless Leader  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:50:26pm

re: #169 SixDegrees

Sounds like Corporate Life as well...

Snark and turf wars seem to simply be part of the human (primate?) condition. Just because we're not howling and waving antelope thighbones while contesting for a waterhole does not mean we are not out to get you... and your little dog too! ;)

171 Obdicut  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:52:42pm

re: #169 SixDegrees

Again: All of that stuff was stolen from ten years worth of work, cherry-picked, and released right before Copenhagen in order to damage its credibility. Now an investigation clears him of wrongdoing, and you still say that it shows something about science.

He managed appearances just fine-- until someone stole private emails and published them for political reasons.

Scientists need to be defended against the bizarre nihilists attacking them now. They don't need to be held to impossible standards, as you're advocating.

172 Obdicut  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:53:29pm

re: #169 SixDegrees

By your standards, Newton was a crappy scientist, as was Hooke, Galileo, Copernicus. Tycho Brahe was probably polite enough for you, but he died of a bust bladder due to over-politeness.

173 SixDegrees  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 1:54:18pm

re: #170 oaktree

Sounds like Corporate Life as well...

Snark and turf wars seem to simply be part of the human (primate?) condition. Just because we're not howling and waving antelope thighbones while contesting for a waterhole does not mean we are not out to get you... and your little dog too! ;)

That's right. Where I work, someone was the subject of an ethics investigation. The details don't matter, and he was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing. But the stink of having the ethics police even glance at him is taking a very long time to disperse; his career at our company is probably permanently limited as a result. And it could have been avoided if he stopped to think about what he was doing for just a few minutes and fallen back on established procedure, instead of making his own in a gray area.

174 Locker  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 2:17:06pm

re: #169 SixDegrees

I don't know that anyone is claiming Mann is guilty of any wrongdoing. But Lawhawk is correct to point out that the profession needs to police itself better. Snarky emails, sloppy data maintenance processes, unprofessional comments in code, references to non-peer reviewed articles gleaned from advocacy groups and investigations into professional misconduct may not prove the science is wrong, but they all serve to damage the credibility of the scientists in the field and the results they present. Having them pile one on top of the other in rapid succession gives the appearance of carelessness, or worse, regardless of the quality of the results themselves.

There definitely needs to be more stringent adherence to simple professionalism. Part of being a professional is managing appearances - because appearances matter, whether people want to accept that or not.

Humans are going to be humans man. Unless you are suggesting this research be done by some sort of computer or robots the fact remains that you can't micromanage everything. Everyone makes mistakes, have unprofessional slips or bad days and you can't legislate, mandate or enforce perfection. Shit happens.

175 califleftyb  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 3:45:35pm

Want to sound romantic? Use a french accent. Want to sound authoritative?
Use an English accent. It works on the Home Shopping Network.

176 Mark Winter  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 5:21:27pm

Ah Monckton... met him in Berlin.
He is... well ... a colorful figure.
If I recall it well he called me a "climate nazi" in a short debate. I think I suggested that he could assume an assisting role in a new Blackadder series.

177 theheat  Wed, Feb 3, 2010 6:50:48pm

No matter the accent, I can't understand people believing a guy that looks like Marty Feldman's tamer brother, especially after all the bad science witnessed in Young Frankenstein.

I don't even want to know about his miracle cures. Besides, according to the other nutters online, they've already claimed to cure everything with the right combinations of vitamins.
//

He looks and sounds "Abbie Normal" to me.

178 Mad Prophet Ludwig  Thu, Feb 4, 2010 8:29:15am

re: #171 Obdicut

re: #172 Obdicut

Excellent comments.

179 hellosnackbar  Thu, Feb 4, 2010 11:03:07am

About 20 years ago my brother attended a dinner party in Edinburgh and was placed opposite Lord Christopher Monckton.
At first my brother was quite impressed by Moncktons polymathematical intellect;especially on his knowlege of topology and other rarerifide mathematical disciplines.
But as the wine flowed Monckton turned his attention to the subject of AIDS and suggested that the latter was God's punishment for the evil of birth control and that the Catholic Church should be the guiding light in such matters.
It turned out that Monckton is an Opus Dei type fundamentalist catholic
leaving my brother with the impression that Chris was a dogma driven
madman.
He said it was an example of how dangerous such people could be if they aquired any semblance of power and influence.
H e was Mrs Thatcher's science advisor;but is regarded by most
scientists as having more than one "screw loose".
He invented the "eternity puzzle"and lost £1,000,000 betting that no one would solve it within a specifide period.
He lost ;but paid up;engaging the two mathematicians who won, to
help design a more difficult puzzle with a prize of $2,000,000.
So far, nobody has claimed the prize.
Intelligent ;but barking, seems to be the general concensus.


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