Well, it finally happened. Much of Canadian media broke radio silence on Climategate today. There really wasn’t much choice but to report it, now that Environment Minister Jim Prentice had officially described the allegations as “serious”, coupled with the day-old news that CRU head Phil Jones was “stepping aside” in preparation for his encounter with a double-decker.
As of this evening, there are 23,100,000 Google results for “climategate” – and exactly one on-air report from the CBC.
It’s been 14 days since the cork was pulled from FOIA 2009.zip
And as it turns out, the concerted efforts of a protective mainstream media to ignore the scandal turned out to be worst possible course of events for the University of Anglia’s motley CRU and their supporters in the wealth distribution industry.
They gave us something very powerful – 14 days of time. Time, while scores of bloggers and thousands of readers put in uncountable man hours of dissection and analysis.
Time for those who’d been discussed and copied in the leaked emails to confirm that there was no evidence of tampering.
Time for programmers to sift through Harry’s now famous code line by line, to test it for themselves.
Time for members of the academic community to get their outrage and condemnation on the record, and on their own terms. Time for those who’d been targeted to retell their stories.
Time for opinion columnists and talk radio to break ranks and take on the job their news editors refused to do, to disseminate the facts gathered, checked and analyzed by bloggers to a wider audience.
Time for the comments sections of every online newspaper in the western world to fill with angry demands from their readers to cover the damned story. Not because they were needed anymore, but because we wanted the stupid charade to end.
So when Peter Mansbridge went on the National tonight to admit what he had surely known for days, we didn’t watch to find out what’s contained in FOIA 2009.zip, for we’d read it for ourselves.
We only watched to see if he had.
For perhaps the first time in the history of mass media, the gatekeepers broke a major scandal to an audience fully 10 days ahead of them.
It’s a spin doctor’s worst nightmare.
As I’ve been saying from the beginning, they’re hearing the sound of all hell breaking loose. And as much as it’s being directed at the research institutions and the policy makers following along like so many imprinted penguins, the bulk of public rage has focused on the media.
I don’t think my friends in traditional news gathering truly appreciate what it is they’ve done. I don’t believe they fully comprehend how gravely they have injured themselves, and how they’re driving home the razor into an industry already struggling for survival with abbreviated, dismissive, misleading reports and “denier” and “conspiracy nut” slurs.
The bloggers tried to warn them. The opinion columnists tried to warn them, the talk hosts tried to warn them. Their readers, viewers and listeners tried to warn them.
The news media perfected the business of bombshells. They wind them up, drop them, film the explosion, and move on.
They’re just learning now that we’re in the business of bottle genies.
A quote from Ronald Reagan (RIP) is very appropriate here.
“Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders. … The Goliath of totalitarianism will be brought down by the David of the microchip.”
The Canadian government, NASA, the UN, 3/4 of the academic community, and the MSM “are doing sex to me.”
Paul, absolutely brilliant letter!
I especially loved this line: “It is impossible that any knowledgeable person could at this time state, with unequivocal certainty, that AGW is an established fact.”
You knocked this one of the park, Kate. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, you need to write more.
Meanwhile, a breakthrough of sorts in media coverage. On Calgary’s local 6:00 CTV newscast, the full story has finally surfaced. Pretty fair coverage, except for the “nothing to see here” comments from a Halifax climate scientist to close the piece.
The irony of it all is Big Al Gore’s climate cash cow is being taken down by the internet he invented. Thank God for the freedom to speak out
Peter O’Donnell at December 3, 2009 2:41 AM
Perhaps we only need 20% of the climatologists around.
The irony of it all is that Big Al Gore’s climate cash cow is being taken down by people using the internet he “invented”.
I’ve written my MP – David Anderson – and, as a supporter of the CPC demanded that our Prime Minister not go to Hopenhagen and lay our economy on the alter of Al Gore.
There WILL be political hell to pay if this happens – especially in Alberta and Saskatchewan. If PMSH’s government has any hope of surviving – let alone thriving into a majority – he needs to know that cap-n’-trade is a complete non-starter.
Hey, Horny Toad at December 3, 2009 3:52 AM , don’t you go asking Kate for marriage; I’ve already got the reqiuest in 🙂
The temperature records for Wpg come from the JAR Airport. The Airport is undergoing a major expansion. This means more heat from buildings, concrete, trucks, tar-mack , air conditioners, idling planes, more planes, etc. This will artificially raise the recorded temperature of Wpg. I asked environment Canada, were they going to adjust the temperatures to account for the increased “heat island” effect. They said “No”.
So here you have increased temperature readings being influenced by airport expansion, but with no doubt, will be blamed on global warming. Especially by Environment Canada.
I’d like to see a poll of the nation on how many people have heard about the leaked emails, and what their position is on AGW. I’m concerned that there is still going to be an east/west split… That will be Harper’s Achille’s Heal, IMO.
Or perhaps I should say Harper’s Achille’s ‘HEEL’? (oops)
Great piece on Climate-Gate by Rex Murphy on the National tonight!
Kate to replace Andrew Coyne on “At issue”
vote here.
yes
yeah
you bet
nay
ET — This is a good analysis of Gore. I would add that I think he was recruited to be involved in this. Whoever recruited him wanted a recognizable name and someone they felt had public credibility. Gore had just lost the election and a lot of people were sympathetic towards him at that time.
Great article…and I’m finding so many new ones through your letters. I wrote the PM & Prentice to not sign anything and stick to his guns on what he said years ago. Also saw the report tonite on CTV but as with The Hour segment with Monbiat I found that making a joke, being snide and intellectually superior to us poor dumb slobs, they lost all credibility. I wrote that to the CTV and that the 27 million hits online plus hundreds of letters make them irrelevant unless they start reporting this very serious life altering issue seriously. Follow the money . Keep writing, people, we will be heard.
NormB at December 3, 2009 10:22 PM
[…Meanwhile, a breakthrough of sorts in media coverage. On Calgary’s local 6:00 CTV newscast, the full story has finally surfaced. Pretty fair coverage, except for the “nothing to see here” comments from a Halifax climate scientist to close the piece.]
Just treacherous spin that I saw. The fool from Halifax was not the low point. That was the inclusion of a seconds long, obviously closely edited/cherry picked clip of McIntyre giving the impression that he felt that deniers were spinning it to their view point. McIntyre will be pi$$ed…I would.
Kate, the number of comments is at 315, that must be some sort of record, no?
Either way, your brilliant post was huge hit, and it deserved to be.
I think for all of us there’s a great satisfaction in knowing that as readers of your blog we are enjoying a wild and exciting ride on the wave of change. That’s half of what it makes it so darn interesting.
Makes me feel the same way I did went my Dad brought home the family’s first computer, a Commodore 8032 PC, all those years ago, and he knew, and I knew, that we were at the leading edge of change. It was a hell of an exciting time, especially since the rest of world hadn’t yet clued in, but we knew were things were going.
Sincere thanks.
Kate, one of the reasons the MSM doesn’t cover stories like these right away is because you and many others against AGW theory aren’t objective, but rather, partisan ideologues. You’ve put your feet in the sand and aren’t willing to hear or believe anything but what you believe now. The majority aren’t taking you seriously because you care more about being right in your original thought than the ultimate truth.
This story IS worthy of MSM coverage, and would likely have made it there earlier if it didn’t come from the likes of people who make publicly racist comments about inner city children.
It’s not so much that they’re against reporting it, it’s that you taint it with your lack of professionalism and excessive bias, making them afraid to go near it for fear of being associated with you.
Before folks criticize PMSH they should remember the outrage when Rona Ambrose bypassed the Global Warming Myth. Climategate has given us all the opportunity to talk to our circle of friends and hopefully get some of them to see how junk science has become the religion of the uninformed. The conservatives have played to the masses rather than get burned at the stake for green heresy. Like Moncton preaches, real science is all about truth, not belief.
Tim: “It’s not so much that they’re against reporting it, it’s that you taint it with your lack of professionalism and excessive bias, making them afraid to go near it for fear of being associated with you.”
Even if that ridiculous statement were true, how does this explain the WORLD WIDE lack of MSM coverage? Try again..
Oh Tim, foolish bleeding heart. We here who read Kate’s blog are not trying to be right. We are right! and that truth requires vigilance and determination.
You see Tim, we are not in this issue to take over the economies of the world, we just don’t want your ilk to take it over on the premise of saving the planet. It is not yours or anyones else’s to take.
We are still a free people and we embrace the individualist system of capitalism to go along with our freedom.
A rock was overturned and the insects,snakes and worms are exposed. They don’t like. But the truth is often ugly.
We will win this … tax and trade isn’t going to happen and Copenhagen will fail miserably.
It’s over but for the upcoming prosecution.
Great summary, good comments. This is the future of news. Not just bloggers showing stories, but the interactivity of those reading, each adding their own expertise. Each looking at the basic information in a slightly different way and dissecting it down to its basics.
Dear Tim,
Since we’re in the Christmas Season, let me christen you with posting THE STUPIDEST comment I’ve read in some time.
Earlier this week Dennis Miller said on his nationally syndicated radio show that assorted people who were AGW zealots (think “religious cult”) would start mentally breaking down in all sorts of unforeseen ways.
You clearly seem to fit that bill to a “T”, with logic pulled out from deep within your tuchus. But for the sake of argument, let me take you seriously for a moment and deconstruct what you wrote:
1. The MSM makes its decisions based on Kate McMillan and others like her.
2. Most people against AGW theory (AGW Skeptics) aren’t objective BUT, by implication those supporting AGW theory (AGW Believers) are … objective.
3. “Objective” in this context means “basing one’s decisions on facts”. Thus you’re stating that AGW Believers have based their conclusions on facts.
4. AGW Skeptics are “partisan idealogues” but, by implication, AGW Believers are non-partisan free thinkers.
5. AGW Skeptics are the ones who have closed their minds, eyes, & ears. Such folks are the ones who aren’t interested in seeing the facts and don’t want to debate.
6. AGW Believers know “The Ultimate Truth”.
7. Kate McMillan and other AGW Skeptics are racists.
8. Referring back to #1, the MSM would have covered this story much earlier except for #7.
9. AGW Skeptics are the ones who lack professionalism and have excessive bias.
10. AGW Believers and the MSM constantly exhibit a profound amount of professionalism and have very little bias.
Is that about right, Tim?
Could you kindly share with us the names of all teachers you’ve ever had? For each & every one of them should have their credentials thoroughly investigated.
Gee Tim, do you know the meaning of the word hypocrite? It’s what we like to call Al Gore by the way. 99% of all liberals worldwide have put their feet in the sand and refused to believe that they were wrong. Even after the emails surfaced, none of them would admit how damning they were. They just brushed them off because they didn’t believe it was possible they were wrong. Funny thing is, we were right to stick our feet in the sand. Do you know why? Because anyone who claims how dire a situation is, and actually believes it, doesn’t solve it with a tax. It probably also had to do with the fact that Al Gore was the primary spokesperson for the entire scheme.
You know what else is funny? This is:
you care more about being right in your original thought than the ultimate truth.
tim, if she were right in her original thought, then the ultimate truth was her original thought, they were one and the same. Instead, it was the liberals, greens, and the MSM that cared more about being right than the ultimate truth. AND WE CAN PROVE IT!!!
But just for the record, it was the ultimate truth we cared about. You guys just couldn’t see it. We continued to read, you guys just gave up and said “the science is settled!” Honest people like Watts and McIntyre and countless others have been slandered, derided, put down, accused of being in the pocket of “big oil”, and more. Try having an honest discussion of the science. Go to slashdot and read one of the many threads on climate change there. Anyone who disagrees with “big science” is instantly accused of being funded by “big oil”. Reference any of the studies that have shown something that doesn’t fit the theory, and it’s immediately discounted. Here are a few things I’ve heard in the debate: “I wouldn’t believe anything he says, he manipulates the data “, “He cherry picks only data that supports his argument”, “none of his work is peer-reviewed”, “he’s not a climate scientist, he’s a weatherman” and more. Now it turns out that the exact opposite is in fact true, it was the scientists who were manipulating, cherry picking, manipulating the peer-review system, and accepting huge sums of money.
Al Gore, $200million richer!
Phil Jones, $22 million in grants in the last 20 years!
Who else?
Tim, uh-UH, no, you’re flat out wrong. The reason the MSM took so long to report on the corruption exposed by Climategate is because so many within the media elite are gutless. They won’t stick their necks out to distinguish themselves from the herd. They’re pack animals.
So, tim, it’s actually Kate McMillan’s fault that the MSM have tried to bury this story! That’s genius, that is.
BTW – is this the longest SDA thread ever?
Barbara P., did you notice that on CTV the Tiger Woods’ scandal far outweighed, in terms of alloted time, the climategate coverage?
Dear Tim,
Since we’re in the Christmas Season, let me christen you with posting THE STUPIDEST comment I’ve read in some time. ~ Robert W.
Either that or he’s an insider at CBC; apparently trembling in their mukluks.
“Either that or he’s an insider at CBC; apparently trembling in their mukluks.
Posted by: glasnost at December 4, 2009 5:22 AM
Unfortunately,glasnost,they are not trembling.They know our so called “conservative” gubermint hasn’t the guts to shut them down,so they will just carry on as if normal.And we,the sheeple of Canukistan,don’t have the balls to stand up to them.Can we say revolution???Yeah,right.
Goreacle Report: Ah don’t believe these climate modellers with their 1″ of snow.
Ah don’t believe this:
“Since this area rarely experiences this type of weather,”.
…-
“Forecasters issue winter weather advisory (South Louisiana)
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) – The National Weather Service in New Orleans has issued a winter weather advisory for portions of southeast Louisiana and extreme southern Mississippi, including the Capital area.
The advisory will be in effect from 6 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Saturday. A wintry mix of rain and snow is expected to develop across the Metro Baton Rouge area, the Florida parishes and southwest Mississippi by Friday evening.
Forecasters said the combination is expected to change to all snow early Friday night. They added the snow will continue through the early morning hours of Saturday before ending.
Up to an inch of snow is predicted for much of the area under the advisory. Locally higher accumulations up to 1.5 inches will be possible under the strongest snow bands, the advisory indicated.
Weather experts said the major concerns associated with this winter weather will be dangerous icing conditions, mainly on bridges and overpasses. Drivers are urged to slow down and allow extra time when travelling.
Since this area rarely experiences this type of weather, additional suggestions were offered for those who will be out in the elements during the hours of advisement.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400081/posts
I have a (admittedly thin) theory as to why CTV is blind on this issue. They could have been on top of this issue except for the fact that the organization is totally Toronto-centric. Management lives and breathes the Liberal Party’s ethos (heh, yeh, I know…). They’re symbiotic.
I’m guessing that marching orders were cut that implied ‘don’t embarrass the Liberals’, I say implied because it would be well nigh impossible to work for an organization of that size without understanding the corporate objectives, and they don’t include getting Harper a majority.
It’s never been that difficult to cull the wild ducks from an organization…
The Goracle does NOT speak.
“The former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner had been scheduled to speak to more than 3,000 people at a Dec. 16 event hosted by the Berlingske Tidende newspaper group. The group says Gore canceled the lecture Thursday, citing unforeseen changes in his schedule.”
And…….
“Just days ahead of an international climate change conference, global warming guru and former Vice President Al Gore has been hit by an inconvenient scandal — one that’s reverberated all the way back to Hollywood.”
Great post ‘Kate’.
Comment Post by tim at December 4, 2009 12:20 AM.
So ‘Tim’, all of ‘Kates’ posting proceeding this post with hockey stick graphs, pics of environmental temp reading monitors, links to scientist papers, government papers, news articles and so many more. I guess you must of missed all that!.
“As I have harped here for ages, just think GORE and RICO. I hope I hear it often, Gore and the Rico Act has a nice sound to it. ”
I’ve said the same about “congress” and RICO for years, despite my dislike of RICO as a concept.
“Kate, one of the reasons the MSM doesn’t cover stories like these right away is because you and many others against AGW theory aren’t objective, but rather, partisan ideologues. You’ve put your feet in the sand and aren’t willing to hear or believe anything but what you believe now” – Tim
“The ironing is delicious!” – Bart
I’m a bit late commenting on this, but here goes….
“As you might expect, CBC News editors are faced daily with choosing – from among the thousands available in Canada and around the world – the few dozen stories that they feel are the most significant and will be of the greatest interest to Canadians. It is a decision made all the more difficult by the limited resources and time available in our news programs and our Internet pages. Of course, we cannot include all, or even many, of the stories taking place around the country and the world, but thank you for drawing this one to our attention. We will continue to follow it.”
I suppose that must be the same reason CBC didn’t bother reporting the events of 9/11 on the radio until several hours after the towers had fallen – not necessarily news when planes fly into buildings killing thousands. Why then should a concerted and fraudulent effort to destroy the (western) world’s economy, lifestyles, and liberties be newsworthy – unless propogated by the vast right wing conspiracy machine?
Kate is “unprofessional”? No shit, Sherlock. She is a very gifted amateur and thank God for that. If she was a professional journalist, she would be boring us to death with news about Tiger Woods and how Obama and Gore are “saving the planet” from the evils of capitalism.
Tim, who has not yet been chastised enough, said: “…you and many others against AGW theory aren’t objective, but rather, partisan ideologues…”
Sure Tim. Except that Kate doesn’t post hollow propaganda and ideological tracts. She’s been posting pictures of the NOAA thermometer sited over the asphalt driveway next to an A/C vent and a barbecue. For years. She does not “believe” there is no global warming, she’s been -proving- there’s no global warming. Get the distinction?
For myself, I find FUNCTIONALITY to be first and foremost in my considerations of science and evidence. One bad weather station is just sloppy. 10% of weather stations being bad is massive incompetence. More than 10% is enemy action, Tim. Look up and see how many stations in the USA don’t meet minimum NASA standards, it’ll shock you I bet.
Objectively Tim, AGW is bullroar.
You’re going to wake up one day soon and the evidence will be inescapable. Guys who are caught red handed are going to spill their guts and admit the fraud, the data laundering, the fabrications, the -theft of research money-, all of it. You and your fellow climate Koolaid snorters will be confronted with these inconvenient truths, and realize that WE, not you, were right all along. And that we’ve been pretty reasonable about the whole thing too.
I mean, when was the last time a Conservative firebombed a crooked climate researcher’s house, or jumped them in the street? Busted up their office? Compare and contrast with the activities of your fellow greenies, your tree and bunny hugger fellow travelers who ransack labs, burn homes, blow up fish and chip shops (because meat is murder you know) and et bloody cetera.
I await your enlightenment with a considerable sense of satisfaction. It is going to hurt, monkey boy. You are going to be seriously ashamed of yourself. Really, really soon.
/.rant/.
There, that’s my swing of the cluebat for today friends. Everybody here except for the trolls, your all ROCK. F-in’ A.
BTW – Kate – I saw your post (this base post) printed in the editorial section of the Toronto Sun today, in Bowmanville, ON.
Ive noticed weather channel founder John Coleman has written an article on pajamas media about Climategate. Dr Coleman(whom Ive personally met) beleives we need old media coverage to get this story out. Ive suggested several names in the meteorology business to put pressure on. Start with the likes of former head of the National Hurricane Center, Dr Max Mayfield. Ive also suggested retired U/Chicago professor Theodore “ted” Fujita, the man whom the Fujita scale for measuring tornado intensity is named for. Also noted Colorado State professor William Gray, the hurricane forecaster who I beleive is already an AGW skeptic. Also at Colorado st(maybe U Colorado, IM not totally sure) professor Dr Josh Wurman, one of the countries leading tornado researchers. Men like these men should be enlisted in this effort. Or they should be exposed as part of the problem if they dont want to debate the topic.
I suspect the MSM is just now recovering from the shot to the noggin from an errant ball off of Tiger’s #1 wood. I’m sure they’ll get on topic shortly.
Dan
I suspect the MSM is just now recovering from the shot to the noggin they received from an errant ball off of Tiger’s #1 wood. It’s possible they’ll get on track shortly.
Dan