Bishop Hill The poisonous influence of GuardianEco
Nov 29, 2010 Interesting fact 1: when Bob Ward wrote his hit piece about me at the Guardian, the libellous bits - saying that I had a "history of making misleading statements" or whatever it was - were not written by Ward but were added by James Randerson, the editor at GuardianEco.
Interesting fact 2: when the Guardian wrote up the press conference for the GWPF report, the bit at the top saying the report would be "rejected for its hypocrisy" were not written by the author, Fred Pearce, but were added by the GuardianEco editors.
Interesting fact 3: on Friday, I linked to Andrew Holding's thoughtful piece in the Guardian on sceptics. Several people, including Judith Curry, noted that the title didn't seem to have the same considered tone as the rest of the article. In the title bar, it reads "Opening up climate science can cut off the denialists" (Denialists appears as sceptics in the article title". The standfirst reads "Equipping the public with the tools and knowledge to understand complex issues like global warming can help them avoid the rhetorical tricks of climate 'skeptics'".
So I emailed Andrew Holding and asked whether these were his work, and of course he said "no". The original title was "The importance of minority viewpoints".
What a poisonous publication the Guardian is.
Reader Comments (63)
Guardian Environment - Duncan Clark - 10:10 Strategy Director
Guardian Environment - Ed Gillespie - Futerra -co founder - Sandbag - campaigning for emmisions trading...
Guardian - 27 articles by Bryoney Worthington - Sandbag - 10:10 board member -
Bryony was 'instrumental' in writing the 2008 Climate Change Act.
Bryony is now a Labour Peer, tasked to complete her work on 'Climate Change'
Bryony studied English Lit.
links here
http://www.realclimategate.org/2010/11/climate-connections-an-alarmist-in-the-houses-of-parliament/
Poisonous is putting it mildly. It is a credibility-free propaganda sheet for the ecoloons, censoring and spinning for all it is worth for the benefit of the great cause. Read the pious, self-regarding 'values' of the Scott Trust
http://www.gmgplc.co.uk/ScottTrust/TheScottTrustvalues/tabid/194/Default.aspx
and marvel at how the paper has come to ignore them.
What happened to the Tories' policy of centralising all government employment advertising on a website and cutting off the already loss-making paper's subsidy from the taxpayer? I'd laugh long and loud if the Grauniad went broke and had to close.
More names to be added to the list for prosecution, hopefully in the not too distant future.
Well given that to this day CIF will not admit to how Bob 'fast finger' Ward was able to read and comment on that article with such speed, becuse he been feed the artilce prior to it going on site , its no real surpise.
The Guardians’ own management have made it clear their fully and totally committed to the AGW theory , and see it as their main aim to spread the massage, the science coming a very poor second.
AS for their AGW Q&A idea , well does anyone think that stands any chance of that being fair and accurate?
Phil D
We might yet get the chance for a good belly laugh. The wretched thing nearly folded last year IIRC, and with advertising revenue and circulation both down again, it really may be on its last legs.
To be fair, it is not the only paper hanging by a thread (see the FT for example) but it certainly would not be missed. I couldn't agree with the Bish more.
Poisonous.
The CiF section appears to have come under the control of the socialist Alliance. They were trying to spin the climate message by repeatedly getting friendly moderators to purge the truth about the science. One contributor and controller believes any contradictory comment is from members of the BNP.
The question is why a major corporate newspaper would operate from the gutter. Money.
Cancun
None of the lobbying has been more telling than a statement issued by 259 investment organisations, controlling "collective assets totalling over $15 trillion" – including major banks, insurance companies and pension funds. These are the bodies calling most stridently for "government action on climate change", because they are the ones who hope to make vast sums of money out of it. They are desperate for a treaty of the type they failed to get at Copenhagen – even more so since the collapse of the US cap and trade bill – because they see their chance of turning global warming into the most lucrative fruit machine in history dwindling by the month.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/8165189/There-are-black-days-ahead-for-the-carbon-industry.html
It seems to be a common belief among the more alarmist contributors that "contrarians" on CiF are actually paid lobbyists, although no one seems to be able to provide a list of organisations willing to pay good money to attempt to influence a handful of liberal idealists.
I think they have an over-inflated idea of the significance of CiF.
Carbon trading is a massive right wing corporate scam dreamed up by Enron. It is is free market capitalism at its most virulent and criminal extreme. It is the exact opposite of what right wing Americans believe it is. Exxon almost certainly gave money to the Heartland Institute to ridicule opposition to cap and trade.
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Enron officials later expressed elation at the results of the Kyoto conference. An internal memo said the Kyoto agreement, if implemented, would "do more to promote Enron's business than almost any other regulatory initiative outside of restructuring the energy and natural gas industries in Europe and the United States."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A37287-2002Jan12¬Found=true
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International Emissions Trading Association (IETA)
BP, Conoco Philips, Shell, E.ON, EDF , Gazprom, Barclays, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley.. Goldman Sachs.
http://www.ieta.org/ieta/www/pages/index.php?IdSiteTree=1249
Fans of irony will note that The Guardian continues to make substantial losses (£54m at last count) and it is only Autotrader that continues to keep the group alive...
Press Complaints has given Monbiot free rein to lie about whatever he wants, without any burden to provide balance. North vs Guardian.
Monbiot can state his fallacious opinion as if it were fact, with no recourse available to those he wrongs. How pants is that?
The Guardian's mini-biograph for Darrell Issa (from 13 October 2010):
Wikipedia (extracts):
So he dropped out of high school to join the army, where he served very well, and later graduated from university. And the car theft was real, but when he was a teenager, and he later rehabilitated himself several times over.
Is the Guardian a newspaper???
"poisonous publication" is a little unfair on the real poisonous publications, at least they're open about their poison, the Gruidiad is more nefarious.
I suggest a policy of civil disobedience to all these eco-propaganda sheets - for the next 3 months reply to any AGW nonsense with - OPEN A WINDOW
it'll go viral, for the next 3 moths the argument is that simple
What's the point of constantly refuting their arguments, it seems to give them some form of credibility, as if there hypothesis held some water, instead of a rusty colander it is.
It won't be long before the comedy circuit starts on global warming, it's surely history then.
"hottest on record" Oi MET office - OPEN A WINDOW
and boycott Autotrader until the Gruiad OPEN A WINDOW too :)
The Grauniad is losing 100,000 pounds a day, and here's its version of good news: "Also, as the economy emerges from recession we are seeing the beginning of a recovery in advertising revenues, with year-on-year declines slowing, and we expect this improving trend to continue.
I bet the shareholders stood up and cheered wildly at that one.
"It seems to be a common belief among the more alarmist contributors that "contrarians" on CiF are actually paid lobbyists,"
No it isn't. Most of these people orchestrated trolls who lie about literally everything. They are disruptors, not debaters.
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Sceptic alerts
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It comes from an organisation called the Campaign Against Climate Change. Its honorary president is George Monbiot;
http://jamesdelingpole.com/blog/get-your-trolls-off-my-lawn-monbiot-928/
I think a better one line response to alarmist claims is to tie into HBO's new series Game of Thrones, a large part of plot deals with the cyclic nature of climate in a fantasy world. Their promo tag line is "Winter is Coming".
http://www.hbo.com/video/video.html/?autoplay=true&vid=1145144&filter=game-of-thrones&view=null
This is Randerson's latest...
Why the salt miners of Uganda's lakes are dying for a deal on climate change
It is just Cancun propaganda. Get some photo of a poor black guy up to his knees in "shit".
If you read the article and comments, there is no logic to it. It is just something to link to Climate change. These articles though are just preaching to the choir. Then of course you notice "In partnership with the Melinda and Bill Gates foundation", we all have a price.
Is tells you much about the man. If I had visited such people, Climate Change would have been far from my thoughts of action to take. Actually linking their life and future to Climate Change is an insult to them.
[Note: Randerson also agrees in the comments that heavy Cumbrian rain is Climate Change, please tell the locals.]
The best comment though came from an actual Ugandan, worth reading. Quite humbling.
Well the writer visited my home country and i think we missing the point. If you did a survey about the perception and understanding of climate change among ordinary people here in Uganda and AFRICA as a whole you would be surprised.
Precisely nobody knows or cares about this whole thing called climate change, workshops have been held in posh hotels here in Kampala to discuss the subject but i can assure you there crowned by cocktails and dinners, attended by ministers and environmentalist but the ordinary man does not know a thing.
So the dilemma of my Katwe countrymen should not be a surprise at-all. Commentators on climate change are holding the stick from a wrong end. The real people coming to terms with change in climate have not been told what is happening because those supposed to do it discuss under air conditioned halls, so they also don't have first hand experience of the changing whether. This is what the Cancun summit should address, do the people who earn a living by burning charcoal know what is happening, what alternatives are in place, who should tell them? Well the money may be mobilized but.......but will it be put to the right cause or it will be used to bankroll workshops and pay transport allowances?
To me this article is an attempt to reflect abject poverty among Ugandans toiling to earn a living. It does not rise the hard questions why these poor brothers have been left to work under such conditions to bring out the salt we taste everyday.
I have taken it up to myself mobilizing school going children in my village to plant trees. every month i buy 5o seedlings and distribute to them and tell the young kids that is your future, the message is spreading we have so far planted 350 trees in my village under this 3 months initiative. They water them everyday after school.
This is a more practical approach to climate change.
E smith Carbon trading is a massive right wing corporate scam dreamed up by Enron. It is is free market capitalism at its most virulent and criminal extreme.
JK: ABSOLUTELY WRONG! Carbon trading is ONLY possible through government mandates which are absolutely NOT free market.
Free market is a market free of government mandates, with the only regulations being to ensure safety & honesty.
Thanks
JK
Turning Tide “...over-inflated idea of the significance of CiF”.
Well, it gets read. On a recent thread, a sceptic who got his comment in early got 600+ “recommends”. Just guessing, but I bet not 1 in 10 readers presses the recommend button, so you’re getting your message to thousands. And you do a pretty good job there. Congrats. My mate sisterdingo is a big fan of yours.
Simon Hopkinson “Monbiot can state his fallacious opinion...”
Several of his campaigns have been lead balloons, thanks to a totally uncoordinated campaign of tearing apart his arguments on the comment threads. See “My Affair with George Monbiot” at
http://ccgi.newbery1.plus.com/blog/?p=357
I like to think that we’re at last partly responsible for the fact that he’s gone back to writing about badgers and recipes for organic apple juice.
"writing about badgers and recipes for organic apple juice"
I initially read that as "recipes for badgers". Shame it's only in my imagination...
(I like badgers, BTW)
I wonder how many times one could work the phrase "The importance of minority viewpoints" into a comment
'Jim Karlock'
I take your point about your libertarian definition of free market. Let's go with
' It is capitalism at its most virulent and criminal extreme' created by the corporate death star, Enron. Governments will make no money from cap and trade, corporations, particularly banks will make trillions. Global warming is essentially a banking scam as Christopher Booker implies in the article above. There are no government members of IETA.
E smith Carbon trading is a massive right wing corporate scam dreamed up by Enron. It is is free market capitalism at its most virulent and criminal extreme.
JK: ABSOLUTELY WRONG! Carbon trading is ONLY possible through government mandates which are absolutely NOT free market.
Indeed, it's the free (lack of) market that has brought the Chicago Carbon exchange to its knees.
Nial
The Telegraph has been publishing propaganda on a regular basis and today they have really piled on the alarmism with nearly two full pages of pure ecoterror. At this rate I'll have to switch to the Guardian which seems measured and restrained in comparison...
for - e smith
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2010/4/19/skeptic-alerts.html
an update on that v soon!!!
@Schrodinger's moggy
Re the Telegraph... "rationing"... "+4 C"... "Royal Society"... "Leading Academics"... etc...
Read the on line comments... it seems the Telegraph editorial staff is a little divorced from its on-line readership.
I still find it strange that one of the "qualities" has not come over sceptic... seems a gap in the market. However the same could be said for our political parties. So it is probably not a surprise.
Re: Nov 29, 2010 at 1:59 PM | Schrodinger's Cat
Yes, there's a huge spate of alarmist articles, many based on the papers in this special issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society published today:
http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/369/1934.toc
No doubt the publishing schedule owed nothing to upcoming climate talks....
"every month i buy 50 seedlings and distribute to them and tell the young kids that is your future, the message is spreading we have so far planted 350 trees in my village"
That is humbling. I wonder how many Guardianistas do likewise..?
Rick Bradford
with year-on-year declines slowing, and we expect this improving trend to continue.
Perhaps asymptotically to zero, hopefully?
Newspapers can modify content submitted by authors when they publish it.
But, that said,....I wonder if incident qualifies for Nature's advice to "go to town" about the Guardian article, write a letter of complaint to the PCC, approach competing publications in the media with sob stories and kick up a huge ruckus just to sate your ego.
I really do not think the Independent does irony... let us call it Quantum logic...
John Kampfner: Wikileaks shows up our media for their docility at the feet of authority
The mainstream media in the UK are serial offenders. Newspapers that have no compunction about invasions of privacy or about shrill comment devote precious little time or energy to challenging authority through rigorous investigative journalism.
James P
"every month i buy 50 seedlings and distribute to them and tell the young kids that is your future, the message is spreading we have so far planted 350 trees in my village".
I guess that makes pot growing a green activity. At least that is what we do in the Foothills. Every year thousands of the little plants are carefully placed into the soil of otherwise barren patches of mountainside by loving caring guardians of the planet so they might grow and reduce global warming.
Unfortunately, the DEA, those uncaring oafs, rip them out almost as fast as they are planted. I bet the DEA is a secret governmental effort to increase CO2 levels so that they can get the Cap and Trade Bill passed.
The Guardian has always lost money, but was propped up by other profitable businesses in the Group. Now the Group is losing £171m a year, or £470,000 a day.
I thought the Royal Society was supposed to publish science, not science fiction.
I've no doubt at all that the Royal Society publishes what it's told to...
I follow Rugby Union, among other interests, and I was astounded to find an article on that subject containing a serious reference to globull warming ie 'that even Scotland could not guarantee bad winter weather in this age of global warming (to assist the Scottish Rugby team against NZ's All Blacks).
I know the particular writer is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I expected better in the Sports comment, even in the Guardian.
Up to the Climategate email revelations, I was a keen commenter on CIF, but I became tired of massive and extremely bad-tempered ad hom attacks on me which began when I asked a serious question about the vexed question of thermometer placement and historical records from them. I now have a look at CIF and admire people like Sister Dingo who are hanginging in there, but I don't have the time or the energy to spend on arguing with idiots.
Jiminy Cricket not quite true, Newspapers do have compunction about invasions of privacy when it comes to their own. There is as much dirt on Fleet Street as anywhere else. The difference is they got what in effect is a policy of, ‘you don’t stab me in my back and I won’t stab you in yours’
The Guardian is no exception to that idea.
Alexander
I've given up commenting on Cif too (mostly). It's a really aggressive and scary place. I love sister dingo
I tip my hat to her (?).
@Don Pablo, "I bet the DEA is a secret governmental effort to increase CO2 levels..."
Surely you underestimate the DEA. I'm sure that they have instead considered that the reduction in CO2 due to the horticulture is only temporary, as the carbon which is sequestered in the plants is eventually returned to the atmosphere as CO2 in an oxidation process.
However, you have a point. Certainly the time is not far off when the U.S. Congress (and legislatures in other countries) will require that all government actions be accompanied by a "carbon dioxide impact statement" which describes in detail the effect of the proposed action/legislation upon CO2 levels or emission rates, and the dire consequences thereof.
I have always considered the Guardian as the most poisonous daily newspaper in the UK. As for Randerton, he made it clear in a comments thread, where the issue of Guardian censorship of comments was raised, that the Guardian has a 'policy' to be upheld on global warming, and he is going to ensure that he upholds it. The policy is NOT to report the news fairly. The Guardian has a settled opinion on the matter, and it is to push the CAGW agenda. That's according to James Randerton himself.
HaroldW
Surely you underestimate the DEA. I'm sure that they have instead considered that the reduction in CO2 due to the horticulture is only temporary, as the carbon which is sequestered in the plants is eventually returned to the atmosphere as CO2 in an oxidation process.
Well, given that they burn every poor little plant that they rip out of the ground in large bonfires, spend millions on fuel for both the U2 reconn plane they fly over the foothills, not to mention much more in helicopter fuel, I doubt that they are so clever. Their goal is obviously to increase CO2 levels as rapidly as possible. And sadly, they even keep us from standing down wind of those bonfires for fear that we will inhale the CO2 produced and thus reduce it. Utterly insidious, it is.
And I agree that there will be a "carbon impact" statement required for everything done here after, except, of course, the time, money and carbon dioxide produced to produce said impact statements.
Scientistfortruth 5.31pm
Do you have a link or approximate date for Randerson’s comment on global warming being Guardian “policy”? It’s the kind of quote my friend sisterdingo would love to quote on CiF. How can anyone with a scientific background say such a thing? Does it not ring some very cracked bells somewhere?
The Telegraph has been overrun by idiots and ecoloons, some of us give 'em what-for.
On the grauniad, many moons ago it was a serious paper, loony left but it had some good points, like Lacey in the Sports section and some mushy but readable articles.
It was always pro EU though, and the commies were always there too.
Since about circa 1994 the Nu-lavs gave it a boost and AGW was it's new Crusade (Grauniad + Crusade) should I say Jihad - that's more like the grauniad we all hate.
Trouble is the grauniad is now a comic but one the chatterati read and believe almost with religious fanaticism. Heterodoxy is Apostasy, realists are infidels and Allah will have his revenge!
Poisonous it is, mark my words though, the EU and the Socialists will fight tooth and claw to maintain it.
Climate change will cost a billion people their homes, says report
Really trying to ramp it up... I am not a climate scientist, and I read this crap and think thank christ for that...
Athelstan
“the grauniad is now a comic but one the chatterati read” agreed, but since it’s probably read and believed by all three party leaders, it means we are being ruled by the most blinkered establishment since the mediaeval papacy (no, that’s unfair. The Popes got about and mixed a lot more than the Green and the Good who govern us).
Which is why CiF is such a haven of fresh air, a samizdat blogroll at the heart of the Kremlin. Maybe someone reads the opinions of Graun bloggers; maybe their internal email server will spring a leak...
It was the blinkered certainties of not just the Guardian carbonistas but the whole of their science department that made me choose to support their 10:10 campaign by cancelling my order for the paper.
The line tken by their objective and independent minded science writers whenever queried always seemed to be "You're not a scientists therefore you are not allowed to question science.
I am sure all posters here do not have hearts of stone, particularly as we head toward the season of goodwill. You have to understand the true human cost of your actions; particularly those of you who are regulars here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5f3gRqliX4
@simpleseekeraftertruth
You have shamed me... I will make sure I purchase for the deserving cause...
My subscription to the Beano will be forthcoming...
It is not, all things considered, printed on soft enough paper.