Booker on GLOBE

Christopher Booker picks up the GLOBE story for the Sunday Telegraph.

Comments

[Richard Drake]

Andrew, first, thank you for alerting me to Oxburgh and GLOBE on Monday - although a big fan of Andrew Orlowski at The Register I read it here first and that I will remember. But reading Booker's excellent summary just now and mulling over again how draw-droppingly stupid the AGW cabal has managed to be a new explanation comes to mind.

It's absolutely essential to the conspiracy (sorry for the C word there but when the cap and trade fits, as they say) that all the official inquiries into Climategate find that there's been no wrongdoing that harms the settled science to justify carbon permit controls before long on all industries in all countries of the world. But both the scientific misdeeds exposed by now and the way public opinion is moving so rapidly in a sceptical direction (and your book is evidently helping with that a great deal) in order to ensure a whitewash it's become essential to employ people who have a very great to lose if the alarmist bandwagon falls apart. They're the only ones now who could possible say "Nothing to see here, move along." Even Chris Rapley sees the writing on the wall - or on the Science Museum interactive website - for goodness sake. So they can only choose those in an increasingly small inner ring to try and stick their sticky fingers in the dam.

So something like 'cab for hire' Byers was bound to happen before long - hey, perhaps we should rename the Sandor money-making scheme "Cab and Trade" in his honour? Though to achieve such an exposure of one's international chairman the evening of the announcement of Oxburgh's appointment was, one has to say again, truly beyond the call of duty. Outstanding.

[not banned yet]

Richard - I think, in the now classic manner, "that it is worse than we thought".

The AGW train has been running full tilt for some time now and there has been no establishment challenge to it. There are myriad higher education courses and funding programmes based on it, endorsed by all manner of learned people and institutions. To admit it is a crock at this stage means they are also effectively saying "we have been asleep at the wheel and our credibility and competence is zero". The same for the vast majority of the media who should have been keeping the science honest. How will they overcome this? There are liability issues - on another thread there was a cut and paste of pig farmer who lost stock this winter based on the view hard winters were a thing of the past? What about those who have studied several years for a career in climate science related work who are maybe now facing very limited job prospects? The highbrow media will not pick this up and run with it because what it really says is we are not highbrow media at all - we just push an agenda that benefits us or suits our confirmation bias. Same for the politicians.

The only way forward is for a real drains up review - lets hope that Lord Oxburgh has the integrity and the stomach for it and that is the reason he accepted, rather than declined, the post. If, at the start of this Inquiry, he isn't prepared for the possibility he may have to put his name to a report that says he has been wrong, he should step aside now. The financial hit of this episode will pale into insignificance compared to a whole generation betrayed by shoddy science pushed and promoted by opportunists and let through by complacent guardians.

[SimonH]

It's worth keeping in mind that the pension funds of many MSM empires are cancer-riddled with carbon trading investments. Their reticence in picking up stories about the comedy of errors that is climatology is not merely embarrassment, it is self-interest, and it always will be unless and until they can extract themselves from that house of cards. Find the person that orchestrated that situation and you've found the one that holds the AGW puppet's strings.

[stephen lewis]

There must, by now be a media editor who can see that the wool has been pulled over their eyes. The first one to admit that they have been scammed for 2 decades by lies and false statistics would, I think, look like the brave person that they must be.
Being wrong and printing articles that they had no reason to disbelieve is not a crime in itself but continuing the deception once it becomes clear to them, perhaps is.
Now maybe the time for bravery by the acknowledged science and main stream media.

[Martin Brumby]

The problem is that it is all far too big to fail.

Just consider the political dimension. Apart from Vaclav Klaus in Czech Republic, how many influential politicians in Europe can you name who have NOT firmly nailed their colours to the alarmist mast?

OK, Lord Lawson, Peter Lilley and a handful more. Enough to make up a football team? Doubtful. And influential? Hardly.

So the other are just going to admit that they were suckered? And thay they were quite prepared to send the economy to hell in a handcart on the basis of a hoax?

Then just consider the financial interests into this, up to their armpits. And they will just roll over and look for another scam?

Much too big to fail. How the Chinese must be laughing!

[brent]

Norway’s disingenuousness once more

http://tinyurl.com/yh9ovva

[Pete]

Al Gore - Ex Pres GLOBE pretty much says it all

[hunter]

The Booker link does not appear to work.

[Rossa]

Here's another one!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1261282/MPs-Peers-run-private-company-selling-influence-Government-policy-multinationals-pay-join-parliamentary-IT-lobby-group.html

[Cumbrian Lad]

Interesting link to Tata in that Mail article.

[Don Pablo de la Sierra]

OT but for those of you who are wondering about our new contributor, Cedric Katesby, he has been infesting the blog for at least two years with his very deep understanding of science. He appears to live in South Korea. Interesting and actually amusing blog about our barking puppy here:

http://thewhitedsepulchre.blogspot.com/2010/03/cedric-katesby-lives.html

Bishop -- did you get your box of books yet? They should be on their way.

[pat]

is there any chance david cameron could be replaced as leader of the Tory Party, even at this late stage?

28 March: UK Times: Jonathan Leake and Chris Hastings : Wealthy landowners make millions in the wind rush
Among the biggest potential beneficiaries is the Duke of Roxburghe, whose planned 48-turbine scheme on his Scottish estate would generate an estimated £30m a year, shared with developers. About £17m of this would come from subsidies from consumers.
Others seeking to capitalise on the new wind rush include the Duke of Beaufort, Sir Reginald Sheffield, father of Samantha Cameron (wife of Tory leader, David Cameron), and Michael Ancram, the Tory grandee.
The growing interest in wind farms stems from the government’s subsidy system
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7078856.ece

[Dreadnought]

Not Sir Reginald Sheffield, the bold bad Baronet!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/a-throwback-to-feudalism-david-cameron-and-the-fatherinlaw-from-hell-451770.html

At least he pours his own claret.