Sunday
Apr252010
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill The Hockey Stick and the Madoff case
Apr 25, 2010 Climate: HSI Hot on the heels of his review of The Hockey Stick Illusion, Seth Roberts looks at the parallels between the story and that of the Madoff case.
Reader Comments (2)
I am an engineer who must have upset someone in a past life, because I have been working in the International Finance System for too long.
There are parallels, however the sytems are different. At some stage one little old Jewish lady withdrawing her USD 100 has the power to bring down a Ponzi scheme, and when this type of house of cards crashes its fall is swift.
It banking at the end of day cash is reality. The whole system is built on trust.
This is not going to happen with AGW. There is nothing like 'I would to cancel my contract NOW, today', to bring AGW to its knees.
This is long haul project to fight the powers of AGW and I do not think there will be a Damascus moment with the powers that be.
Communism is a good example (and I have lived in such countries.) Simply put, the higher you went in the house of the cards the more you realised that Communism was a lie. Communism was only kicked out when more and more people at the lower levels realised it was a lie also.
And it was amazing to see that when Communism turned to Capitalism those same people adapted so well, because they knew they had been living a lie. It took about 5 years for Communism to fall in 'Europe'.
AGW will take make many more years to disappear as a driving force in our Political system. Madoff may have went to jail, just like Nicolae Ceauşescu might have been shot. But those AGW proponents now, will seemlessly change their position. Do not exclude the posibility of the Milibands of this world in 20 years claiming it was all science's fault. In prison? They certainly will not be, having 'lost' more money than Madoff even could.
This house of cards wil not fall quickly.
I got this by email today:
"Please note due to the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland, deliveries from our UK distribution centre may be slightly delayed or take a few days longer than normal. We are working closely with our mail carriers and using alternative routes to send mail to our customers where necessary - we appreciate your patience in allowing for extra delivery time considering this extra-ordinary circumstance. Whilst airmail flights have now resumed, it will take several extra days to clear backlogs."
Guess I'll have to wait some more to get hold of the HSI. :)