Thursday 27 December 2012

Lord Monckton and Ezra Levant Debunk Climate Hysteria! Really?


The question is, how could Ezra Levant, a smart man, have allowed this to happen? Was it witting or unwitting?

I am referring to this well watched video CLIMATE ALARMISTS ON THE RISE put out by Sun News on December 26 in which Ezra Levant interviews Lord Christopher Monckton. The Twitter feed that got my attention said, "@EzraLevant and Lord Monckton debunk climate hysteria."

As background, here is the relevant timeline. For more background, read the Wikipedia article or do a Google search on Lord Monckton.

2009, October: Christopher Monckton gave a talk sceptical of global warming to the Minnesota Free Market Institute. The talk purported to provide scientific evidence showing that global warming was not taking place or, if it was, its impact was minimal and could be best ignored.

2010, May: John P. Abraham, an associate professor of thermal and fluid Sciences at the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering, Minnesota, published an on-line rebuttal of Monckton's statements in the form of an 73 minute video. Abraham's rebuttal was based on his having investigated the origins of many of the claims made by Monckton by contacting the authors of those papers Monckton had cited and concluding that "he had misrepresented the science". Abraham also noted numerous slides that presented "evidence" without attribution or citation as to the source of the data and which were, therefore, impossible to verify or peer review.

2012, December: Sun News Network published the video which is the subject of this blog entry.

I have watched both videos. I am greatly impressed by Lord Monckton's eloquence. I am more greatly impressed by Professor Abraham's scientific professionalism, his adherence to a peer review methodology, checking the sources of data and the originators' interpretations of those data, and the complete and utter absence of any ad hominem arguments.

So, back to my original questions - and a few more besides.

Have Ezra Levant and the Sun News Network editors watched the video of Professor Abraham's rebuttal of Lord Monckton's statements? If so, are they aware of any peer reviewed rebuttal of the rebuttal? I was not able to find one. If one exists, I am surprised that neither they nor Lord Monckton have made any reference to it.

If they have not watched Prof. Abraham's video then I would venture that they have not done their journalistic due diligence and that Lord Monckton has, indeed, taken them for a fool's ride as he has done so successfully with so many who are desperately hoping that global warming is a myth. They may as well cling to believing that evolution is a trick of the devil or that the earth is flat.

If they have, indeed, watched the Abraham video and they still prefer to glorify Monckton and tout his unverified and unverifiable assertions then I am left wordless. The little boy is wrong. The king is not in the altogether as Danny Kaye sang. He looks mighty fine in his magic suit of clothes.

If you, dear Reader, are not sure what to believe, you could do worse than have a look at Prof Abraham's video. You could do nothing.

Monday 24 December 2012

Love, Joy and Peace to All the Earth

Gloria in Excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.

Sunday 23 December 2012

I Was Adam Lanza - blog post by David Frum



I strongly, very strongly, recommend this 3-part blog by David Frum in The Daily Beast.


By way of introduction he writes:
What goes through the mind of a school shooter? In the past days, we've all asked that question. The following is one attempt at an answer. It was sent to me by a young person living in an East Coast metropolitan area. I am satisfied that the autobiographical facts described are true to the teller's memory and experience. The story is troubling, but important to consider. For reader ease, I have broken the essay into three parts. I am glad to report that the author is now personally stable, a college graduate, and gainfully employed.

This is the first in a three part essay that was submitted by an anonymous young writer.

To read David Frum's blog CLICK HERE.

2012 Year in Review by Luisa















Friday 21 December 2012

What stops a bad guy with a gun?

The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gunNRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.

Oh dear. What has happened to logic? Why is the above statement from LaPierre true and the following statement false: The only thing that stops a good guy with a gun is a bad guy with a gun?

The fact is, neither of the statements are true in and of themselves. Whether the guy with a gun is good or bad is no predictor of the outcome of a gun duel. I am no gun expert but I would expect that, all things being equal with fire-power, aim, expertise, etc., the guy who gets in the first shot will stop the other guy most of the time, regardless of who is good and who is bad. Of course, all things being equal seldom applies, anyway.

About twenty years ago or more my wife and I were discussing a South African statistic that went along the lines that the most likely victims of gun violence were the owner of the gun or close family members of the gun owner, and that gun owners or their families were more likely to be killed or receive gunshot wounds than the general population. That confirmed our decision never to own a gun or to have one in our home. My impression from stories of gun violence here in Canada and elsewhere is that this still seems to hold true.

I like what Republican Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said in response to the suggestion from LaPierre that armed guards should be put in schools. “It’s fixing the wrong problem, because the problem is cultural,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Even that is decidedly simplistic but it is heading in the right direction. Mental health has to be another huge factor in the equation. I don't know what the answer is but anybody who fastens on just one, simplistic solution is surely being simple-minded.