Global You-know-what

If Al Gore is right, why does he need to cheat? He said there was a consensus within the scientific community on man-made global warming in 1992, and there wasn't. So now he says that this time there really is a consensus, but the difference this time is, oh wait, there is no difference - it's still a lie.

Good article by a guy who started out trying to prove that there was a consensus:

More than six months ago, I began writing this series, The Deniers. When I began, I accepted the prevailing view that scientists overwhelmingly believe that climate change threatens the planet. I doubted only claims that the dissenters were either kooks on the margins of science or sell-outs in the pockets of the oil companies.

My series set out to profile the dissenters -- those who deny that the science is settled on climate change -- and to have their views heard. To demonstrate that dissent is credible, I chose high-ranking scientists at the world's premier scientific establishments. I considered stopping after writing six profiles, thinking I had made my point, but continued the series due to feedback from readers. I next planned to stop writing after 10 profiles, then 12, but the feedback increased. Now, after profiling more than 20 deniers, I do not know when I will stop -- the list of distinguished scientists who question the IPCC grows daily, as does the number of emails I receive, many from scientists who express gratitude for my series.

So what does this false consensus do? It ends debate. Al's said it: the debate is over. He said that 15 years ago but it didn't take. Now he's saying it again and more people are buying it. But that doesn't make it true.

The Presbyterian Four

Story out of NY:

NEW YORK -- According to NewsChannel4's Jonathan Dienst, three people were arrested and one other was being sought Saturday in connection to a plot to blow up jet-fuel lines at John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials said.

Four people have been charged. One is in custody in New York. Three suspects in total are in custody. One is still at large in Trinidad.

According to sources, the suspects have been identified as: Russell Defreitas, Abdul Nur, Kareem Ibrihim and Abdul Kadir.....

OK, I was just speculating. They might not be Presbyterian at all. Could be those darned Methodists again.

Jack Kevorkian Gets Out

I see that assisted suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian got out of jail today. In this photo, he is seen posing with his, what? Wrong picture? AH, not again!

Give Hillary a Break

A lot is being made of the Clinton campaign's creative spelling at her speech in Silicon Valley. You've probably seen it:


But Hillary herself noticed the mistake and had corrections made:


So we should probably lighten up.

Dart Time at the Zoo

"Oh man, not again"

I've been there. You feel a sharp pain in your shoulder, you see some colored lights, then you wake up with fresh dental work and the vague feeling that people have been poking you where they oughtn't have.

But the story the dart-picture came from is about how, despite being trained by well-meaning humans, the first panda bred in captivity and released into the wild lasted less than a year before being killed by real wild pandas. Maybe it wasn't "despite being trained" so much as "due to being trained" by the well-meaning humans.

The lesson they should be taking from this is that nature is more complex and subtle than can be appreciated by scientists sitting in a lab. "Sure, Panda interactions are complex but the rest of the natural world is simple. Global climate change? Piece of cake."

Adam Gadahn, Sheep Worrier

Busy Day

Sorry for the light blogging today, I've been busier than Rosie's spell checker this morning. Enjoy this image from the Wenling zoo, "just before the chicks turned and attacked."

Go Cindy, Go

Sheehan says: "I'm going home for awhile to try and be normal,"



"Try to be normal"? Ummm, good luck with that. And this, just as the world begins to see the monster emerging in Venezuela. Cindy, that guy you were thumbs-upping is doing to Venezuela what Castro did to Cuba. Yeah, go home and be whatever; just go home.

Cute to the Power of Two!

Why with music like this we could stop continental drift! Best part: the mention of styrofoam, which hasn't been made with CFCs for 15 years. Remember? The bad rap was that CFCs were destroying the stratospheric ozone layer. So they were drastically curtailed and it doesn't seem to have changed the "ozone hole" at all... Anyway, the styrofoam myth lives on, even though CFCs haven't been used to make it since before these two girls were born. Who needs facts when you've got commitment!
h/t Tim Blair

Things Get Serious in Venezuela

It's still ok to protest in the streets, so long as you protest against what the government tells you to. As you can see from the photo, things have gotten to the point where protesters must wear makeshift armor. "Make them feel slightly ridiculous as they beat you to the ground!" was this protester's rallying cry.