Michael Mann forced into a “do-over” in Mann -vs- CEI & Steyn

“Michael Mann forced into a “do-over” in Mann -vs- CEI & Steyn” (2013-12-23). This is why prejudiced idiots like Anthony Watts should avoid legal interpretation as well as stay out of science. Did Dr. Mann’s libel case against Mark Steyn, Rand Simberg CEI, and the National Review suffer a serious blow, or has irrelevant legal posturing by the defence been swept aside? Anthony doesn’t seem to actually know.

Sez “citizen scientist”/playground lawyer Anthony about Dr. Michael Mann’s libel lawsuit against denialist hacks (he seems to have forgotten about a couple of the defendants);

What a great Christmas present for Mike. It is back to square one for him with his lawsuit over what he views as libel by Mark Steyn and CEI.

What really happened was that defendant Steyn and his lobbyist pals were told that their appeal was about something that was no longer part of the libel suit. What was that something, you ask? Dr. Mann’s lawsuit initially described him as an Nobel Laureate when in fact he merely received a certificate of thanks from the IPCC for his lead role in their climate change report. It was the IPCC as an organization that actually received the Nobel Prize and they in turn thanked Dr. Mann, therefore everything Dr. Mann has ever said is a lie and so is Global Warming! Or some such Hail-Mary argument.

Lacking from the defence appeal was anything relevant to Steyn’s assertion that Dr. Mann’s research was “fraudulent”.

Here’s another more thoughtful comment on the antics of the defendants from the ;

If I was a judge, and someone filed an appeal with me that lacked jurisdiction due to mootness, and counsel admitted they knew it was moot when they filed it, I would sanction counsel for abuse of process.

You can read Steyn’s own ironically titled legal analysis on the National Review website: Mumbo-Jumbo for Beginners. Or try Rabett Run for a bit more perspective: The Appeals Fairy Declines Jurisdiction

My take on this is Anthony Watts and the defendants are simply expressing a variation of Goreaphobia. Their actions are governed by personality and resentment and all they can do here is squawk about scientific awards.

Funny how Anthony’s silent about denialists trying to use the meaningless “IPCC Reviewer” tag for their own vanity. Or Lord Monckton actually making a fake “Nobel Prize pin.”

Thank you for watching WUWT-TV

“Thank you for watching WUWT-TV” (2012-11-16). Anthony Watts pats himself on the back for his anti-Gore Skype-athon.

He “won on science”! As opposed to logic or coherence. Which is why Senator Inhofe and Lord Monckton were booked on Anthony’s gong show.

Everyone who watched the Climate Reality broadcast was a computer “bot” set to reload every ten seconds! Denial science proves it.

His amateur 24 hours were “illustrative of the disparity between the well funded “haves” [communist environmentalists] and “have nots” [noble denialists]”! Which of course brings up the question that Anthony’s leaving pretty vague: what did his little show cost and who paid for it?

That Reality Drop video that says Not a Single Legitimate Scientific Body Disputes [AGW] is hilarious!

Hilarious! Because it’s true, right Anthony?

Whatever. Go to Reality Drop and see how quickly Anthony’s defiant house of cards collapses.

WUWT-TV’s answer to Al Gore’s ‘Dirty Weather Report’ is ON THE AIR

“WUWT-TV’s answer to Al Gore’s ‘Dirty Weather Report’ is ON THE AIR” (2012-11-14). One word: painfully amateur. OK, that’s two words. It’s going to be a useful resource though, a concise compendium of dumb-ass blow-hards that won’t be able to squirm away from their claims.

The constant technical stumbles actually make Anthony Watts’ F*CKUP-TV look better than it is though. Surely they meant to say something else? Something intelligent? They just lost their notes, right?

Production values, denialist-style.

Gore’s Climate Reality show pales in comparison!

So who paid the $10,000+ for Anthony’s web setup? Not to mention the bandwidth costs.  He’s being coy about that…

The IPCC weighs in on the Mann Nobel dilemma, and throws him under the bus

“The IPCC weighs in on the Mann Nobel dilemma, and throws him under the bus” (2012-11-02). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change swats a semantic mosquito and Anthony Watts, as he gets squished like the bug he is, declares victory.

So did Dr. Michael Mann win the Nobel Peace Prize or just help?

Apparently it’s way more important to argue about semantics, comma placement, etc. and use that for personal attacks than it is to discuss climate change science. Honest scientific discussion is a topic of last resort at WUWT, repeatedly chosen “Best Science Blog”, by weblogawards.org. (Funny how in every possible 2012 category denialist bloggers “won”. Like every fraudulent accolade Anthony claims, they aren’t worth the pixels they’re printed on.)

  • Did the IPCC receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for their scientific work on Climate Change? Yes. They shared it with crypto-communist Al Gore.
  • Did the IPCC thank key contributors for their work, which resulted in the IPCC receiving the Nobel Peace Prize? Yes.
  • Was Dr. Mann one of those contributors? Yes.
  • Did Dr. Mann, in fit of alleged ego, fabricate his own Nobel Peace Prize certificate? No.
  • Do Anthony and his denialist buddies care? No.

Announcement: WUWT-TV to counter Al Gore’s ’24 Hours of Climate Reality’ with live webcast

“Announcement: WUWT-TV to counter Al Gore’s ’24 Hours of Climate Reality’ with live webcast” (2012-10-29). Another day, another grandiose proclamation from Anthony Watts. Just last Friday we were told to brace ourselves for “a major announcement” and here it is! Gasp in amazement! Tremble in awe!

Turns out that Anthony merely got wind of Algore’s latest evil scheme – “another transparent attempt to link climate and weather”, which apparently have nothing to do with each other – and he’s banged together a counterattack.

Remember Al Gore’s 24 Hours of Climate Reality last year, which worked Anthony into yet another state of anoxia because it used video production techniques? (Sort of like everything ever produced by professionals.) Anthony ain’t gonna stand for it when Gore presents a “Dirty Weather Telethon” next month.

Anthony knew our minds would be blown if we weren’t given a chance to brace ourselves, hence the 72 hour notice. But here it is: the Koch Brothers bought him a webcam and he’s going to do a webcast! You know it’s PRO because he’s even got PowerPoint and a “clicker”. And it’s called “WUWT-TV”. Almost all of his denialist attention-hound buddies will be firing up Skype so they can blink and cough in the guest window. Denialism’s Who’s Who, ranging from Ross McKitrick (not a climate scientist) to Senator Jim Inhofe (not even faintly a scientist)  to morris dancer Screaming Lord Sutch Lord Monckton (not a scientist, period).

I know Anthony’s puffed-up “major announcement” is just bog-standard web seminar stuff, even though he claims to have “engineered a remote ‘clicker’ that allows guest presenters to control the presentation from their end”, but it will be Community Access comedy gold. Just watch your data cap Anthony, I’d hate to see that Tip Jar get sucked dry.

Since Hurricane Sandy is bearing down on New York City while Anthony spouts his feeble “weather” misdirection, I’ll link to this Climate Progress post:

Atlantic City successfully adapts to climate change, October 29th, 2012. – Climate Progress

Al Gore’s ‘drowning polar bear’ source reprimanded

Al Gore’s ‘drowning polar bear’ source reprimanded (2012-09-29). A lying scientist has been caught red-handed! We’ll get those guys, one at a time. That’s a check mark on the good guy’s side! No need to read further.

You can always count on Anthony Watts to baldly misrepresent the facts. To put this plainly, Dr. Charles Monnett was accused of corruption (helping a scientist apply for a grant) and scientific malpractice (reporting his observation of drowned polar bears). This appears driven largely by political irritation over how other information he disclosed “helped reveal that Bush administration Arctic offshore drilling reviews illegally suppressed adverse environmental consequences.” Also, his observations were mentioned in that Communist Al Gore’s filthy propaganda, An Inconvenient Truth.

After an incompetent investigation that focused obsessively on the irrelevant dead polar bears, Dr. Monnett was only “reprimanded” because he had “improperly disclosed internal government documents”. Isn’t that the kind of thing that Anthony has been demanding more of? Transparency, letting in the light, resisting persecution, citizen-science, etc.

As usual Anthony falsely holds his target to a higher standard than he could ever live up to. Dr. Monnett is just collateral damage in Anthony’s Gore-ophobia.

REPLY: The issue is mostly with Gore’s ridiculous claims, AGW had noting to do with the dead polar bear and a dead polar bear does not a trend make. Monnet didn’t speak out when Gore took his observation and turned into into a bogus sympathy pitch -Anthony

Here’s an enlightening quote from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management press office that Anthony didn’t manage in include in his conveniently partial copy-and-paste of the Seattle Times article (this is called burying the lede):

A BOEM spokeswoman, Theresa Eisenman, said the findings in the report do not support a conclusion that the scientists involved engaged in “scientific misconduct.”

I note that Google Ads still sees Anthony’s readership as prime targets for Brain Training Games. Indeed, indeed.

Congressman Rohrabacher’s speech on climate issues

Congressman Rohrabacher’s speech on climate issues” (2011-12-17). Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher stands up and recites the current extended list of stupid denialist arguments (“ice caps on Mars”, “CO2 is not a pollutant”, “systematic oppression”, “global elites” hate “meat eaters”, etc.). He holds in his hand a list of fifty communists… scratch that… an editorial from Investor’s Business Daily to prove it.

This is now “a matter of public record” for the approving Anthony Watts, thus ending Global Warming once and for all, again.

Rohrabacher for President! He’ll read whatever we shove under his nose!

Video analysis and scene replication suggests that Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project fabricated their Climate 101 video “Simple Experiment”

Video analysis and scene replication suggests that Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project fabricated their Climate 101 video “Simple Experiment” (2011-09-28). Some awesome CSI-style investigation by Anthony Watts hisself! The recent CO2 “experiment” (well, demonstration) on Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project was all fake! Also the Algore is fat and Bill Nye wears a lab coat.


Come on Anthony, say it! “Zoom in. Now… enhance.”

After Anthony’s Zapruder-style analysis and mail-order recreation of the “fake” CO2 set-up he declares:

The only conclusion one can make from these four points is that the video of the “simple experiment” is a complete fabrication done in post production.

You know, he’s hit in the only possible explanation. Thus proving once and for all, again, that Global Warming is a lie! After-all The Longest Day, Gone with the Wind and Titanic were (probably) done in a single continuous take, why not every other piece of video?

Buried in Anthony’s howling about fake experiments not proving that CO2 is a “greenhouse gas” is the quiet admission that CO2 is actually a greenhouse gas. Because only a complete scientific illiterate would claim otherwise. But pay no attention to that awkward detail, huh?

So after Anthony’s furious nitpick accusations and his reader’s chorus of “brilliant!”, what are we left with? Anthony Watts hates Al Gore with a terrier-like obsession. Treat his occasional pleas for civility and objectivity as the fig-leaves they are.

Footnote: Want to see a 96 minute single take film? Check out Russian Ark.

Update 2011-10-01: There are some entertaining comments on Anthony’s efforts over at Media Matters, I like this one: “If you’re shocked to find out that real volcanoes have NO baking soda inside them, you just might be a Republican.”

Bill Nye is the anti-science guy when it comes to global warming and hurricanes

Bill Nye is the anti-science guy when it comes to global warming and hurricanes” (2011-08-30). Dr. Ryan Maue seems annoyed with how little traction with his denial science is getting, so he’s going to give political whining a try at his Policlimate blog. Why? Because as he says “Anthony typically avoids political issues” (I still rubbing my eyes over that). Luckily Anthony Watts seems willing, this one time, to dabble in politics by cross-posting Ryan’s rant about Bill Nye’s recent appearance on Fox News.

You know the denialists have had their asses publicly handed to them when they try to re-write an event after the fact by nit-picking someone’s live TV responses intended for a general audience (and when we talk about Fox audiences we’re talking really general) and then declare post facto victory because of imperfect grammar or getting a measurement wrong. They can also be reliably expected to complain about “tone”.

The title of this YouTube copy is “Bill Nye insists the earth is warming though data shows it is not.” and has comments disabled. Denialism writ tiny.

Seems Bill Nye didn’t play along with Fox News “Freedom Watch” guest host Charles Payne’s attempt to describe concern about our changing climate as “apocalyptic”, “irresponsible”, or to assert that there’s a bit of warming “but that’s not from man”. When Payne realized that Bill Nye wasn’t serving as a fig-leaf for Fox News’ preferred scientific assertions he pulled out the patented Fox News escape hatch of but… Al Gore! ending thus:

“We brought you on because we knew you could connect the dots,” Payne interrupted. “Although the route you’ve taken is still confusing some of the viewers.” – Fox Business Host Accuses Bill Nye of ‘Confusing Viewers’ with Science

So six minutes of interrupted reality-based answers to leading questions balances endless hours of Glenn Beck conspiracy theories? That’s “Fair and Balanced” for you.

The End is Near for Faith in AGW

The End is Near for Faith in AGW (June 25th, 2011). Anthony Watts posts a prediction by ordinary citizen Russell Cook (“semi-retired graphic artist” and right-wing blogger for the climaterealist denialists). It’s over! The warmists have lost! Or are just about to lose. I love these over-the-shoulder declarations of victory from people as they flee the debate.

Apparently his “seventeen+ months of research” allows him to declare that Al Gore’s 2007 documentary film, the last word in climate science, is based on a lie. Perhaps even more than one! Also “the media” are all mean to denialists because they don’t give equal time (except Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Times, The Telegraph, National Post, The Australian, etc.).

Here’s the vile canard that started off all the skeptic-bullying:

Skeptic scientists are accused of being in a fossil fuel-funded conspiracy to “reposition global warming as theory rather than fact“…

Here’s the big problem I found:  That accusation is based on a 1991 memo no one was allowed to see, using an out-of-context sentence, promoted by a person who was not a Pulitzer winner despite accolades to the contrary, who was credited with finding the memo by Al Gore, but Gore had the memo collection in his own possession four years earlier.

Actually, I thought that “skeptic scientists” were being accused of misrepresenting physical science and climate evidence. My bad I guess. So an unseen 1991 memo, declared to be taken out-of-context, is the real smoking gun behind all this cruelty and dispute? Oh, the irony! Oh, the blinding faith!

I will agree that it would be great to see (the eternally constipated?) Richard Lindzen, a Republican “science” witness on any number of topics since 1991, scowling in front of a House Committee again. He didn’t do too well last time, except in the imagination of self-convinced denialists.

Anthony optimistically declares victory too while strangely turning away from the science:

“When the public learns about huge faults in the skeptic scientist accusation, combined with the faults in the IPCC, the result may send AGW into total collapse.”

You’re dancing on the head of a pin, Anthony.