Saturday, November 10, 2007

Political Vendetta

"Mr. Speaker, in no democracy in this world," cried Van Loan as the questions persisted for days, "does a prime minister and a party use their power to conduct political vendettas against their political enemies."


Oh really what would you call this then.....

Climatologists puzzled at rationale for ending research fund
"I truly think they don't understand what research means," said Dr. Andrew Weaver, a climatologist from the University of Victoria's School of Earth

Feds cutting climate studies: Nobel winners
Nobel Prize-winning scientists from Canada say the Harper government has shut down a federal climate change research network and blocked new studies on the ...

Nobel scientists deliver stinging criticism of federal government
"I can only put it down as one of two things," said Dr. Andrew Weaver, a climatologist from the University of Victoria's School of Earth and Ocean Sciences.

Canadian scientists sharing Nobel prize
University of Victoria senior scientist Ken Denman said the prestigious award raises climate change in the public consciousness.


The Conservatives of course may be upset over their flat earth 'pals' getting short shrift on CBC's Fifth Estate, the same program that exposed the Mulroney Schrieber affair that Van Loan was actually referring to in his quote.

From basic statistics mistakes to subliminal language tricks,
The Denial Machine disgraces the CBC

Another less severe, though still significant subliminal trick used by the Fifth Estate is the way they identify scientists on each side of the debate:

Climate alarmist Dr. Andrew Weaver is identified as a “climatologist” at the University of Victoria and “one of the authors of that definitive international report.”

Climate ‘skeptics’ are ascribed lesser credentials. I (Tim Ball) am just “a retired University of Winnipeg Professor”, a “so-called expert” “who hasn’t published original research in years”.






SEE

Junque Journalism

Michael Crichton Climate Change Denier

Strange Bedfellows

Saving Capitalism From Itself

Echo Chamber

Fraser Institutes Flat Earth Report

Fraser Institute Meets Bill O'Riley

Flat Earth Society Meets In London

Capitalism Creates Global Warming


Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
, , , , , ,
, , ,
, ,

4 comments:

Dan L. Johnson said...

Quote (complaining):

I (Tim Ball) am just “a retired University of Winnipeg Professor”, a “so-called expert” “who hasn’t published original research in years”.

Unquote

I agree that part of this is wrong: not many people familiar with research would call him an expert.

Tom Harris said...

Please read the rest of the piece:

"In fact, my most recent paper was published earlier in 2007 in the scientific journal, Ecological Complexity. It is entitled Polar bears of western Hudson Bay and climate change: Are warming spring air temperatures the “ultimate” survival control factor? and was co-authored with Baliunas, Dyck, Soon, Baydack, Legates, and Hancock. I was also the co-author of the book Eighteenth Century Naturalists of Hudson Bay (2004 - McGill/Queens University Press) with Dr. Stuart Houston, one of the World’s leading authorities on arctic birds."

Dr. Ball's Ph.D is specifically in climatology from the University of London England, Queen Mary College. He taught climatology at university for 25 years and co-authored the climatology half of a university textbook. He has extensive record of consulting work on climate and has written a column on weather and climate for agribusiness for 17 years.

The Fifth Estate clearly fell down on the job on this one - see the rest of our piece at http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/551

Sincerely,

Tom Harris, B. Eng., M. Eng. (thermofluids)
Executive Director
Natural Resources Stewardship Project
P.O. Box 23013
Ottawa, Ontario K2A 4E2
Canada

Web: www.nrsp.com

Dan L. Johnson said...

Last time I looked, opinions about polar bears and data on 18th century naturalists do not equal expertise in atmospheric physics and chemistry.

Normally one has to conduct research and publish in an area, or at the very least take a relevant course in grad school...

Dan L. Johnson said...

This article, funded in part by Exxon-Mobil Corporation, was published as a “Viewpoint”:

Dyck, M.G., Soon, W., Baydeck, R.K., Legates, D.R., Baliunas, S. Ball, T.F, and Hancock, L.O. 2007. Polar bears of western Hudson Bay and climate change: Are warming spring air temperatures the “ultimate” survival control factor? Ecological Complexity 4(3): 73-84

"Acknowledgements
... M. Dyck and W. Soon initiated this scientific study around 2002–2003 without seeking research fundings and both have contributed equally. W. Soon's effort for the completion of this paper was partially supported by grants from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, American Petroleum Institute, and Exxon-Mobil Corporation. The views expressed herein are solely of the authors and are independent of sources providing support."