Bishop Hill A disgrace to the profession
Jun 11, 2015 Climate: Mann ;)
You really don't want to mess about with Mark Steyn, who is nothing if not a guy who is prepared to stick up for himself. In response to Michael Mann's libel suit, Steyn has not only countersued but now has written a book about the great climatologist.
The defamation suit against Steyn by Michael E Mann, inventor of the global-warming "hockey stick", is about to enter its fourth year at the DC Superior Court - which means Mark has a lot of case research lying around and he can't wait forever for the trial to start. So he figured he'd put some of it in a new book, now available for pre-order exclusively from SteynOnline.
In the fall of 2014, not a single amicus brief was filed on Dr Mann's behalf, not one. He claims he's "taking a stand for science", but evidently science is disinclined to take a stand for him.
That got Mark curious as to what actual scientists think of Mann, his famous hockey stick, and his other work. So he started looking - and the result is a rollicking collection of insights into Big Climate's chief enforcer by scientists from around the world, from Harvard to Helsinki, Prague to Princeton, with commentary from Steyn telling the story of the rise to global celebrity of one Mann and his stick.
"A Disgrace To The Profession": The World's Scientists In Their Own Words On Michael E Mann, His Hockey Stick, And Their Damage To Science will be published later this summer, but you can make sure you're the first on your block with must-read book by pre-ordering your copy now exclusively from the SteynOnline bookstore. And as always Mark will be happy to autograph it personally for you or your warm-mongering loved one.
Reader Comments (58)
What, one has to wonder does this tell us about those academic institutions who invite Mann to speak (Like Bristol) and deny a platform to those with robustly evidenced contrary viewpoints?
Shockley won his defamation suit, but received a minimal amount likely because there was little reputation for him in public
It is worth noting that FIFA will reconvene in Switzerland to elect a new president, a few days after the IPCC meet in Paris.
Is this to reduce the the carbon footprint of investigators with arrest warrants, flying in, from all over the world?
Is the shortage of amicus briefs for Mann, a clear indication of the tragic consequences of Hockey Stick science?
According to Cook et al, 97% of global warming scientists must be washing their hair on the same day.
According to Mann, Models and Proxies reinforce his ideas. Couldn't they give evidence to support him, after all, the US military can fight its wars with remote controlled drones, destroying opposition from the othe side of the world, without risk of collateral damage.
A computer enhanced Proxy Model, could have real impact in a court of law, just as they have on politicians. Just think of the seductive power of Jessica Rabbit, in "Who framed Roger Rabbit?".
The IPCC could turn it into a beauty pageant, "Miss Climate Change Proxy Model 2015". The winner would look good on the front cover of the next IPCC report, and emphasise that it is all about politics, sales and marketing, not science at all.
Mann definitely needs to avoid the public humiliation of an actual court trial, where Steyn has threatened to cross-examine him personally. This would be a spectacle worth paying for. But most likely the progressive DC court will eventually dismiss the case (including Steyn's counter suit), after bleeding the defendants as dry as possible, which is Mann's true objective.
If you've not seen this - you'll want to.
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A new rising star is born as MP David Davies demolishes Labour lies
Video
Let us hope that Dr. Mann becomes an even more famous victim of the "Streisand Effect" than...er....Babara herself.
I would not have wanted to be the Mann family cat when the news of this publication reached the much maligned "Nobel Laureate".
I try not to be a "hater" but sometimes one 's worse instincts can get the better of one.
I wish Mr. Steyn every success in his endeavours and hope that, his fact stuffed book will become a best seller. Though indeed, it is a good job that this suit is not been fought in a British court - for Mann would be backed to the hilt.
In Britain, you don't have to live at the bottom of the garden......... because the global warming faeries believe in the judges and they all live together - or should that be the other ways around?
Now and here today - in upside down Britain.........it's, 'anything goes' ECHR jurisprudence has supplanted the common sense statutes of precedent set down in 600 odd years of British law .
So, the other year we bore witness, to Jimbo Hansen giving evidence to a British court - in support of the
social justice warriorsswampy and his erstwhile mates and Kingsnorth - and they gained some sort of victory.In another travesty of justice, I can't recall the exact details and cannot be bothered to look it up because he very act of doing so will depress me endlessly but some bod fought and won a court case, after which his human right to believe in Global warming faeries - [get this] was upheld!
In conclusion, I am glad Mark is fighting his suit in a court very far away from this.............. growing dafter by the minute set of benighted by the ECHR - islands.
Steyn doesn't back down, he doubles down.
His lawyers probably had a heart attack though.
It looks to me as if a Lawyer, not a Dog, is a Mann's best friend.
Bit OT but hopefully relevant
Bishophill is primary a Science Blog
Whole Climate Debate and Science generally is very white ,middle class, middle aged and very male.
Describes Mann and Steyn and most of the key players on both sides in the Climate Science no exception.
Jo Nova Donna Lafambroise and Judith Curry would probably disagree.
Check out the spate between the camp Greek gay guy from Briebart and Dr Kate Grossman.
How many women working in science labs get told to go and make the Tea.
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/06/11/why-do-feminists-cook-up-stories-about-misogyny-when-they-lose-debates/
The DC court cannot dismiss Steyn's countersuit even if Mann withdraws his.
And Steyn is on safe grounds by quoting others so long as he does not distort those quotations, and is appropriate in his commentary on them. My guess is his pro bono lawyers (who are very good) vetted the book, as it has trial implications.
How long will it be before criticising the concept of man-made global warming (or perhaps I should write "anthropogenic global warming" in order not to be accused of sexism) is classified as "hate speech"? Which country will be the first to change the law in this way?
In Steyn's countersuit, Mann is the defendant and can petition the court to dismiss the case. The court can then "judge" that the countersuit is without merit and dismiss it without a trial. Steyn can appeal the dismissal, but he can't force a hearing in court if the court doesn't allow it. (During pretrial, Steyn can attempt to force discovery on Mann, but Mann and his financial backers and tobacco lawyers can make this a lengthy and costly endeavor.)
Rud:
Oh I'm sure the book was vetted. But when you're in a law suit, anything you say publically will not help you but might well help your opponent. This is why the first thing a tort lawyer tells you is keep your trap shut.
Of course Steyn can't do that. It would effectively end his career. And quieting Steyn is precisely what Mann seeks -- one reason, perhaps, for drawing out the proceedings.
But it still makes lawyers nervous. They would rather their clients NOT talk about anything associated with the case.
tomo:
Indeed. And what does it say about a website like the Conversation, financed by British universities to promote intellectual debate, which published an article by Mann et al like this one?http://theconversation.com/limiting-global-warming-to-2-c-the-philosophy-and-the-science-32074
I directed my comments at Mann's philosopher co-author, until I noticed something funny about the science, and posted this:
Whereupon comments were suddenly closed.
MikeW, lovely to know how simple the legal science is. It makes climate science seem undervalued for fee earning professionals.
It will, hopefully, be an interesting book!
Order placed.
'he can't wait forever for the trial to start'
But clearly someone can , which is odd when you consider how sure Mann was that he was right and going to win.
Either the fat Mann knows that what he is saying in public does not reflect reality , which is possible has that is normally the case , or that the person picking up the tab is hopping it is all going to blow over.
Either way I have said for long time that when Mann falls we will be surprised to see just who lines up to kick him on the way down. Has one the most amazing things that came out of climate gate was Mann's bullying of others in 'the Team' combined with universe side ego that made him a team player from hell.
In both cases I cannot wait for it to happen . Bring it on .
Jonathan gets a quote on the cover of the book (via twitter)
Do I expect you to publicly denounce the Hockey Stick as obvious drivel? Well yes, - Jonathan Jones
http://www.steynstore.com/product133.html
".....that's what you should do. It is the job of scientists of integrity to expose pathological science, and it is especially the job of scientists in closely related fields. You should not be leaving this to random passing NMR spectroscopists who have better things to do. But I'm afraid I no longer expect you to do so. The opportune moment has, I think, passed. And that is why, even though we are all delighted to have you here, and all enjoy what you have to say, some of us get a trifle tetchy from time to time.
You ask us to judge you by AR5, and in many ways that is a reasonable request. Many of us will judge it by the handling of paleoclimate, not because this is all that important an aspect of the science, but rather because it is a litmus test of whether climate scientists are prepared to stand up against the bullying defenders of pathology in their midst. So, Richard, can I look forward to returning back to my proper work on the application of composite rotations to the performance of error-tolerant unitary transformations? Or will we all be let down again?" J Jones
full comment in the comments here:
http://www.bishop-hill.net/blog/2011/12/2/tim-barnett-on-the-hockey-stick.html
Steyn is MAGNIFICENT! Sued for libel, he writes a WHOLE NEW BOOK of slights of the plaintiff!
geoffchambers
The Conversation? - run by some refugees from The Guardian perchance?
Their antics are shameful - I've been expunged a couple of times. Quite what they hope to gain is a bit of a mystery. The mentality of the playpen at work there.
The enforcement of orthodoxy and towering self regard characterise much of the British academic public discourse outside of actual research is manipulated by and large by the arts and soft sciences crowd - they rule the roost because so much of their output is subjective and requires advocacy to establish itself - so concealing evidence, controlling who says what and generating sheer volume of opaque verbiage all count.
The manipulators can't restrain themselves because that'd be an admission of fallibility - so in the long tradition of ironically named organisations - "The Conversation" is anything but :-) Lewandowski and all fall clearly into the category of "Disgrace to the Profession" (just to keep on thread...)
Academia is getting as insular as the trades (like "Gas Safe") - I've commented here before about the truncation of external library membership at universities (for a bluidy fat fee I would add...) and other folk (ex staff) have echoed my experience in that the ivory towers now have dimwitted gatekeepers - which in my view is not a good thing....
There is a goofy looking temperature graph on pg.9. Attributed to the Hadley Centre. Any idea where it came from?
Geoff Chambers: I read your comments over at the Conversation and was disturbed - but not surprised - by this comment by Torcello [my bold]:
As I thought, warmists are happy to see the end of the world as they know it, on the assumption that they will survive it.Geoff Chambers: In further reading of your comments on The Conversation, I realised that one of your interlocutors could actually be Michael Mann. (Mike Hansen. perhaps? A good mish-mash of names....)
I understand that Steyn's lawyers would probably prefer he keep his trap shut.
But I just spent my few bucks helping him to fight the good fight.
geoffchambers -
The 2036 date is no doubt from this 2014 Scientific American article by Mann. The orange curve (which is the one projecting 2.0 K by 2036) is already at 1.3 K in 2014, and rises at approx. 0.3 K/decade.
Jun 11, 2015 at 8:01 PM | shub
I noticed that graph; it's so bad it's not even wrong.
Between 1900 and 2002 the observations are supposed to have risen 2.5°C; there are no observations beyond 2002. The medium high emissions models (there appears to be more than one line) show a rise to ~6°C above 1900 by 2100. The observations show cooling between 1945 and 1965. This has been erased by 'adjustments' in all current observational data sets (a bit like the former 'hiatus'; now officially never existed © Tom Karl et al.). There is a big jump of about 2°C in the observations between 2000 and 2002.
Maybe it was put together after the Paris heatwave for propaganda purposes. It bears no relation at all to reality (such as it exists) in current climatological data.
shub, I just noticed you posted (and I replied) on the wrong thread!
We've waited so long for the popcorn time that Teyn thought he'd give us, (and mannyiacal), a preview.
When the book shows up, popcorn and some alcohol. I look forward to some excellent laughing and learning.
Popcorn.
Don't waste your money.
There are three teaser quotes, one is from Simon Tett, but, of course Tett and Mann were and are co-authors on a few papers, so obviously Tett does not think that ill of Mann, and if you trace the complete quote, after saying that Mann got it wrong, Tett says he is not sure how wrong and that he thinks M&M were not 100% either.
Is that to be construed as a book review Mr Rabett? Of a book that hasn't been published yet?
He may not be to everyone's tastes, but I generally find Mark Steyn to be an excellent an entertaining writer. Michael Mann is also not the first large ego to underestimate him.
@shub, @Billy Liar,
See very helpful twitter conversation with Ed Hawkins; it's a European regional temperature series, not a world wide one.
Eli;s remark is a review of the trailer. Trailers usually lead with their best.
Surely that's no different to judging a book by its cover?
You should open your eyes Rabit. If you did you might actually see the world is made up of many different colours, hues and shades instead of the black and black of the world of catastrophiliacs.
Mailman
Speaking of covers, should BH sue Steyn for copyright violation? ☺
Eli is unaware that the HS has been vindicated several times already, so Mann et al could not possibly have "got it wrong".
Geoffchambers – note this, from “chattering classic” David Arthur:
Presumably, this greater number employed by “renewables” are on considerably lower wages than those in coal. All else being equal, how else could “renewables” be cheaper than coal?Certainly, “Mike Hansen” does have a suspiciously-similar lexicon and argument that other well-known persons carrying either of those two monikers avidly cleave to.
Ah yes, the old villain talking about himself in the third person personality...
Let us know when you actually read the book mr. third person.
Given that the books are not available for sale, most likely sitting in a doublewide on Mark's property in NH given that Stockade Press is his private label, Eli is somewhat confused by those who have not read the book praising it and dinging the Bunny for not having read it either.
As to judging books by their cover, what happens in bookstores? Well maybe you flip through.
The bunny whistles by the graveyard, crook't stick clutched in mitts.
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Carrots not sticks.
And the author of this along with Steyn is a disgrace to the human species. Lies and libel are the currency of denial.
Jun 12, 2015 at 9:00 AM | Jonathan Jones
Many thanks for the pointer! I guessed it had something to do with 2003 because of the frenzy about temperatures that was going on at the time.
I'm with Ben Pile; how do you cut out a big cylinder of ground? ( ... and more to the point, how do you ensure it holds together when you jack it up a couple of hundred metres into the air?)
4:43 PM Not a psychopath
love the ironic handle
Billy, it's called core drilling, and besides geo studies, is used for sampling soils where buildings are to be built
http://www.mateco.com/services/geotechnical-drilling/
Not a problem, but a business.
Whoever is this Mike Hansen, he has a lot of time in his hands:
https://theconversation.com/profiles/mike-hansen-2569/activities
More than 4000 anti-denial posts.
I would nominate him for the Torquemada Prize.
Jun 12, 2015 at 6:29 PM | Eli Rabett
It would have served you better if you'd looked at the document to which shub and Jonathon Jones referred. Here it is:
http://www.walker-institute.ac.uk/events/annual_lectures/AL2015downloads/10.06.15_ParisUNclimate_summit.pdf
Page 31 is the one to which Ben Pile referred.
Do Mateco Services do 200 meter diameter cores?
I didn't think so.