Yesterday we informed you about how France’s lead television weatherman was forced to take a “holiday” in response to him publishing a book that is critical towards climate change alarmism. So far, all the TV network has done is unleash the Striesand Effect, heaping negative attention upon their decision, which is being seen as prohibiting free speech.I’ve heard from people in France, and they are mobilizing a petition:
The petition, written both in English and in French, is here. Please, sign it quickly, regardless of your opinion on climate change, since this journalist is in deep trouble. Thank you to all.English version :Philippe Verdier, a journalist in charge of the weather service of the French public TV channels France Télévisions, is threatened in his job and his career for having published a non-conformist book about climate. Even if he emphasizes that he is not a climate skeptic, Philippe Verdier points out in his book all the erring ways of climate policies. He also criticizes the IPCC and its ideological views that have just nothing to do with science.
The origin of his book is Laurent Fabius’ explicit and recent attempt to get full support of all French weathermen prior to COP21, the international climate conference that will be held in Paris late November. Laurent Fabius is the French Foreign Minister and also the future president of this conference.
In January, citizens from all countries in the world stood up for freedom of speech, with « Je suis Charlie » as a motto. Time has come to stand up again. The Collectif des climato-réalistes call on you to sign this petition regardless of your opinion about climate change.
French version:
Philippe Verdier, journaliste responsable du service météorologique de France Télévisions, est menacé dans son emploi et sa carrière pour avoir publié un livre critique sur la question du climat. Bien que se défendant de tout climatoscepticisme, il pointe dans son ouvrage de nombreux errements dans les politiques menées et le fonctionnement d’institutions telles que le GIEC, devenu l’instrument d’une lutte idéologique parfaitement étrangère à la science.
L’origine de son livre n’est autre qu’une tentative récente et explicite de mise au pas de la presse météorologique française faite par Laurent Fabius. Ce dernier, ministre français des affaires étrangères, est aussi le futur président de la COP21, la conférence internationale sur le climat qui commencera fin novembre à Paris.
Sous le slogan « Je suis Charlie », la France et le monde se sont dressés en janvier pour défendre la liberté d’expression face à l’obscurantisme. Le temps est venu de nous mobiliser à nouveau. Le Collectif des climato-réalistes appelle à signer la présente pétition indépendamment de toute opinion sur la question du climat.
URL of my story: http://mythesmanciesetmathematiques.wordpress.com
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Verdier is getting the full Alinsky treatment
http://www.lesinrocks.com/inrocks.tv/gilles-verdier-le-monsieur-meteo-de-france-2-se-fait-demonter-sur-le-plateau-du-petit-journal/
I am going to sign the pétition and ask my friend as well
Ditto, I am signing and passing along via FB. I will consider unfriending anyone who will not sign, even my warmista friends.
This is deplorable.
I have just signed this .. they are trying to block freedom of thought .. let alone thought
OMG this is beyond stupid
“conspiracy rhetoric” (the use of “rhetoric” without justification is empty rhetoric)
“what is the source for”… electricity production? ANYONE curious about energy in France knows the website of RTE with a instant flux, archived data, records etc.
http://clients.rte-france.com/lang/fr/visiteurs/vie/prod/realisation_production.jsp
http://www.rte-france.com/en/eco2mix/eco2mix-mix-energetique-en
Of course no such book needs to back up every number or claim with a reference. Actually, no academic work needs to back up every number!!! imagine: the gravity acceleration, which is about 9.8 (source …) applied to the Newton equation (source ….)
This “Petit journal” couldn’t even compute a percentage: this “small” “journalist” once said that a doubling is an increase of 200%!!!
This guy plays the role of the critical, anti-system guy… this is sick.
Canal+ was known as the TV channel for football and adult movies and they shouldn’t try to do something else!
This after Charlie.
Impossible to understand how this “interview” was conducted after “Charlie”
How can this happen in France?
My interpretation is that this “je suis Charlie” was actually a totally empty gesture, as if people were demonstrating for the right to wear shoes of different colors.
Like Obama defending Sony’s film.
I mean, come on.
who is the owner of canal+
Vincent Bolloré, one of the few billionaires controlling the private media in France (see wikipedia for details)
It’s no wonder no one else speaks out.
You’ve made the crucial point. For every person who is fired for taking a skeptic position, there are a hundred observers who have noted the consequences and are cowed into silence.
Judith Curry over at Georgia Tech has made comments regarding how those who don’t have tenure are afraid to speak out against the Global Warming juggernaut out of fear for their career.
It is worse than that. Richard Lindzen encourages his best students not to work in Climate Science. Why would anyone with any talent or ambition want to work in a field where “the science is settled”. All you end up with is a bunch of mediocre researchers whose only interest is a lifetime ticket at the public trough.
In France isn’t it known as La Terreur ?
Only those who haven’t tenure? Please…
Those have tenure still need grants for his own projects (unless he needs a only a pencil like a few mathematicians, CS theorists (doing math about computers), economy theorists (doing math about models of people), etc.), still want to have doctoral students, etc.
“a lifetime ticket at the public trough.”
That’s all the below average/mentally lazy/slow or incurious need or desire; just enough to get them by; no need to excel….
Away we go! Popcorn out…
I know – I’m loving this book already. And I don’t even have a copy.
It’s been a while since a book provided me with so much entertainment – by merit of it’s mere existence.
I bet that Verdier is enjoying his holiday too. This couldn’t be going better!!
Alas, in France it is the knitting….
Galileo treated this way ,
We are all Galileo now.
There’s a big difference. Galileo could not prove his hypothesis. That’s a good reason for anyone to not accept an hypothesis. Today’s pope should tell the warmmunists that they have to prove that man is causing catastrophic changes to the climate by burning fossil fuels. It would be a blessing indeed (and a miracle too) if the pope were to endorse Verdier’s book.
The pope is likely already knowledgeable that man is not responsible. He needs no proof, as the alarm suits his socialist cause. He also likely knows that his policies are likely to be very harmful to the poor. Many seem to think these people actually want to hear the truth, when in fact they are working very hard to shield themselves from it. The alarmism about climate furthers their agenda of spreading socialism. Socialism helped kill off around 100 million people during the 20th century and is a failed concept.
Let us give the pope the benefit of the doubt. From his actions, I see no reason to believe that he does not think he is doing the right thing for the poor of the planet. He is a professional priest with no scientific training and extremely insulated from the outside world. How COULD he know of the dissenting information? How could he know of the horrible costs and negligible benefits of CO2 reductions?
He is being used, and is just as much a victim as the people who will go hungry due to these policies.
Galileo demonstrated the phases of Venus. That proved Venus circled the sun, and required a huge change in the physical model of the Solar System. He also demonstrated the planetary system around Jupiter.
The simplest explanation of it all was the full heliocentric theory.
Tycho Brahe’s revised Ptolemaic model of the sun plus everything else circling Earth was clearly an attempt to save the ‘Earth doesn’t move‘ idea.
Galileo was persecuted for being stubbornly faithful to science, and for rendering the pope’s arguments into his book from the mouth of a simpleton, and for no other reasons. It was all politics and ego.
Ben: +1
@ur momisugly Ben of Houston…I thought that I had read the pope had studied chemistry at some point in his life. He should then have a good understanding of the workings of proper science. To my mind this paints him as the Anti-Christ, as he is proposing solutions that will harm the poorest of people on this planet. That is in complete opposition to the tenets of Christ’s teachings.
pope Jean-Paul II for Farben ?
I understood the pope had qualifications in Chemistry, so he ought to be capable of realising that ‘climate “science”‘ is iffy.
fuel is not fossil
have a look at the picture and guesse where is Mr Verdier ??
@ur momisugly ben’
do you also propose giving “the benefit of the doubt” to Al Gore, Obumer, Gavin, Mister Mann, GP, FOEs …the list is large; they all SAY they are doing the right thing for the poor of the planet.
Perhaps we should give 97% of them Nobel prizes as well.
Alright I stand corrected, the Pope did work as a “chemical technologist” at one point, which from what I can gather is a non-degreed technician in a chemistry lab in the 50s (considering that he was also a janitor during this time, it is not a very prestigious position). However, I maintain that he is extremely insulated from the outside world and has an extremely large number of other concerns. It is unreasonable of us to expect him to have the time or ability to do much in the way on independent research.
And 1save, I thoroughly believe in the “Not Evil Just Wrong” standard until proven otherwise. I say that the hypocrisy exhibited by several prominent alarmists qualifies.
And let’s stop bringing up Galileo. He was realistically convicted in a politically-charged trial of mocking those in power. If you must compare to anyone, let’s bring up the scandal-free Polish canon whose life’s work, though dedicated to the pope, was banned. Je suis Copernicus.
Je suis Galileo.
Galileo sum.
je suis Marcel Leroux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thYTIcs7P_M
4 oct. 2012 – Ajouté par Télestai
Marcel Leroux : Spécialiste du climat. … Idées reçues sur les changements de climat : Marcel Leroux. Télestai
Je suis Galileo?
Well, no. It wasn’t a scientific disagreement at all. Rather, Galileo made fun of the Pope, foolishly, and the Pope foolishly over-reacted, and each was too proud to retract. So guess who lost.
The Waldensians (Vaudois) to name but few?
Verdier, a man of integrity. To may people and governments have invested their identity and billions in cAGW, they now must crush anyone who challenges the orthodoxy (AGW to big to fail).
True, in the end they will do whatever they want. Blogs like WUWT might even benefit them…
I signed it and posted it on my Facebook…
Moi aussi. I wonder if any of my warmist freedom of speech friends will?
english version? subtitles?
Busy family event right now – essentially the clip i posted shows Verdier being mocked for a missing source on a chart and a poorly pixelated map. He is them accused of being extreme right because his publishing house pulished a book by someone associated with the right. The environment minister is then shown being asked about the book – never heard of it she says. When told of its contents she expresses amazement that a wetherman could be so mistacken. Incidenatally she is the ex of the president of france – has five kids with him.
In the meantime Verdier sounds like Lomborg to me – he ‘denies’ nothing but thinks there is far more to the story than is told.
At the very start he reminds the audience that he’s not some mad fascist – he is gay for petes sake.
Very brave man and i think genuinly shocked by his treatment.
Incidentally the journo starts by accussing him of stage managing the whole thing to sell books
Ségolène Royal, nickname “la dinde du Poitou” (turkey of Poitou), was not able to answer “how much nuclear energy provides (in term of total electric energy) in France” (almost every learns it’s around 75% or 80%), also said that Tchouri (67P) was worth studying because it was not impacted by climate change… she is a gift for the humorists.
She fell in love with a failed electric cars maker, gave it millions of taxpayers’ money and guess what? The car maker went bankrupt.
Here is the lovely Mia car:
http://www.avem.fr/img/vep/mia_electric.jpg
And yes, these gadgets are heavily subsidised.
http://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/automobile/20140731trib000842544/fin-de-mia-electric-l-entreprise-fetiche-de-segolene-royal.html
337 mini cars had been sold for the whole 2012 year, far from the 12,000 expected.
http://www.lepoint.fr/images/2014/05/14/royal-mia-roulante-jpg-2635273-jpg_2273052_660x281.JPG
http://www.lepoint.fr/economie/mia-l-echec-cuisant-de-segolene-royal-14-05-2014-1822968_28.php
In March 2010, the chassis maker Heuliez was in very bad shape. Ségolène Royal says she help Heuliez to make a viable electric car business. Heuliez is cut: half chassis maker, half electric car maker. The later part is called “Mia”. () The region of Poitou buys shares of Mia (no other region dared to do such thing).
Adding the subsidies to Eco&Mobilité(*) (another electric car maker), Ségolène Royal spent (according to her politician opposition) about 20 millions euros on electric car businesses.
(*) a name I think I have never heard before today
When asked on TV about the Mia meltdown, she replied “the failure seems to make rightwing politicians happy”. The “journalist” never came back at her to obtain an answer about millions spent.
I agree. The interviewer was not there to discuss with Verdier. He was there to attack him from the start.
The attack was about superfluous charts. Nothing serious about what Verdier has written.
I can’t believe this is happening on France television.
Life is short. So is tire life 🙂
Yeah, indeed. I think I signed, but I am not sure. Hey, France – the world speaks English….. !! The French are really infuriating.
You know the only place in Europe where air traffic control will not speak English to everyone? Yes, France.
So the place where pilots have no idea what the other pilots are saying or doing? Yes, France.
So the place where ATC speaks the worst English, and cannot convey what they want pilots to do, especially in emergencies? Yes, France.
The national airline in Europe with the worst safety record? Yes, France.
A bit unfair. If you want to go to VFR airports you will need to speak (and understand) French. If you fly IFR, all the controllers speak English.
and you why don’t you speak french
RF, I speak both languages (plus fluent German). And signed in both. On their website, the exact English translation is just below the French version. Don’t gripe, sign. If you dare.
The pilots and the crew speaks english –
“where ATC speaks the worst English”
Worst in the world?
You must be joking.
Did you mean: worst in Europe?
>>And you why don’t you speak French?
There are dozens of languages in Europe.
Which one should I learn?
The French got themselves in a tangle when they suggested that a serious incident at Charles de Gaulle could have been avoided if the Czech pilots had spoken French. To which the reply came: “Are French pilots going to speak Czech when they come to Prague?”
Another English pilot got his head chopped off at GDG, when a similar French mix up resulted in a wing slicing through the cockpit. Again it was concluded that had ATC been speaking English, as required by ICAO, the accident would not have happened.
.
>>Did you mean: worst in Europe?
Yes. Sorry, should have been more specific.
.
>>If you fly IFR, all the controllers speak English
No they don’t. That is the problem. They speak French to the French pilots, so you have no idea where they are or what they are doing. And because the controllers get less practice at English, both at work and privately, their English is the worst in Europe.
R
ralfellis,
Numerous US pilots seem to manage to get into French airports IFR every day without language problems.
If you’re worried about where other IFR planes are then you need TCAS in your panel or the Plane Finder app on your phone.
Not Spanish; Mandarin; or in Canada Franglais? 😉
Top 10 languages:
http://dailynewsdig.com/top-ten-spoken-languages-world-2014/
My understanding is that local airports use local language. The rules for International Airports may be as follows (information is old):
User currently offline9VSRH From Australia, joined Apr 2005, 132 posts, RR: 1
Reply 1, posted Fri Mar 6 2009 04:13:04 your local time (6 years 7 months 2 weeks 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
The universal ATC language is English. However, in some countries, such as France, China, Spain (and some Latin American countries), and Russia pilots/controllers from the same country speak their own native languages.
User currently offlineDBCC From Switzerland, joined Nov 2007, 65 posts, RR: 0
Reply 2, posted Fri Mar 6 2009 04:41:06 your local time (6 years 7 months 2 weeks 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Quoting Vietsky (Thread starter):
was wondering what language the Control Tower and Air Traffic Control are using to communicate with Pilots if the Pilots are from the same country. Does it have to be in English as a standard?
Each state can define this for themselves, but English is a minimum requirement.
ICAO defines this:
“In which languages does a licence holder need to demonstrate proficiency?”
Amendment 164 to Annex 1 has introduced strengthened language proficiency requirements for flight crew members and air traffic controllers. The language proficiency requirements apply to any language used for radiotelephony communications in international operations. Therefore, pilots on international flights shall demonstrate language proficiency in either English or the language used by the station on the ground. Controllers working on stations serving designated airports and routes used by international air services shall demonstrate language proficiency in English as well as in any other language(s) used by the station on the ground.
Remember the Dreyfus affair? A lot of powerful people thought they could hide an embarrassing decision by sacking a scapegoat. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now.
J’accuse!!!
To actually remember the resolution of the Dreyfus affair in 1906, one would need to be about 120 years old. Although I am an old (and somewhat dodgy) geezer, I am not old enough for that!
The Dreyfuss Affair was a key moment in the history of the West. It crystallised the opposition to anti-Semitism; it allowed the Nazis no excuse.
You should at least know the Wiki notes.
http://bacdefrancais.net/j-accuse-zola-texte.php
despite what he did, it seems that Emile Zola never received any thanks or congratulations from Dreyfus or his family
I remember I read a book once.
@ur momisugly Menicholas…I think that I read that very same book.
Dreyfus was convicted by a lawful court of justice after a regular procedure, etc. (a sort of peer review)
Those who disagree with the conclusions of the trial must entertain ideations or even worse, d—-l.
For those who don’t know (or already know) about the Dreyfus affair should read the fantastic novel by Robert Harris:
An Officer And A Spy.
you should read Emile ZOLA too “j’accuse”
Form the “Modern Age Galileo Society”
“We will not submit to house arrest inside our own minds.”
Signed.
France should be utterly ashamed of this – liberte, egalite, fratenite – but not for climate sceptics, they fought for their rights but their politicians have taken them away….brilliant (sarc)
Signed (over 600 now). They are trying to reach 1000.
Over 1,000 signed – they upped the goal to 1,500.
Over 1,500 signed – they upped the goal to 2,500.
This has turned out to be France’s worst PR problem prior to the Conference . Yet they brought it upon themselves. If the French public television management disagreed with Verdier’s views expressed by him and his book , all they had to do, was to announce publically ” The views of Mr Verdier as expressed in his book and in public are his own personal opinions and in no way represent the views of this television network nor its management. However in the spirit of universal right for freedom of expression we support his right as weatherman to state these in public “.
My understanding is management supported – its the unions calling for his head
So management wanted to hide it.
But unions wanted to launch a firework display with extra flags and dancing on disco balls?
No. This is unthinking bigotry offended by a new “blasphemy”.
I signed it. Deselected both of the boxes about sending me a bunch of spam and something about my signature appearing in change.org posts. Regardless, the privacy statement says
Guess I’ll have to unsubscribe. I am not a fan of change.or by any means. And I’m not sure if any of these petitions have any effect whatsoever.
Have a look at the “Change.org” members, quite impressive list of academics, many of them engineers, who did already a lot of work as skeptics. One of them is István Markó, who leads a similar (smaller) organization in Belgium, which invited a.o. Fred Singer, Klaas Johnson, Lindzen,..
One of the members of both groups completely torpedoed the would-be new president of the IPCC, J.P. Van Ypersele during a television debate. Since then J.P. refuses any direct debate, but did sabotage the invitation of Singer and Johnson at the Free University of Brussels, which got on in private.
But I agree, unwanted mails is not the best way to make friends… If the petition will have success indeed is questionable, all depends of if the media will pick it up…
In my browsers, one can always move unwanted stuff to spam. The smart filters learn what is spam by those repeated actions.
I did not deselect, since was curious to run the experiment whether this organization would stoop to selling petition email adresses to spammers. I am betting NOT. But if I lose the bet, there is a simple manual fix that just takes a few days to implement.
Heck, my email is already 3/4 spam automaticaly consigned to the circular bin file by my robocops.
I doubt signatures from the US will carry much weight.
With COP21 coming up, I would think it is important to send a Global Message. SIgned and posted to Facebook.
Well, gotta get back outside to my winterization projects cause snow is in the forecast. Minus 6C last night. Global Warming – Bring it on (52 N in the foothill of Alberta, Canada) 😉
Cause I live in the Baja, they have me listed as Mexico (which is true) The drop-down menu didn’t have the United States for me…
In fact, signatures from overseas are likely to be counterproductive when the warmists say “look this petition was circulated worldwide and only achieved a million supporters”.
may be you are right, but laurent fabius, the great organizer of the COP 21 in paris (early december) is also the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, which underlines the political dimension of this big (not so fancy) fair. and this buzz (with a little help of all your friends) can seriously tarnish the image of his “Affairs” and jeopardize (a little bit more) the outcomes of this big carnaval show
So reply in French. llya Francoise d’en L’Amerique.
Are you trying to say: “Il ya des Français en Amérique”?
No offense. Maybe you should stick to English.
do not doubt – I event think that they will be annoyed of that
for those who talk about the french revolution – yesterday October 16, it was the anniversary of the execution of Marie-Antoinette : October 16, 1793 (and we do not need any “vagin de la reine” in Versaille ‘s garden)
the french revolution has been fomented by the free masons (and Lafayette was a free masons)
That would be the 222 year anniversary.
Thanks for the warning, Anthony.
Philippe Verdier has a right to think independently, but France’s socialist government has taken it away to better serve their misguided purposes.
This is what socialism is; tyranny. We must not surrender.
As it turns out, I’m on a Rhone river cruise for the next few days, and I’ve been asking ordinary French if they’ve heard this news. Yes, most have, and those that have think it an insult to free speech.
And my Google news searches don’t turn up any ABC NBC CNN NPR etc stories on this issue. Why am I not surprised?
Okay new watch word “J’accuse” scream it from the roof tops
origins, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/zolas-jaccuse-letter-is-printed, I think the comparison is good.
Josh calling josh, possible cartoon, Minister of the ” climate Republic” evoking the 97% consensus with Philippe Verdier stepping up in the frame calling “J’accuse” ! next frame Madam Guillotine snapping down.
Minister continuing on about the 97% Or just indulge yourself.
J’ACCUSE
S’il vous plaît?
michael duhancik
Vive la Resistance
Signed
on n’est pas charlie –
Signed.
“Je suis Charlie” et “Je suis Philippe Verdier”
780 signatures up to now – mine included – and counting…
A few more including mine
and mine as well , and family
Sacre bleu! How much more stupid can France Télévisions get?
John
Signed …. over 800 now.