I can understand how frustrating it must have been for Stossel at ABC, given that he’s on the other side of the global warming issue from the news department there, but moving to Fox will minimize the broader impact of what he has been saying about the subject of global warming.
It is worth a flashback though, to his report in 2007 on the issue.
I hope he’ll keep an eye on the issue.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
tj (14:09:45) : There’s a difference between equality of opportunity and equality of outcome. Liberals I know tend to believe in the latter, the problem being that it is highly objectionable. Moreover, the rest of what you write is basically “We just want the world to be this wonderful, perfect place. How can you object to our intentions?” Well, duh, good intentions aren’t the problem. The problem is that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The problem is that the Government promises well managed parks-it doesn’t happen (see “Playing God in Yellowstone”). They promise honest scientific research-Hm, Hwang Affair, MBH-all crap which happened to support liberal causes. Reliable energy? Uh, wind is reliable? Excellent schools? Yeah, No Child Left Behind was great! Oh, that’s Ted Kennedy and George Bush, so it’s pedigree is only half liberal. Pristine water? Ever drink the water in a foreign country?
The problem is that whatever you think liberalism is, it isn’t what liberalism is. It can’t be. There is no liberalism without leaders. That’s a snake without it’s head. Liberalism, in the modern American sense, is about the government providing all those wonderful things through huge amounts of power.
Liberals intentions are, again, not the problem. The problem is the execution and the results. You can get all those things you said without Big Government. But without Big Government, there is no liberalism-there are only people who like nice things.
From the story I read two days ago they were assisted by two nuclear-powered icebreakers, not one. Other points:
All these Beluga company vessels were built specially reinforced against ice. They thus, presumably, cost more than ordinary vessels and have less cargo capacity.
It would be risky to have sent ordinary vessels through the route in company with them currently, since ordinary hulls and propellers would likely get dented and dinged by small ice debris left in the wake of an icebreaker.
The two Beluga vessels that transited the Passage made their voyage because they were delivering heavy equipment from a manufacturer in Asia to a Siberian port. They then continued westwards to their homeport in Europe. They were not doing so because the NE passage to Europe is shorter and more economical.
They had to wait in port in Asia (paying crew’s wages and port fees) for weeks before they got the green light from the Russians that the coast was the clearest it was going to get, and that their icebreakers were available. And speed was reduced during the portion of the voyage that required the icebreakers to clear a path ahead. These factors mean the route is not nearly economical yet for ordinary shipping.
The Passage will only be as open as it was for a couple of weeks. Thereafter traversal will get harder. There’s only a brief open window at present.
The BBC story didn’t mention that arctic ice extent has risen over the last two years. It spoke exclusively of a declining long-term trend and implied, by the choice of persons it quoted, that ice extent would continue to retreat until the Passage is open year-round:
“The steady rise in temperatures over the last 20 years has seen the ice thin and retreat substantially. This means that the passage may soon become navigable for most of the year. Dr Peter Wadhams, of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, UK, said that the long sought dream of a North East shipping route “could become reality in as little as 10 years time”. … Dr Wadhams said that satellite images showed arctic sea ice receding towards the North Pole at a rate of 5% per decade.”
Here are brief quotes from the AP story, “2 German cargo ships pass through ‘Arctic Passage’,” by Matt Moore and Seth Borenstein, linked to above. Note the misleading spin:
“In July, new NASA satellite measurements showed that sea ice in the Arctic was not just shrinking in area, but thinning dramatically. …
“This year is shaping up to have the third lowest amount of Arctic sea ice on record, just behind the worst year set in 2007 and in 2008. But just because 2009 is slightly up from the past two years, it is not an upward trend or a recovery, Serreze said. It reflects a change in local weather patterns that occurred in August, he said. “It’s certainly part of the overall decline of sea ice that we’ve been seeing,” Serreze said.
………….
“Niels Stolberg, the president of Beluga, … said the shipping company was planning more voyages through the area in coming months.”
But these won’t be full traversals of the Passage, just incursions and returns into the less-icy parts of the Arctic Ocean.
Fox is having a great week and ending today strong. They just posted a written message telling us that The census Beaureau fired ACORN as a partner.
It may take the other networks time to figure out how to ‘frame” the story. it looks bad that they haven’t covered ACORN and now the bombshell.
Ryan C:
“Alan Burke on the G&M, that guy thinks he is god and can never be wrong.”
But then he’s got a bachelors degree in physics from RMC! Whoowhee!
Fred, their comment section was down this morning. Since it coincided with some threats by a resident pro-AGW poster to complain about my posts and see my “posting privileges” removed, I thought I was banned. But they just had a technical glitch. Perhaps they’ll ban me tomorrow…
Big upgrade for Fox!
Stossel would make a great debate opponent for Gore. During the Carbon Cap hearings, skeptics proposed Monckton as a counterpoise. Monckton can be quite good, but Stossel would have been much more effective. IMHO.
Well, that’s it. Now I won’t have to watch ABC any more — he was the only reason I tuned in, in the hope he’d take on another sacred cow. It’s a smart move and a good fit.
The Lamestream media loved him while he was exposing business practices which were less than stellar. Once he turned that same spotlight and critique on government and feel-good non-profits and held them to the same standards, they acted like a woman scorned. If the folks at FOX are smart, they’ll give him free rein to really stir things up.
OT: It seems that Jeff Id at the air vent is getting on friendly terms with Eric Steig. Fine. Since we all read the posts of spurious trend in the Antarctica warming story, it would be quite appropriate to get an update on the subject and to see what has been confirmed or not from the Steig paper. Anyone wants to inform the readership? Thanks.
*********************
Wade (13:23:14) :
(But not by me, I don’t watch Fox.)
********************
Before about a month ago, I didn’t watch Fox except for stock shows on Saturday. I listened to talk radio about once a year. After the cap and trade bill and the health care bill, I watch Fox and listen to talk radio. That is the best if not only way to find out what Comrade Obama and the Dims are up to. I listen, then I fact check on the Internet. The vast majority of the time when I have checked up on what Fox and TR are saying they have been spot on. I set the radio to as many AM talk radio stations I could find.
Paul, love your website. Beats the heck out of Alan Burke’s!
Looks like Fox is kicking major network butt also …
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/august_09_ratings_bill_oreilly_tops_greys_anatomy_the_office_129983.asp
We have to give the MSM media credit for aiding abetting their own demise.
They let the TALENT go and retain the biased doofus’ (not my true choice of descriptive words).
I’ve just seen Stossel’s video for the first time. I never realised that school kids were so frightened by AGW propaganda. Is this not a form of child abuse?
ttca
“The problem is that whatever you think liberalism is, it isn’t what liberalism is. It can’t be. There is no liberalism without leaders. That’s a snake without it’s head. Liberalism, in the modern American sense, is about the government providing all those wonderful things through huge amounts of power.”
Just insert conservatism in place of liberalism and oligarchic corporations in place of government and the statement is just as true. I once believed the two views existed, but now it appears to be a ruse to keep a good person like you bickering with a good person like me. Personally I, too, believe, it is time to choose again, but the other head of the monster is not my idea of a choice — we will get the same result. Doesn’t matter which head does the talking the results are going to be the same — the vocabulary will just be a bit different.
Are polls and ratings honest numbers or could they be fudged like temperatures????
Jimmy Haigh (19:29:01) :
I’ve just seen Stossel’s video for the first time. I never realised that school kids were so frightened by AGW propaganda. Is this not a form of child abuse?
Jimmy Haigh (19:29:01) :
I’ve just seen Stossel’s video for the first time. I never realised that school kids were so frightened by AGW propaganda. Is this not a form
of child abuse?
Not to worry Jimmy. That video is 2 years old. I’m sure it has gotten better.
Don’t hit the Tab key while composing a post.
Don’t hit the Tab key while composing a post.
Anthony, it seems that Fox News is all that any thinking person has going for them in the video wasteland these days. But where were they during the nomination process and the election? Their corporate leaders refused vetting of Obama — just like everyone else. Sickening, disgusting. Now we have a inexperienced [person] in the White House. Only Glenn Beck is bringing me back to Fox. Maybe Stossel will be a breath of fresh air, too.
Anyway, I am very grateful for the thoughtfulness and the investigative reporting (almost the only IR in the U.S. today) of the blogosphere. I might not be able to comment much for a while so I wanted to express special gratitude for an intelligent, interesting, stimulating, fascinating blog that connects all of your readers with issues of the utmost political and scientific importance. I would like to see you on Fox News, too. But, actually, I would rather you started your own network. Imagine how much fun everyone at WUWT would have informing the public with their usual wit, sarcasm, and breadth of experience. WUWT, under your leadership and inventiveness, is the creme de la creme.
Hello TJ,
You may be a reasonable person and your ideology may be very balanced. But, liberism is being controlled by people whose ideology is not balanced. Many of the Zhars in POTUS’ administration are far left progressives. Van Johnson is a good example. Another Zhar wants the goverment to grant animals human rights and legal standing in courts. While another advocates forced sterilization and abortions.
You have labeled yourself as a liberal (it seems that you have). The leadership of the modern american liberal/progressive movement is slightly marxist; therefore, so are you.
I, unfortunately, am a registered republican. John McCain and other RHINOs are leading my party. As a republicrat, I am supporting left of center middle-of-the-roaders. I am disgusted with this situation. Nevertheless, I am honest about it.
Your belief that non-liberals want nasty water, foul air, and a ruined landscape is proof that liberalism is your religion. I want a clean environment; therefore, I am not a sinner.
I’ve just seen Stossel’s video for the first time. I never realised that school kids were so frightened by AGW propaganda. Is this not a form
of child abuse?
[snip]
Children and especially young adults can be very cruel if they are constantly taught that certain people are evil and that those evil people are responsible for all the ills of the world. It begins at school and then migrates to eco-camps and eco-parades for our new nation of righteous eco-fascists. Eventually some influential leaders (Jim Hansen perhaps?) declare that things must be taken into their own hands and civil disobedience is justified, “The science is decided and if we true patriots of the Motherland are to save the Motherland then we must take things into our own hands. First it starts with deportation of high CO2 emitters but eventually it will end with BIOCHAR of the most evil ones!
“FOX is the lone purveyor of both sides of major issues.”
I don’t know whether to laugh or puke.
There is no main stream medium that fairly presents both sides of issues, including FOX.
That’s the biggest reason political discourse in this country is so coarse and polarized. The reason FOX has the highest ratings is because they pander to the lowest common denominator of society, not because they’re fair and balanced. I wish Stossel luck. He’s certainly been a voice in the wilderness on AGW, but I wonder how well he’ll fit in at FOX. He seems much too rational to be happy there with all of the loud mouth haters.
Roger Knights (16:09:41) :
another interesting aspect to those ships is that they offloaded the machine parts in Novy Port at the mouth of the Ob River. This port is only half way across the top end of Russia – they still have to travel another 4,000km (2,400 miles) by land to get to Stockholm.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/commercial-arctic-passage-nearing-goal/
cable news ratings, from front page at Drudge :
THURSDAY NITE, SEPT 10
FOXNEWS O’REILLY 3,609,000
FOXNEWS BECK 3,340,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,986,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 2,522,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,362,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 2,040,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,573,000
MSNBC MADDOW 1,164,000
CNN KING 965,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 882,000
MSNBC SCHULTZ 734,000
CNN COOPER 691,000
FOX has the top 6. Maybe John Stossel will have a show and make it 7.
Steven Hill (13:51:14) :
Arctic is wide open now and just a blue ocean
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090911/ap_on_re_eu/eu_germany_arctic_passage
“Both ships, which carried cargo for a power plant project in Surgut, Siberia, were escorted by a pair of Russian icebreakers during portions of their journey. The Beluga Fraternity left South Korea on July 23, followed by the Beluga Foresight on July 28.”
Icebreakers?…for what?
Left wing – right wing- both are wings of the same ugly two headed bird…