Somebody just can’t handle satire.
PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, April 21st 2010
CONTACT
Jeff Davis
No Cap and Trade Coalition
612-605-3303 Ext. 702
Video Spoofing Michael Mann Removed by YouTube – Bogus Reason Given
St. Paul — At a Washington DC press conference yesterday, the No Cap and Trade Coalition announced a new video spoofing prominent ‘climategate’ scientist, Dr. Michael Mann and his infamous ‘hockey stick chart’ showing rapidly increasing global temperatures in recent decades. The video was posted on YouTube until Wednesday afternoon, when the Google-owned video site removed the video, citing non-existent copyright claims by Jib Jab as the reason. The video was produced in response to a cease and desist demand from Michael Mann’s attorney over an older video produced by Minnesotans for Global Warming. The original Hide the Decline video they created used some Jib Jab-provided animation, under their general license and with their expressed written consent, but the new video, recently removed by YouTube contains no such content.
Spokesman for the No Cap and Trade Coalition, Jeff Davis said, “It looks like Dr. Mann has gone into overdrive trying to hide ‘Hide the Decline,’ since the new video was launched and began to spread like wildfire across the internet.” In the span of less than a day, the video had been linked on over 1,000 websites, including News Busters, Junk Science, and the American Spectator. It was going viral fast and the press was calling when YouTube pulled the plug.
According to the No Cap and Trade Coalition, Jib Jab has no rightful claims on the new video, titled ‘Hide the Decline II.’
“They have no basis for this copyright claim. It’s outrageous that they would claim ownership of content we produced, if that’s indeed what’s happened, as YouTube claims in the removal notice,” said Davis.
Although YouTube has decided to stifle the popular new satirical video, it’s still available through other venues and can be viewed at NoCapAndTrade.com.
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Minnesotans for Global Warming (M4GW) uses humor to illustrate the absurdity of anthropogenic global warming fears. Their slogans are “Turn your snow shovels into lawn chairs,” and “Nothing would be green without CO2.” – M4GW.com
The No Cap and Trade Coalition consists of over 40 state and national organizations that are opposed to cap and trade legislation. For more information, see NoCapAndTrade.com
Dan McGrath
Minnesota Majority
http://www.minnesotamajority.org
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The Minnesota Majority have reposted the video at Vimeo and it can be viewed here:
David Walton (22:15:16) :
(The above video of Hide The Decline II is courtesy of the Fox News Channel on YouTube. I guess Google hasn’t decided to take them on, yet.)
They wouldn’t have a case since the video is satire. They don’t have a case on the first video either since it is satire.
I’m pretty sure a lawsuit over satire against FoxNews would end in embarrassment for Michael Mann. And I am pretty sure he doesn’t have enough money to take on FoxNews in the first place. It would be peculiar for him to see his face on tv as someone who sued FoxNews over satire. He could end up being talked about on every FoxNews show from morning till night. It would make many people who know nothing of the Hockey Stick fully aware of it.
OH PLEASE MICHAEL MANN, SUE FOXNEWS!!!!! PLEASE!!!!
It is interesting to think that through the page rank algorithm (which counts links to an item) Google will have a good sense of the importance of a given site (or video). As Google indexes web pages frequently, Google also will have a good sense of increases in popularity.
Must be very handy in making business decisions, short term investments, and provide a temptation to those that might want to fan or cool the flames of the latest trends.
Luboš Motl (22:09:17) : “our [Czech] new environment minister – an iron lady – is going after the neck of the warmists. The first step she did as the minister was to abolish the whole climate department”
Can’t find any report on this. Link??
David Walton (22:05:22) :
The bigger they get the more cowardly they become?
Michael Mann has reason to be looking over his shoulder.
What an amateur that Mann is. Making such a fuss. Tsk, tsk, tsk. This only serves to pique interest in the skeptic message. He should follow the lamestream media’s playbook and ignore such things. Just look at the dying media’s adherence to the message as they keep the focus on global warming and ignore questions raised about the weak “science” behind the climate change scare.
There is, however, one thing he should really be worrying about.
When the whole climate change scare deflates in the face of reality and projections of doom fail to materilize, the feelings of betrayal from the true believers will be a fearsome firestorm.
@ur momisugly VT
‘IT/CS types are overwhelmingly pro-AGWH, see their complete coup of wikipedia’.
I have spent my entire working life (30+ years) after graduating in Chemistry from Oxford in IT. The combination of some knowledge of a hard science, plus in in-depth understanding of IT from practical experience are the things that have helped to make me very very sceptical. Do not tar us all with your stereotype-laden brush, please.
Normal “tricks” from Post Normal Science.
BTW, Google for the last 10 years or so has spent its resources on learning to spy on its users. While it pretends to protect your privacy, its primary goal is to protect itself. It turns over information to the government like a beggar checking a silver dollar. It only left China because it was losing money to the totalitarian regime’s search engine of choice. (duh). I suggest that people use Startpage that has a ‘forget’ feature. You must review your settings before you use. It is not nearly as good on multi-media tasks like pics and videos, but does a decent search on topics.
https://startpage.com/
Since Jib Jab participated in developing for the first video, I can see why they might have a copyright claim against the second video, which is a variation on the first. I think the validity of the claim would depend on whether they only provided the animation, or whether they contributed substantially to the overall concept.
MR Mann lawyering up and having Youtube pull videos brings publicity that no money could buy. The videos just go viral, and there is no stopping that wildfire. I reckon that Mr Mann isn’t very good at looking ahead either..
Congrads to the M4GW folks and the NCTC folks for success with their funny and creative videos. There were some good additions in V2, and they get front burner publicity all over again.
..Distracted mind floats off to visualizing Dick Dasterdly (The bad guy in the old Wacky Races cartoon) going “Drat, foiled again!” and Muttley snickering at him..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muttley
VS (21:28:16) :
Untrue. Or at least unknowable.
I am disturbed that some WUWT commenters appear to use this place to bash intellect and expertise as part of some sort of conspiracy. Intellect and expertise are vital to comprehension of the Universe around us and ignorance and anti-intellectualism are the enemy of mankind.
I am an “IT/CS type” and I reject global warming alarmism BECAUSE I understand the limitations of computer modelling and have a reasonably good historical foundation to comprehend that the Global Warming panic is part of a cyclical part of human history where the mistaken neuroses of a few become the moral panics of the many.
Yes, the AGW crowd are condescending and rude. That does not mean that expertise and intellect are to be rejected in favour of “thinking with your gut” because frankly there are no brains located there.
@Luboš Motl (22:09:17)
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We still have a freedom of speech over here
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..and you got Václav Klaus, a real man that dare stand up against the AGW crowd
http://www.klaus.cz/clanky/195
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2009/11/05/v-225-clav-klaus-largest-tax-increase-in-world-history.aspx
Amino Acids in Meteorites (22:23:35) :
Sarah Palin handled it like an adult.
Remember the skit where she walked in on Tina Fey?
There’s an object lesson there.
Interesting search results of “Hide the decline”
Bing 6,640,000 results
http://www.bing.com/search?q=Hide+the+Decline&go=&form=QBLH&qs=n&sk=
Google 2,820,000 results
http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=en&source=hp&q=Hide+the+Decline&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=f7c587eeac582b73
Can someone who downloaded the original version of the video upload it as a torrent?
Ray (22:24:40) :
Mann is not the only one wanted to sue people or papers that tells the truth… here in Canada we have our own witch-hunter; Andrew Weaver. When out of scientific arguments, they turn to court. I thought only politicians and Hollywood people had such egos… but so called scientists???
“UVic climate scientist sues National Post”
http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/saanichnews/news/91768534.html
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The National Post comments about Andrew Weaver weren’t satire. His charge is they lied about him. If he is right, he has a case.
Weaver suing the Post and anyone else he can ” name”
http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Weaver%20vs%20Corcoran.pdf
John A (23:09:38) wrote: “I am disturbed that some WUWT commenters appear to use this place to bash intellect and expertise as part of some sort of conspiracy. Intellect and expertise are vital to comprehension of the Universe around us and ignorance and anti-intellectualism are the enemy of mankind.”
I think you are making an enormous false generalization.
The articles and most of the comments here demonstrate more “intellect and expertise” than the AGW gang. Indeed their ‘debate is over attitude,’ not to mention their corruption of the peer review process and their so-called science, is exactly the kind of anti-intellectualism you worry about.
And, please, show me the articles here – other than some great satirical ones – than in any way represent ‘thinking with your gut.’ Just look at the analysis of basic data flaws and issues done by Anthony, Willis and Steve!!!
But faced with what is obviously a massive anti-intellectual campaign to avoid addressing the now clearly identified flaws in their ‘science,’ backed by a bunch of gut-thinking and shrill greenies and their Wall Street manipulators, those who question AGW do sometimes get a little testy, to put it mildly. But they (almost) never stoop to the ‘denier’ name calling or other idiotic levels used by those trying to shout down the highly intellectual questions being asked.
At least we still have Monty Python’s “Village Idiot” sketch, with the unforgettable lines about the “Lecturer in Idiocy at the University of East Anglia”
around 2:40 on here:
The original is still on Youtube:
I have noticed that Google’s news page always has “PRESS TV” as the top source for damn near any story about Iran. Why is that Google?
“John A (23:09:38) :
VS (21:28:16) :
IT/CS types are overwhelmingly pro-AGWH, see their complete coup of wikipedia. I guess they trust computer simulations above all else..,
Untrue. Or at least unknowable.”
I have to defend VS here. My impression of my various IT&CS colleagues from various projects over the last years is: 90% silently pro-AGW, 10% Moonbats. Everyone of them loves solar and wind power generation.
Most people who think they’re intelligent here in Germany just tend to believe what Der Spiegel writes and don’t reflect about it much.
Once you engage them in a discussion they have no big intellectual problems understanding the sceptic arguments though, so a re-re-education seems possible.
@ur momisugly VS (21:28:16) :
Random stats question for you. If you are comparing weather stations from different locations, and comparing them to a certain mean value (baseline) with the intent of saying something about the total of all these mean values (mean periodical temperature, reset yearly), don’t you still have to follow the rules for making an inference about the difference between two means? If the interval is mixed (see global temperature anomaly), aren’t you automatically excluded, at least statistically, from saying that the interval is substantially different from 0 if the interval, in this case the anomaly values smeared over a map is the interval, includes 0?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_T9rklJ2sg&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Don’t you just love the internet? Imagine having to scour all your local video-rental shops for a copy.
yes well when the comedians start bagging on global warming you know it’s just about over.
this is Arj Barker on the John Debella show, worth a listen and a laugh 😀
http://www.wmgk.com/shows/john-debella/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10091870