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.
##
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
=========================
The Minnesota Majority have reposted the video at Vimeo and it can be viewed here:
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
[quote]
Actually I would have thought that IT types would be VERY very aware
of how easy it is to stuff it up, and or manipulate outcomes (model wise)
[/quote]
/signed
My favourite one from Minnesotans for Global Warming is their “If we only had some global warming” still on youtube.
Especially their take on the polar bear issue.
This news is hardly surprising. I believe Al Gore was a former director of Google. Google now owns YouTube. Many would remember the Googlegate incident when Google began limiting search results for the term climategate and manually adjusting the autosuggest system to ignore the term. Stupidly they did this a few days late, so there was a base line to check against and screen shots to compare. For those that don’t remember, the basic story along with mealy mouthed excuses from Google employees is the first hit in a Bing search for Googlegate;
http://talkingabouttheweather.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/google-gate/
YouTube is trying to censor all the “Downfall” climate parodies (Which Anthony has for reasons of good taste never allowed links to on WUWT. ) Again they are claiming copy right issues. Not all have been blocked yet.
Face book is now trying to censor or eliminate groups related to Wikileaks. Australian readers may know that Wikileaks was the first to publish the secret “blacklist” behind senator Conroy’s mindless plan for a mandatory government controlled internet filter. Wikileaks exposed the fact that many of the sites listed did not warrant a Restricted Content rating.
While Google, YouTube and Facebook may seek to control ease of access to content on the internet, they cannot control content itself. The record of Google, YouTube and Facebook doing great evil is now content, recorded for all time. In an age when Little Brother is watching and recording, only the stupid would try to act like Big Brother.
“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.”
ShotsFan, you’re not me, are you? (Univ Chem 76-80)
Let’s hope the Streisand effect kicks in on this. (Google it if you are unfamiliar with the term).
Let’s hope Mr Mann can be dragged into court as quickly as possible. And I suggest he packs his toothbrush.
Not hard at all to find working video links:
Just as an example… internets wins the internets.
Mr Mann is ignorant if he thinks litigation will reduce the negative publicity on him… he is simply driving this to be viral.
Well, censorship or not, it’s STILL out there for anyone who wants to find it.
John A (23:09:38) : I am disturbed that some WUWT commenters appear to use this place to bash intellect and expertise as part of some sort of conspiracy.
John, it was the disgraceful censorship on Wikipedia by people I now know to be part of the climategate “gang” which turned me into a sceptic (I figured I had to see the evidence myself and couldn’t believe what these people said at face value).
So let me be frank, these climate guys are just arrogant bullies who only chose the subject because they were bright enough for real science.
And like all bullies, when those they bully unite against them they cry like babies.
They are not only afraid that we are showing them up to be what they are, they are scared witless that their incompetence is now widely known in real science and I’ve no doubt dozens of Universities are competing with each other to replace these guys and get their funding.
VS (21:28:16) :
“IT/CS types are overwhelmingly pro-AGWH”
Not as far as I am aware, and not in my experience. I would say they split down the middle like the population in general.
One thing most computer programming types know is that computer models have very limited applications where real life testing can be used to verify the modle (ie car crash software, building design, etc).
I think you’re confusing nerds in general with computer people. The type of nerds that cruft up sites like Reddit and Digg. There are a lot more nerds who think they know something than people with actual IT talent.
Typo: “because they were not bright enough for real science.” (where’s the edit button?”
The discussion is science.
If Mann wants to set himself up let him. If googlers want to lose 50% of their business let them.
That file is not banned, that file has not broken a law.
It’s a skit a spoof and truly great satire is based in fact and truth.
One other thing – the best way to deal with satire is to laugh with them and congratulate them on a good job. Fighting them is the absolute worst thing you can do. Michael Mann mustn’t have retained the services of a PR firm or Media adviser before shooting off about this.
WHen I watched the original on YouTube, it came up with a little disclaimer that said ‘JibJab has nothing to do with this’ or words to that effect. I thought that would have meant that JibJab wanted to disavow any links to the first video.
Luboš Motl (22:09:17) :
Just to be sure, the first Hide the Decline video is here:
I hope it works not only on the Czech territory.
It works fine in the ME (faster than from the US, in fact), and I get a *lot* of “not available for viewing in your country” messages from U-Toob…
I know this sounds like a nutcake theory, but I believe it, so it must be true, ask any lefty, but “do no evil” Google has become a massively powerful tool of our corporatist overlords.
I recently did a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ posting on my website asking “Is Google biased in favour of climate change?” This was based on an analysis of Google’s page rank last year and again recently which showed that “non-sceptic” sites generally retained the same ranking but ‘sceptic’ sites tended to have a reduced rank.
http://www.climatedata.info/Discussions/Discussions/opinions.php?id=6452446906985463484
I don’t really believe that Google would risk its reputation by weighting page rank to favour one view of climate change over an other but this recent action does again raise the question.
Downfall’ makers want Hitler spoofs removed.
The makers of Downfall are trying to remove video spoofs of Hitler ranting in his bunker from YouTube, reports The Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/apr/21/downfall-spoof-removal-mistake
ShotsFan, John A
First off, relax. I didn’t say ‘all’, I said ‘overwhelming majority’. At least in my personal experience, this is the case. Most statisticians I know however, are skeptics. I believe this to be a discipline related issue.
Second, the point is not whether there are ‘caveats’ with computer models, but whether (calibrated) computer model fits can be considered proof, or not. Most methodological experts would say ‘nah’, while most CS/IT types would say ‘yeah’. Again, a discipline related issue.
Finally, I clearly stated that there are notable exceptions to this ‘rule’, which apparently include the two of you. Kudos.
Best, VS
This is the Establishment at work.
Truth, rights, anything good – they always gets trampled on by the steam roller of the Establishment asserting its interests.
The Establishment here are those seeking to increase the tax burden on middle income earners – not the rich, they will be sheltered – by the use of green scare tactics and bad/dodgy/distorted science to ‘justify’ their actions.
I once had reason to fight the UK Establishment – I was up against the most notorious litigation lawyers in the country. I went to see Queen’s counsel about what I could do – I was advised their case was completely unfounded and that I would win, but it could take up to 3 years and cost me £1.5 ($2.3) million to fight and win the case. I simply did not have that kind of money.
The law may not be on Mann’s side, but if he has smart/tricky lawyers they will know how to make life misery for those who oppose him and do not have financially deep pockets.
Continuous bad publicity and ridicule is the greatest fear of the Establishment – these videos need to be kept alive by whatever means and spread around to help ensure the extremes of bad science in most AGW are brought under control.
Disagree with VS about IT types. I am a Software Engineer and I totally disagree with AGW. Keep up the good work WUWT. I tune in every day to find the latest slap in the teeth for AGW and the alarmists
HAPPY EARTH DAY!
(click on my name to see the predictions they made back in 1970)
Sound familiar?
The M4GW kind of fell over themselves with this.
I liked their videos a lot. But they really bungled this bogus threat of a lawsuit.
Their Chicken Little press conference was the topping on the cake.
Michael Mann probably thinks the whole Internet is like RealClimate.
I have just read some of Vaclav Klaus’s article and speeches about the environmental movement, thanks to the links posted by Eric (23.09.57) and wish that politicians in the UK, Australia and New Zealand could at least read what Klaus says. I am constantly dismayed by that group of politicians’ inabilty to think rationally about the AGW debate.
When the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, accused those who didn’t agree with him that ‘the science is settled’ re AGW as flat-earthers, I was apalled by his utterly blinkered thinking but unsurprised, as old Marxists rarely deviate from their goal of imposing their version of how the world should work.
Two videos ready to download from MEGAUPLOAD.
The original:
chtd1.mp4 8.94 MB
The spoof:
chtd2.mp4 14.12 MB