Cameron backs out. So much for that attempt to sink skeptical arguments.
From King of the World to Chicken of the Sea: Director James Cameron challenges climate skeptics to debate and then bails out at last minute
Via the SPPI Blog, Source: Climatedepot
Hide the Debate: Cameron ducks Climate Debate with Breitbart, Morano, & McElhinney
by Marc Morano
ASPEN COLORADO: Hollywood director James Cameron challenged three high profile global warming skeptics to a public debate at a global warming and energy conference. But Cameron backed out of the debate at the last minute after environmentalists “came out of the woodwork” to warn him not to engage in a debate with skeptics because it was not in his best interest.
Cameron challenged Andrew Breitbart, Climate Depot’s Marc Morano and filmmaker Ann McElhinney of ‘Not Evil Just Wrong.’ The debate was already in the program for the Aspen American Renewable Energy Day (AREDAY) summit. The website program described the agreed to debate as “AREDAY Climate Change Debate: Reality or Fiction?” (see image below)
After setting up the public global warming debate, Cameron and his negotiator then changed formats multiple times and initially said it would be open to the media and then said he would only participate if it was private with no recording devices. The skeptics agreed to all the changes. According to AREDAY organizers, activist Joseph Romm of Climate Progress urged Cameron not to go ahead with the debate as well.
Cameron’s cancellation of the agreed to debate did not happen until one debate participant (Morano) was already in mid-air, flying from DC to Aspen on Saturday August 21 to attend the debate. (AREDAY did grant Morano a 90 minute slot to speak at the summit. See: Climate Depot’s Presentation at Warmists’ Summit Met By Hostile Interrupting Moderator and Crowd; Call for Morano to Kill Himself!)
(Morano Note: After ducking debate, James Cameron boldly slammed global warming skeptics as “swine” on the day he was supposed to be debating them. “I think they’re swine” Cameron told a friendly audience at the AREDAY summit. Also see: Cameron Morphs Into Gore, Quits AGW Debate: ‘Chickened out–even after he won Gore-like concessions that there would be no media and no audio or video record kept’ — How does Cameron square ducking a climate debate he set up when just a few months ago he seemed so confident? See: Director James Cameron Unleashed: Calls for gun fight with global warming skeptics: ‘I want to call those deniers out into the street at high noon and shoot it out with those boneheads’)
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Below is detailed report from Ann McElhinney of www.NotEvilJustWrong.com on how Cameron ducked out of debate he set up.
James Cameron—King of Hypocrites
Written by Ann McElhinney
Sunday, 22 August 2010 17:49
Last March James Cameron sounded defiant.
The Avatar director was determined to expose journalists, such as myself, who thought it was important to ask questions about climate change orthodoxy and the radical “solutions” being proposed.
Cameron said was itching to debate the issue and show skeptical journalists and scientists that they were wrong.
“I want to call those deniers out into the street at high noon and shoot it out with those boneheads,” he said in an interview.
Well, a few weeks ago Mr. Cameron seemed to honor his word.
His representatives contacted myself and two other well known skeptics, Marc Morano of the Climate Depot website and Andrew Breitbart, the new media entrepreneur.
Mr. Cameron was attending the AREDAY environmental conference in Aspen Colorado 19-22 August. He wanted the conference to end with a debate on climate change. Cameron would be flanked with two scientists. It would be 90 minutes long. It would be streamed live on the internet.
They hoped the debate would attract a lot of media coverage.
“We are delighted to have Fox News, Newsmax, The Washington Times and anyone else you’d like. The more the better,” one of James Cameron’s organizers said in an email.
It looked like James Cameron really was a man of his word who would get to take on the skeptics he felt were so endangering humanity.
Everyone on our side agreed with their conditions. The debate was even listed on the AREDAY agenda.
But then as the debate approached James Cameron’s side started changing the rules.
They wanted to change their team. We agreed.
They wanted to change the format to less of a debate—to “a roundtable”. We agreed.
Then they wanted to ban our cameras from the debate. We could have access to their footage. We agreed.
Bizarrely, for a brief while, the worlds most successful film maker suggested that no cameras should be allowed-that sound only should be recorded. We agreed
Then finally James Cameron, who so publicly announced that he “wanted to call those deniers out into the street at high noon and shoot it out,” decided to ban the media from the shoot out.
He even wanted to ban the public. The debate/roundtable would only be open to those who attended the conference.
No media would be allowed and there would be no streaming on the internet. No one would be allowed to record it in any way.
We all agreed to that.
And then, yesterday, just one day before the debate, his representatives sent an email that Mr. “shoot it out ” Cameron no longer wanted to take part. The debate was cancelled.
James Cameron’s behavior raises some very important questions.
Does he genuinely believe in man made climate change? If he believes it is a danger to humanity surely he should be debating the issue every chance he gets ?
Or is it just a pose?
The man who called for an open and public debate at “high noon” suddenly doesn’t want his policies open to serious scrutiny.
I was looking forward to debating with the film maker. I was looking forward to finding out where we agreed and disagreed and finding a way forward that would help the poorest people in the developing and developed world.
But that is not going to happen because somewhere along the way James Cameron, a great film maker, has moved from King of the World to being King of the Hypocrites.
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Addendum
In other news from the SPPI Blog
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Climate Depot’s Presentation at Warmists’ Summit Met By Hostile Interrupting Moderator and Crowd; Call for Morano to Kill Himself!
Source: Climatedepot
Global Warming Summit’s Warm Welcome: Morano told to drive car into garage with engine running and then close the doors
By Marc Morano
[SPPI Note: This is the same arrogant and hapless Joe Romm who claimed that global warming cause the collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis in August of 2007. For other entries on Romm see here: http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/commentaries/climate_mccarthyism.pdf
and here: http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/blogwatch/climate_inquisition.pdf
and here: http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/commentaries/romms_fairy_tales.pdf ]
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Note from Climate Depot’s Executive Editor Marc Morano:
My presentation at Aspen American Renewable Energy Day (AREDAY) summit on Sunday August 22, 2010 at 5:30 was met by a rude moderator and hostile audience. I was offered the 90 minute time slot to present the skeptical view of man-made climate change after Hollywood director James Cameron’s cowardly final cancellation of a pre-planned and agreed to global warming debate. See here: From King of the World to Chicken of the Sea: Director James Cameron Sets up Debate with Skeptics Then Flees! Cameron Ducks Climate Debate with Breitbart, Morano, & McElhinney
Cameron’s cancellation of the debate did not happen until I was already in mid-air, flying from DC to Aspen on Saturday August 21 to attend the debate. After challenging us to the public debate, Cameron was spooked by Joseph Romm of Climate Progress who warned him not to debate us. Finally, we were told Cameron would debate us if Romm joined the debate and at Romm’s insistence there would be no cameras or media present. We agreed and I flew to Aspen. (See full report of Cameron’s chickening out here. How does Cameron square ducking a climate debate he set up when just a few months ago he seemed so confident. See: Director James Cameron Unleashed: Calls for gun fight with global warming skeptics: ‘I want to call those deniers out into the street at high noon and shoot it out with those boneheads’)
After arriving I found out that Cameron had canceled the debate that he challenged us to. The AREDAY global warming summit organizers then offered me the consolation prize of 90 minutes to speak to the conference and present the skeptical argument with Q and A from the audience. But the 90 minute event turned out to be further evidence of manipulation by Cameron and the ARDAY conference organizers.
My PowerPoint presentation was repeatedly interrupted by ARDAY moderator Richard Greene and the audience was not receptive to me continuing my presentation. Instead, the bulk of my presentation turned into a disjointed moderator and audience rant session. I attempted several times to return to my presentation, but the crowd and moderator refused to cooperate and seemed completely disinterested.
One participant confused carbon dioxide with carbon monoxide. She suggested I kill himself by driving my car into my garage and then close the doors with the engine running. I twice attempted to explain to the ARDAY conference participant that there was a difference between carbon dioxide — a harmless trace essential gas we exhale from our mouth– and toxic carbon monoxide, but to no avail. I sadly shook my head and told the audience: “Wow, what a warm welcome I have gotten here.”
In the end, the ARDAY’s offer of 90 minutes for me to present the skeptical view of man-made global warming after Cameron’s debate cancellation revealed itself to be essentially disingenuous.
“C’mom, who doesn’t want to fly on a purply pterodactyl and make it with a blue, seven foot tall, golden eyed, willowy alien chick?
”
That would be me.
I rejected spending any money on Avatar because of the second rate, second hand story, and my “we are the bad guys ” fatigue.
Besides, if somebody wanted to really make the most astounding actual science fiction movie ever, they would start with an actual science fiction story, crafted and refined by someone who knows what they are doing .
I suggest Vernor Vinge’s “A Deepness in the Sky”.
I never watched neither “Titanic” nor “Avatar.”
At first it was because both films were highly recommended to their audience by the Chinese ruling Communists. This immediately put a black ideological mark on Mr. Cameron.
Now I have another good reason to despise his snide output.
Amazing that the skeptics were so accommodating that they even agreed to conditions that would allow the warmists to attempt to control the spinning of the results. Except, of course, Climate Depot and WUWT are such huge fora that this probably would not have worked.
Happy to say that I have avoided Avatar out of principle. I did not want my hard-earned $$ added to the bottom line of Cameron’s masterpiece of propaganda – not that this would have made much difference 🙁
Lance…
Mindless eye-candy over substance, eh?
Marlene Anderson says: I wonder why he turned tail and ran even after changing the rules of engagement time after time until the whole ‘discussion’ would essentially be hidden under the ‘cone of silence’. I can only conclude that in his preparation for the debate he discovered the weakness of the pro-AGW arguments. He then realized he had neither the facts nor the bluff to avoid a public humiliation in an open debate.
JK: The other possibility is that it was a setup to get Breitbart, Morano and McElhinney to drop out because of ridiculous restrictions, then to claim the skeptics refused to debate.
Thanks
JK
jim karlock says:
August 23, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Thank god we got rid of this threat without another world war and only a few hundred thousands dying from the bio fuel scam instead of many millions from carbon elimination.
Do you think we already got rid of it?, go to the UN pages and see how many binding agreements have already signed the majotity of countries, under that perspective if this one in special fails it won’t be so catastrophic for the general plan. Almost everything has been changed: from education to flu shots or ASTM no longer valid but ISO instead, you name it, the “Brave New World” it’s almost implemented.
Sad, I thought he was better than that, I can only assume that the AGW reptiles sucked his brain out and left a shell they could manipulate to their will.
Romm must have told him about the problems with Environment Canada’s temp records:)
James Cameron, who is a great film maker, made his fortune by making movies that the establishment said would never work. In other words he ‘really’ understood what people wanted to see. When a man like Cameron, who is famed for his bravery and determination and who also posseses an uncanny sense of the public mood, backs down from a position you can be certain that position is indefensible.
It’s over for the hoaxers and they know it!
So both Cameron and Romm didn’t think they could defend global warming, even with a stacked audience??
That’s says it all……………..
It is unbelievable – this RealClimatish and Rommish censorship these people practice – “debate” us but with no cameras. For what? So no one finds out how soundly they’d get thrashed? Censorship and cowardice go hand in hand.
Apparently we sent the wrong debaters. [snip – OTT]
REPLY: Mike, that flamebait has also been snipped also from an earlier comment. Don’t provide ammunition. – Anthony
In the end, all this was about getting the skeptics to back down.
Changing rules one at a time to try and find something that they couldn’t handle.
The bluff was called, and found Cameron empty handed.
Doesn’t look good, does it? It ain’t.
Romm is afraid. Very afraid. He pushed and Cameron is now hiding from confrontation. Remember November?
Now the consensus is to duck and run.
I pegged Avatar as “Dances With Wolves… IN SPACE”.
That was enough for me to avoid it. Then there is the YouTube critic who is devastating.
Reply: Throw in Billy Jack, Little Big Man, and On Deadly Ground. Shake, don’t stir ~ ctm
A bit like the Titanic itself, woman and children first and James [snip -policy] Cameron.
But that’s what you get when you are trying to defend the existence of climate unobtanium. No matter what amount of handwavium and technobabble is used it is still unobtanium, it isn’t there.
Buck, buck, bukcerrrrr
James Cameron does not realise that Marc Morano, Andrew Breitbart and Ann McElhinney are battle hardened and will simply point out contrary evidence and brazen lies which the media has a tendancy to avoild. That’s why Joseph Romm urged him to back out. No wonder Al millions of degrees internet Gore says the debate is over. :o) What does Cameron think Morano does every day? Make movies?
While disappointing, this whole episode is not a total loss:
1) We finally found something bigger than Cameron’s ego: his mouth.
2) We finally found something(s) smaller than his brain: his [self-snip].
Cameron took a case of swine flu.
Is it likely that all the ‘conditions’ the Cameron was putting up was to try to get Andrew, Ann, and Marc to finally say, ” . . no, we have given into a few of your conditions, but just can’t give in any more . . .”, in order to then tell the media and everyone that the ‘denialists’ wouldn’t debate them, and then he wouldn’t have to back out, and he would look like the hero? It sure seems that way to me.
Cameron, you are a clown. Kudos to you, Andrew, Ann, and Marc. BTW, have you offered again to debate him?
James Cameron’s House
http://www.bergproperties.com/blog/director-james-cameron-lists-his-7294-acre-ranchland-in-malibu-for-24950000-continues-to-own-his-two-malibu-houses-which-are-on-the-most-celebrity-intensive-street-in-the-world-and-continues-to/
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.0474203&lon=-118.6854918&z=18&l=2&m=b
http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2009/12/22/the-data-crunching-powerhouse-behind-avatar/
But Sure, James Cameron does not like CO2.
hehe! Okay, guys.. *I* liked Avatar. I understand the mining/fossil fuel inferences, Gaia and the rest.. but.. I saw it on IMAX, in 3D.. twice.. and it just plain rocked.
Just because I think the director’s a twonk, and that the analogy is silly, doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate a work of pure fantasy for the thing it really is.. a work of pure fantasy! Just enjoy the art for the thing it is. A couple of hours of pure escapism is good for you! 🙂
PS: I also don’t really believe the Harry Potter film makers are really telling us that there’s a Hogwarts, or that we should be extra nice to kids with glasses because some of them might really be wizards. 🙂
The tree had to fall in the direction the blue people where moving away… talk about bad luck! If it had fallen in the other direction it would not have looked great on camera.
Cameron should be ashame of being a Canadian… we stand being our words and don’t chicken out like he did.
I can hear what Joe Romm said to Cameron:
“Don’t go. They will shred you. We have been avoiding frontal debate for years. Why do you think we have never debated with sceptics and have run our dogma only through press releases?”
The cool thing about Avatar was how the evil human (pretending to be the hero) convinced the tribe to give up all the stuff they learned on how to sneak through the jungle … and just do a stupid suicidal frontal assault.
It was laugh out loud stupidly funny.