I can’t improve on the description offered by Steve McIntyre on the most recent taxpayer funded %&#@^*! from NOAA: their sponsorship of the display Pillars of Climate at the recent American Meteorological Society’s Applied Climatology and Climate Change Adaptation conference in Asheville.
But I second Steve’s call for a Parthenon where mere mortals can pay homage to the demigods of the atmosphere. Here, in this fortress of turpitude, they can ponder the role of clouds:
Behold, the bust of Mann (modeled of course):
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John Robertson says:
July 30, 2011 at 11:56 pm
I totally agree with John Robertson, If we continue to ridicule the person rather than his arguments then we are going to weaken our cause and not be taken seriously by those who are still uncommitted to either side of the argument. It is a free world and they are entitled to present their views on any subject without receiving personal ridicule. Let us all stick to simply putting opposing views on any of the questionable science that the AGW fanatics offer, after all, this site has been so successful so far in promoting the sceptics viewpoin. Personal attack and ridicule will only serve to weaken that achievement.
John Robertson says:
July 30, 2011 at 11:56 pm
I understand your concern, John, but after the Climategate e-mails were published, it became very clear to me that these people (1) have giant egos, (2) have colluded professionally against anyone who doesn’t share their point of view on climate, and (3) have disparaged other scientists in a worse manner than what Anthony has done here (anyone remember Hansen’s “jousting with jesters” comment when people questioned the output from their global temperature analysis program, GISTEMP?).
Moreover, why the US taxpayer (and the unsuspecting members of the AMS!) should have to help fund this “art/propaganda” is beyond me. If this were funded privately, then I could care less (though it would still be ripe for lampooning!)…
The Parthenon was dedicated to the Sacred Virgin Goddess (some 5 centuries before Christianity). Is there a connection here, to Climate naivety?
.
The ruins above are of The Temple of Aphaea, Aegina – Aegina Island
Read more: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/3f8e9/68742/#ixzz1Tg3rSXt6
Great to see Aristophanes quoted – taught his works,The Wasps and The Frogs for some years.
Since clouds have been mentioned in this thread and comments, I’ll share with you a bet I just had with myself. And then we can turn this thread into a clouds-and-solar thread 🙂
So, I was looking at the UK met office satellite photo of the UK and the eastern Atlantic, worrying about the possibility of rain spoiling a cricket match I’m going to, and I noticed that the Atlantic clouds were breaking up, whereas a few days ago they had been thickening relentlessly. So I said to myself, “Svensmark, sunspots, they must be going up right now”, and surely enough when I checked solarham.com there is a gorgeous set of big sunspots in the northern hemisphere, and NOAA shows a fast rise in SSN.
It’s probably just a coincidence, though; I need to repeat the trick a few dozen times to get evidence of causality…
Rich.
Very funny post, thanks.
There is a lot of truth in that humor though. We are now at the stage that every single data point is supposed to support CAGW. If it snows again in Miami Florida like it did in the 70s that will be seen as a sure sign of warming?
Can heat freeze me?
The bust needs an inscription. The poet Shelley has just the lines in Ozymandias.
“Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ozymandias_%28Shelley%29
I agree, sort of. There seem to be a few people who’ve transcended professional respect over at RealClimate, and Mann is one of them. Compared to the insults that come our way from them, Anthony’s busted Mann, err Bust of Mann, is more tongue of cheek humor than ridiculae or satire (the posting categories).
The red dots that make up Mann’s image are a play on the red/blue dots that are used in some temperature anomaly maps. Of course, it would be beneath me to note that they make Mann look like a real hothead.
In this ‘free world‘ of yours, please tell me who *is* entitled to receive personal ridicule? (Allowing your strawman just for the sake of argument, since I don’t see this personal ridicule). Everyone except the scientists? Are they in a upper class or something?
In this ‘free world‘ of yours are cartoons allowed? Political ads? Jokes? Do you have a link to the rulebook handy?
I got a better idea though. Instead of you trying to change the free speech habits of everyone else to suit your personal sensibilities, you could just start your own free blog and play it straight and narrow to your hearts content. It would be fun. You could rule it with an Iron Fist enforcing speech codes and bringing the hammer down on those uncivilized savages living under a first Amendment. According to your logic this would be very effective in the AGW war, and no doubt millions of the ‘still uncommitted‘ will be beating down your doors. You might even get the Hockey Team to cry uncle and surrender unconditionally.
/SomeSarc 😉
It is important to understand that those with a left leaning brain are mostly those besotted with the cause of global warming. They also have no real sense of humour, as most people can laugh at themselves when satire or irony is pointed at them.
These poor souls are the centre of their own universes, in Australia it has been noted that any person questioning the science of the annointed ones is the same as making a death threat.
This is beyond the pale and many are starting to see Monty python in the entire charade, those that can not laugh at themselves should be pitied.
To all who would disagree with Doc’s approach herein – using humor as a form of communicating ones disagreement with someone on the other side of an issue is a very powerful and simple way to make a point and call into question, – in the readers mind – (if not actually lay waste to their logic) the other persons position on the issue. Humor has been used quite successfully for this purpose for centuries in the most “civil” of societies and by some of the greatest and most gracious of thinkers. IMHO, Anthony is very judicious in his use herein and in this case is “spot-on” in its application.
Has anyone noticed that on the sign it says that the four scientists depicted were “chosen for their unique careers which blend science, communication and activism in Climate Science.”
Since when is activism an accepted part of scientific discovery and debate? When the activists got involved is when serious climate science became subject to ridicule and late night comedy IMO.
Look again. I think there are three pillars, and the four faces are presented on the four sides of the pillars. The simplest way to remove a face is with whitewash.
The Hockey Team’s Left Wing Lock seems to be faltering lately.
Too bad their “pillars” are built upon the shifting sands of lies, deceit, and ego, and their climate house for which they raise said “pillars” is one of mere cards.
I completely agree with John Robertson. While I find the positions and actions of the AGW proponents disagreeable, at best, these sorts of posts do nothing to further the skeptical position. Stick to the facts and skip the satire and labels such as “alarmists”.
This non-essential piece of tax payer funded fluff is one of the reasons I hope we lose our credit rating. The politicians then need to be held accountable (as in charged with misconduct) for that reduction in our credit rating and be forced to cut spending or be recalled for failure to perform the duties of office.
Lott’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt. As we all know salt dissolves in water. These pillars of climate are not made of anything more durable than salt. With the first cleansing rains of truth they start to dissolve.
“Pillars of Climate” is an installation that investigates the issues of perception and dissemination of data in climate change. The sculpture invites the audience to go beyond ‘face value’ and inspect more closely the integration of humanity, nature and fossil fuels.
Surely the closer to psychosis the better, but when does Depak Shopra get around to telling “the audience” just what the LSD is going to cost extra and whether it includes S&H?
Thanks, Zorro — It didn’t look quite like the Parthenon but I had no idea what it really was:
http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/Parthenon.html
As for the bust of Mann, I thought his biggest bust was the HS itself! 😉
Paul M. Parks says:
July 31, 2011 at 7:32 am
I completely agree with John Robertson. While I find the positions and actions of the AGW proponents disagreeable, at best, these sorts of posts do nothing to further the skeptical position. Stick to the facts and skip the satire and labels such as “alarmists”.
Right. After all, it’s only a full blown Totalitarian Propaganda Operation the Progressive Obama Communists are waging against the U.S. Constitution and its own citizens. And where has Communism ever caused a problem for free thought and Liberty?
lol, so they decorated four pillars with NOAA’s red and blue temperature dots and, in the vein of typical government funded junk art, couldn’t even spell “career” correctly on their very expensive sign.
I think the parthenon falling down over time is an excellent metaphor for the once “robust” feisty, unopposed alarmists (Pray tell some of our sensitive commenters, what is wrong with the use of the term alarmist – are they not sounding alarm for the planet? Denier is another thing altogether with its historical context and besides it is simply wrong – deniers just deny, They don’t point out where the other side errs fundamentally)
Exactly right. Scientists may promote any causes they like, but to make scientific inquiry the handmaiden of those causes, whatever they may be, is to vitiate the entire raison d’etre of science itself. Here the whole proclamation (from Steve McIntyre):
Readers will recognize here the movement to so-called ‘post-normal’ science, in which truth is made subservient to political causes and movements. This is entirely destructive of the scientific ethos. To have our tax dollars supporting it is obscene. Write your Congressman.
And yes, John Robertson (July 30, 2011 at 11:56 pm), it deserves every bit of scorn and ridicule that can be heaped upon it.
/Mr Lynn
@ur momisugly Zorro
Thank you fror reminding me of my classical education. I hope you (and other WUWT readers) will enjoy this.
Brekekex. Koax! Koax!
For we are the skeptical Frogs,
We publish our thoughts on the blogs.
And when they’re not true,
We require a re-do.
Our enemies, meanwhile, train dogs.
Cheers,
Neil