UPDATE: Is is now totally unraveled. The person related to the culling license speaks out, see below.
I feel there will be more crow pie coming on the menu for David Appell and Nick Stokes.
Simon from Australian Climate Madness writes:
This is turning into the story that keeps on giving. After yesterday’s revelation that the one possible “threat” was actually an innocent discussion about culling kangaroos, now Legal Affairs editor Chris Merritt writes in The Weekend Australian:
Media Watch eyes climate scientist death threat claims
AFTER triggering a global news event with reports about death threats against climate scientists, the ABC and Fairfax Media are under investigation by Media Watch after a central plank supporting their reports was found to be non-existent.
Before the flaws in their reports were revealed, their versions of the truth had been picked up by Britain’s The Guardian and the scientific journal Nature.
The critical error in their reports, which has been revealed by The Australian, is that emails held by the Australian National University that were supposed to outline death threats against climate scientists have been independently assessed as containing no death threats.
Those emails were made public on Tuesday after a long Freedom of Information campaign by blogger Simon Turnill.
Full story here
============================================================
UPDATE: On the website “Catalaxy Files” and in comments on WUWT below, the person who is at the center of the alleged “death threat” months before the other emails, identifies himself. Link.
Read it from the beginning here: http://catallaxyfiles.com/2012/05/10/the-dog-ate-my-death-threats-with-garcinia cambogia-ii/
Here’s the comment left on WUWT:
I feel I can now throw some light on the matter. The document viewed as most “threatening” referred to an alleged Deliberation at the ANU about climate change in the Canberra region at which one person “made a death threat” (sic) by showing his gun licence and boasting about his skill as a sniper.. Only two people dropped out of the conference only one of those who did so attended the even meal. Me. I am certainly the one who is alleged to show someone their gun licence. That is not true while at the evening meal (of poor quality) comments moved to eating game meat and I was approached by the Commissioner for the Environment ACT, Dr Maxine Cooper who recognized me as someone involved in the kangaroo culling program in the ACT. She politely asked if she could sit at the vacant seat next to me and asked if I had past the recent licence test – not easy. I replied yes and showed her my current licence. I also impressed on any one interested the high standard of marksmanship necessary to allay any cruelty concerns. I might add that earlier in the day I had challenged two speakers to comment on a letter in the Canberra Times that claimed that temperatures had not increased in the Canberra area for decades. They were unable to do so, having not apparently checked the record despite the the “Deliberation” (conference) supposed to be about rising temperatures in the Canberra region. As all daytime conversations were recorded (we all signed waivers to allow this) this can easily be checked.
I note Readfearn has commented on the “death threat at the conference” in Crikey ,com. He got one thing right I did leave of my own accord. When meal had finished and a piss poor meal it was.
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Summary of Tony Thomas at Quadrant on the original Ozzie “death threat” fiasco below. To me, this approach to democracy stinks:
“… one possible “threat” was actually an innocent discussion about culling kangaroos, …”
They are right to be worried… Kangaroos is Aussie for “Climate Alarmists”
Good thing they don’t know, is Yank for “Taxpayer Funded Global Warming Scammers”
😉
I’d love to see Monckton take on this lot.
How can you be part of the consensus (97% of all scientists…) AND be an under-dog (we are being threatened…) at the same time?
With these fake death threats at ANU we skeptics see the evidence growing exponentially, as CAGWists approach their end game, that the IPCC centric CAGW folks have a disturbing (to us skeptics anyway) pathological fascination with human death.
John
Now that John Coochey has put to rest the most serious of the DEATH threats, we need to get to the next worst threat, from the emails, in its entirety, evil email #9…
“Mate ,That report is the biggest load of rubbish I have ever seen.”
DirkH says:
May 12, 2012 at 12:46 am
@me, May 11, 2012 at 10:31 pm
Oh! I always threaten them with one day having to earn their money so I’m guilty. But I understand their reasoning. The perspective must look like death from their pampered existence. No more free shindigs in Rio and Durban!
I’d originally figured them for wussification personified, but with the information that they shindig in Rio and Durban, risking sudden death from 20-foot sealevel increases when New Jersey-sized floating ice shelves slip their Antarctic moorings and float away — welllll, I now find myself quietly admiring their insane courage…
…NOT!
Steve from Rockwood says:
May 12, 2012 at 7:35 am
How can you be part of the consensus (97% of all scientists…) AND be an under-dog…?
They burrow..
Maybe John Coochey, (the person who made the “death threat” by displaying his kangaroo culling license) wasn’t aware of Dr. Maxine Cooper’s passion for kangaroos:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/71878272/Dr-Maxine-Cooper-Commissioner-Level-1_-Building-3_-9-Sandford-
She prefers relocating or sterilizing them to control their populations, and opposes culling as inhumane.
Louis Hooffsteter says:
May 12, 2012 at 9:09 am
Maybe John Coochey, (the person who made the “death threat” by displaying his kangaroo culling license) wasn’t aware of Dr. Maxine Cooper’s passion for kangaroos:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/71878272/Dr-Maxine-Cooper-Commissioner-Level-1_-Building-3_-9-Sandford-
She prefers relocating or sterilizing them to control their populations, and opposes culling as inhumane.
==========================================================================
Louis,
I think you will find this was addressed TO Maxine Cooper, as Commissioner,and was actually written by a Frankie Seymour so it would be unfair to take it as representative of her views on the matter.
I read the 11 emails in Louis Hooffsteter’s comment (May 12, 2012 at 6:51 am). Anyone who claims any of those emails contains a “death threat” is either batty or a CAGW proponen or botht.
Reed Coray,
at a climate forum that I am commenting in there are a bunch of alarmists who are spinning them away with their now patented moving the goal post and deflection argument tactics.They simply can’t accept the possibility that the University grotesquely overrated the threats and the media played along with this deliberate propaganda for the purpose of smearing skeptics with a pot full of overcooked red herrings.
http://www.reddit.com/r/climateskeptics/comments/tgeog/anu_death_threat_emails_released/
and,
http://www.reddit.com/r/climateskeptics/comments/t5dpz/death_threats_against_australian_climate/
They are so pathetic these alarmists are in trying to defend the indefensible.
Wasn’t it Nick Stokes who said ‘Climategate’ was just scientists doing their normal daily routine or something to that effect?
I can see why an alarmist climate scientist would consider this a death threat. Aren’t kangaroos a member of the rat family? This man was killing their close relatives!
Paging Nick Stokes…Mr Stokes please make it to the nearest comment section…Mr Nick Stokes…
Or is he in the moderation cue or something?
You would think he would like to either defend himself or admit he was incorrect? Nothing wrong with being incorrect, but it hurts ones credibility to not admit being incorrect….
[REPLY: Uhhh… no, Nick is not stuck in moderation and he gets out as fast as anyone else does. He’s busy fighting off the piranha on his own site. It’s still dark where he is, I believe, so give him a chance to have a cuppa before resuming the death of a thousand nibbles. -REP]
‘A Wunch of Bankers’
Or as my dearly departed mother (butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth) learned to say…”Pheasant Pluckers”
Heh. John Coochey posted the same comment on Deltoid. It has been ‘disappeared’, along with the (lame) followups. Who’s the d*nialist now Tim Lamebert?
So I’ve reposted it 🙂
http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2012/05/may_2012_open_thread.php#comment-6269979
I wonder how long it will last.
Never mind, I screenshotted it too.
REPLY: That’s really a hateful lot over there isn’t it? – Anthony
[snip – I don’t allow this video on my blog – because it is a publicity stunt by a LaRouche supporter who then just a couple of hours after the incident, recorded a propaganda video about it. It serves no purpose except to inflame some people and there is no connection between LaRouche and credible skepticism. I denouce the entire LaRouche organization and will not be a party to promoting them in any way. – Anthony]
The critical part of the linked report is:
“Media Watch executive producer Lin Buckfield said yesterday one of her program’s researchers was examining reports on the affair that had been carried by The Australian, ABC news, Lateline and The Canberra Times. “If through our inquiries we decide that an item is warranted, we will proceed accordingly,” she said.”
I won’t be holding my breath. I’ll be very surprised if they decide it is “warranted”, given Media Watch’s frequently demonstrated greenie/alarmist perspectives.
I’m not a big fan of canadafreepress.com but a google search for “litton indusries bombing” seems to bring up mostly sympathetc articles.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2002/media81902.htm
My windows rattled for a good 15 seconds from a half mile away.
First, I personally denounce anyone sending politically charged or threatening e-mails to scientists and citizens. There’s no place for that in the debate. I’m sure we can all agree with that (even Nick and David).
I would, however, like to pose a question to everyone. Suppose you are a CEO of a private business in the energy sector, and a prominent climate scientist issues the following statement:
“CEOs of fossil energy companies know what they are doing and are aware of long-term
consequences of continued business as usual. In my opinion, these CEOs should be tried for
high crimes against humanity and nature.”
As a CEO with a family and a business, how would you feel about this statement? Someone in the government wants YOU locked up for life or worse! WOULD YOU FEEL THREATENED? I sure would…
I would suggest that for someone who is highly placed in the government to make an ugly THREAT like this would be grounds for immediate dismissal. I’m sure Nick and David will join me in denouncing this scoundrel and calling for his immediate firing over such bald threats to innocent U.S. citizens (who, by the way, have not done anything to warrant such threats).
Grrr typos.
litton industries
Ian H says:
May 12, 2012 at 3:16 pm
Who is the absolute dick waving the noose around in the following video.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dono…since SkepticalScience posted it have you asked Mr Cook if he did any research?
REPLY: See my edit above – Anthony
Thank you, Mr Watts.
Paging Nick Stokes…
Yes, it is indeed morning on Mother’s Day here. When I was last commenting here, we were speculating on what the emails might contain, based on the Privacy Commissioner’s report. The posts here said nothing – I contended that the Privacy Commissioner wasn’t saying that.
So I obtained the emails and posted them, so you could all see. And indeed, the one that the Privacy Commissioner flagged did contain a story which had been interpreted as a threat.
Now Mr Coochey has given his account, in which no threat was intended. Incidentally, he was able to do that because of the emails I posted. It would be interesting to hear from the others to see how it came to be seen as a threat, although we probably won’t now.
It does seem clear that the meeting concerned was designed to set up a culture clash (dumb idea) and succeeded, and in that context someone found whatever they saw scary. As to what happened thereafter, it’s pretty speculative. As I’ve commented elsewhere the CCI was very marginally involved here. It wasn’t their conference; Steffen got a message from it and sent out an email informing his staff, which is the one that got caught up in the FOI request. There will be other ANU correspondence, but it wasn’t within the terms of the FOI request.
So yes, it does look as though the chain of incidents behind the V-C’s reported statement of June 2011 don’t, on investigation, amount to much. There are still the off-campus incidents described by Beeby here. And here is in incident on Youtube, when Schellnhuber visited my alma mater last year. Stuff happens.