March for Politically Correct Science flops – almost no one turns up

Martin Place, Central Sydney — the raging crowd gathers to chant for Approved, Groupthink “Science” TM

This was the second annual “March for Science“.  Apparently, 4,999,900 people had better things to do.

March for politically correct science, 2018

March for politically correct science, 2018

This photo is patched together from the SBS news pan across the crowd in the centre of the largest city in Australia.

The turnout was so small, journalists didn’t even try to make up a number. They just said “demonstrators” plural, “rallied in eight cities across Australia”. So there were at least two people at each city. “Congrats”.

The Sydney rally even had Triple J celebrity, Adam Spencer. They presumably also had free advertising on the ABC beforehand. It didn’t help much.

Science without debate is just propaganda, it’s no wonder no one cares

Having taken all the public passion, controversy and competition out of science, the masters of Groupthink have destroyed it as a spectator sport. Who wants to watch a football game where the result is fixed and everyone knows it? Public interest in science was settled in 1990 — at zero.

If the Academy of Science wanted to make science a million times more popular it would arrange real televised debates, with the best from both sides on actual important controversial issues. That would inspire debates in schools. Kids would learn more about the scientific method in one hour of debate than in thirty years of approved consensus litany.

In Melbourne, apparently the biggest threat to the planet looks like steak and eggs.

March for Science, Melbourne.

March for Science, Melbourne.

 

Unkind impartial commentators might have described these protests as small fringe groups, with far lower than expected numbers and a disappointing turnout. Though there were no unkind commentators at SBS, and there was no aerial crowd shot either.

Despite that, with cameras kept at half mast, the lackluster event was still used as an excuse to rerun the agitprop message on prime time news and share how one random firefighty person is sure fires are different now. More free advertising for the importance of Big Government by a Big-Government broadcaster.  (SBS is our baby ABC).

If it had been skeptics instead, that got less than 100 people to a major event, TV cameras would have turned up to tell the world how dismal it was.

Group-thinkers on science should stop,
And ask why their rallies all flop,
And try to relate,
To a reasoned debate,
Perhaps then, the penny would drop.

–Ruairi

9.8 out of 10 based on 108 ratings

199 comments to March for Politically Correct Science flops – almost no one turns up

  • #
    Gordon

    Politically correct science!? Is that not an oxymoron? How would anyone even describe that? How can science be politically correct? Sheesh.

    310

    • #
      PeterS

      Indeed. It’s not even politically correct science fiction.

      PS: I see you got caught out using the oxy.. word like I was in the past several times. Time for Jo to update her dictionary of moderated words. That word is perfectly legitimate.

      201

      • #
        sophocles

        The word oxym0ron is oxym0ronic itself, containing an internal contradiction. It’s roots are the (Ancient) Greek oxys, meaning “sharp, keen” and m0ronos, meaning “dull” as in “stupid” or “dumb.”

        It came into English through Latin oxymorum from the Latinised Greek.

        Maybe we should change or modify it slightly? The Warmists have mauled the language with “denialist” so why can’t we invent our own words?

        We could revert to the latinate form, oxymorum, it should bypass the censorscript. Or we could create our own oxym0ronic replacement, really going over the top:

        2. oxyID-10-t using the correct English: i.d.i.o.t has put a post of mine into moderation.
        (maybe because it also had “Harry” as the subject …).

        3. oxym0ron with a zero. Two zeros looks a little off-colour. oops … 🙂
        4. oxycretin
        5. oxyjackass
        6. oxystupid
        7. oxyimbecile
        8. oxypuerile
        9. oxydim
        10. oxysimpleton
        11.oxylackwit
        12.oxynumskull

        or turn to the English more specific term of “a contradiction in terms. That is a little long for my taste; it’s harder to type. In a literary sense, the contradiction is also known as a “paradox.”

        We could borrow from Latin acūtus (“sharp”), or acute in English. Have a play with acu- and an appropriate suffix to maintain the internal contradiction. Could be fun! Here’s a couple to start with:

        1. acublunt
        2. acudumb

        We’ve got plenty of choice.

        90

      • #
        sophocles

        Oops, that’s one cunning little censor. my original comment #1.1.1 has dropped straight into moderation.
        One of the mods may drag it out soon, fingers crossed …:-)

        41

    • #
      James Bradley

      Must be difficult to maintain the global warming facade on a cold, wet, miserable Melbourne day.

      330

      • #
        toorightmate

        Even the participants are cold, wet and miserable – regardless of the weather.

        260

        • #
          OriginalSteve

          We have gas central heating….while the die hards are out in the wet and cold marching for science that isnt science, we’ll enjoy our lovely gas powered house….

          Love those fossil fuels….

          210

          • #
            Freedom of Beach

            The Melbourne Steak’n Egg denialists should check the spelling of their comrades’ banner more closely in future.

            The correct description should read: ” March for Climate Seance”

            180

      • #
        sophocles

        You’ve got to remember James, that AGW is just a Weapon of Mass Distraction.

        Agenda 2030 and it’s multi-tentacular concept of sustainability for everything is the real danger. A ruined electricity system is sustainable because there is always wind and always sun … somewhere else in the world.

        100

    • #
      Yonniestone

      This is the same Adam Spencer (a scientist) that in 2011 hung up on Lord Monckton during an interview on his ABC Radio show, http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/lord-monckton-hung-up-on-in-heated-interview-with-abc-radio/news-story/1958be1bfec6393160ee32ce91a2d02b
      I’m having difficulty getting an actual sound bite of the interview but recall clearly the hyper-emotive Spencer losing his composure with Monckton before cutting him off, how utterly scientific of him.

      280

      • #
        Peter C

        Adam Spencer,

        Is he a scientist? I thought he identified as a mathematician.
        Still a type of scientist I suppose. I think he has an unrealistic rosy view of the capabilities of his fellow scientists

        60

      • #
        Geoffrey Williams

        I remember that interview well and being outraged at the way Adam Spencer behaved.
        GeoffW

        70

    • #
      Roy Hogue

      Politically correct science!? Is that not an oxymoron?

      To understand it leave off the oxy.

      70

    • #

      Something like Liberal principles

      40

    • #
      Gregg

      Climate science? Ha, ha! More like true believers in their AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming) religion. They have faith on their side so they don’t have any need for inconvenient science, facts or data. Record numbers of polar bears in the Arctic? Bah, humbug! Arctic and Antarctic sea ice isn’t disappearing as promised by Algor and his merry gang of global warming propagandists? Bah, humbug! Record ice berg concentrations in the Atlantic shipping lanes? Bah, humbug! All that matters to them are their feelings.

      10

  • #
    Sean

    What’s that old expression, fool me once – shame on you; fool me twice – shame on me. Either people recognize politics masquerading as science or the or the Russian social media bots took the week off.

    300

    • #
      Roger

      Q. How many Alarmists does it take to make a “Mass Demonstration” for the MSM to report ?

      A. It all depends, with the right camera angles and tight focus you can get away with 15-20.

      151

      • #
        Graeme No.3

        From personal experience (long while ago) the ABC can manage with 7 attendees provided one of them has big boobs. Of course I may be out-of-date as most male ABC types aren’t interested in boobs anymore.

        180

  • #

    Goody. More Holocene deniers who believe in Upholstery in Space. Where can I send a cheque?

    Bet that Sydney mob didn’t have to turn on any desals to make all those puddles. Still, one day it’ll be dry like 1888. Then we’ll scrape the rust off the old Kurnell plant and get it chugging. And then we’ll realise what we owe to non-Kardashian models and post-mod climate science. Bargain at half-a-mill a day.

    Thanks, sciency-sounding guys.

    320

    • #
      Glen Michel

      …and don’t they look “science”. All that clobber fit for a cushy cryosphere episode.Ooohh,we look the part,now we go and check out the ice, Penguins- maybe we’ll see a POLAR bear ! Scientists in name only who cannot summon enough hard intellect to even debate the questions at hand.

      180

      • #
        Glen Michel

        Nah, I’ll take them really serious when they get back to linen Lab coats

        130

        • #

          A few years ago a group of them did a sort of rap number where they wore lab coats and declared “I’m a climate scientist, I’m a climate scientist…” You have to admit, those coffee spills can really mess up the clothes one has to pay for.

          Notwithstanding Stephen Hawking guest spots, the Big Bang, Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s smirk, the even more aggressive smirk which devoured its human host, Brian Cox…I think we’re over the cult of scienciness. Too much old stuff (Big Battery, whirlygigs etc) and too much invented stuff (warm water that holds CO2!). Tell that Melbourne group to stay dry on their days off, but get their feet wet when they’re being paid to know about climate.

          180

    • #
      PeterS

      Send them to Mars One where there is a lot more CO2 for them to demonstrate against.

      140

      • #
        Mal

        What do you call someone who fails maths, physics, chemistry and biology at university.
        A climate scientist.

        200

      • #
        WXcycles

        If you really love them you’ll send them to Venus.

        70

      • #
        sophocles

        PeterS at #3.2 said:

        Send them to Mars One where there is a lot more CO2 for them to demonstrate against.

        … or try sending them for a soft landing on Venus. There’s a lot of CO2 to demonstrate against there, too. Only problem is that the H2SO4 could dissolve the lander—and the participants—before it reaches ground level. They’ll have to take their own water.

        60

      • #
        Allen Ford

        There’s even more on Venus, Peter!

        40

    • #

      so this is their manifesto

      The March for Science celebrates the public discovery, distribution, and understanding of scientific knowledge as crucial to the freedom, success, health, and safety of life on this planet.

      We are a nonpartisan group, marching to demand action in the following areas:
      Literacy, Communication, Policy, and Investment.

      and no mention of climate on their aims and goals page

      https://marchforscienceaustralia.org/aims/

      why concoct a groupthink blog post out of this? Is any group now groupthinking or just groups that you don’t like (for, as it happens in this case, contrived reasons)?

      33

      • #
        sophocles

        Did you attend any of the demonstrations?

        40

        • #

          Nope. Not interested.

          I note that all the posters I’ve seen on campus and elsewhere have this as the battle cry

          Literacy, Communication, Policy, and Investment.

          that’s it, no mention of climate or partisanship. Very earnest statements and things that scientists and educators worry about and think that public policy needs to address, but hardly the sort of thing to hang a march on.

          11

      • #
        David Smith

        Don’t be so disingenuous – check out the March for Science twitter feed and then try and tell us that they aren’t riding the CAGW band-wagon

        20

    • #
      clivehoskin

      Well,you’ll be happy to know that OUR mayor Jamieson on the Maroochy council,has trotted out the prospect that HE will have to re-introduce the Desal plant at Marcoola again.That idea got the flick after we had another bout of floods a while ago.These numbskulls in labor still haven’t worked out that these desal plants cost way to much money and the people don’t want them,ruining the foreshore.

      10

  • #
    Mickey Reno

    Too bad that all the people that WOULD have been at this march, were already busy. They went to watch “Frozen Tsunami” the terrifying feature film, with the tale of a giant iceberg, broken off from the Larson Ice Shelf, and headed straight towards Melbourne, threatening to smash the city flat when it grounds ashore!

    Okay, maybe this did not happen, yet. But it could. This movie could be made into climate alarm porn on the scale of “The Day After Tomorrow.” If you’d be interested in developing “Frozen Tsunami” contact me through the proprietor of this blog. Just like climate change, it very well could be coming your way. 🙂

    140

    • #
      PeterS

      Mickey have you seen the more recent movie Cold Zone? It’s actually far worse and more stupid than The Day After Tomorrow. IMHO the dead bird was the best actor with the best story to tell in the movie.

      110

      • #
        Mickey Reno

        PeterS asks: “Mickey have you seen the more recent movie Cold Zone?”

        I have never heard of it. Now that I have, I’ll search around and see if I can find it. Will report back here. Thanks for the tip. Awful movies are so much fun.

        100

        • #
          PeterS

          You will get lots of laughs out of it. I did. For a while I thought it was a comedy so I double checked and it wasn’t. Sort of exposes the lack of intelligence in movie these days.

          70

      • #
        OriginalSteve

        The day after tomorrow was an absolute hoot …i loved it….so dumb….

        Whatever comes next has to be even more stupid….

        70

    • #
      MudCrab

      Frozen Tsunami actually sounds like a great movie idea.

      Mind you I vision it more as something to be done more in the style of the original Godzilla movies, using camera tricks to make a normal icecube to look enormous while it smashes it’s way through a cardboard scale model of the Melbourne CBD, complete with terrifying roars that are actually Sarah Sea Patrol being played backwards.

      It would be awesome 😀

      70

    • #
      sophocles

      I’ll put that one on ice for now.

      30

    • #
      spetzer86

      Hmm, in order for an iceberg to grind through a coastal city, wouldn’t it have to be much lighter than the water it was floating in? Maybe if the ice had developed over several bubbling volcanoes and contained tons of dissolved CO2, making its density very low? That way, it’d be sort of an inverse iceberg with more of its mass above water. Now, it’s capable of entering the harbor and reeking damage!

      50

      • #
        sophocles

        Details, mere details. If the last climate disaster cr@p movie could have its “Arks” launching from somewhere in the Himalayas, why can’t the Popsicle movie get a big iceberg into Port Philip Bay and grind away at Melbourne?

        It could have an Antarctic Expedition’s lost tracked vehicle stuck in it and drive up the beach, melting all the way. I think, though, that penguins driving it would not be so cute. I know! Maybe a Southern Right Polar Bear or two?

        Anything, especially the impossible, can be done with CGI animation today 🙂

        40

        • #
          Mickey Reno

          That’s the spirit! My original concept has the giant berg being driven by a demon-wind of just the unlikely strength, duration and direction that belies Gaia revenge. The wind pushes the thing onto land. As a drama raising device, a small berg breaks off before the main strike, and wipes out dozens at a nude beach, who come out to gawk at the thing as it approaches. Lot’s of skin and death! The kids will be playing volleyball and frolicking, then a 500 ft. high sliver of ice from the leading edge falls over on them. Freddie Kruger could only wish for such scope and power. It’s terrifying. The kids will love it. Can the young hot scientist chick figure out how to stop the thing before it hits? Can the brave studly cowboy tech on her team, fire his nuclear tipped harpoons into bedrock in time to anchor it? If not, “Frozen Tsunami” is coming to Melbourne, and nothing can stop it.

          [Your fantasy is interesting. I’m approving it because of its humor value but remember, Jo Nova is a science blog.] AZ

          10

  • #
    NuThink

    The Melbourne mob look dressed up for very cold weather. So no global warming (in Melbourne at least).

    310

    • #

      After a lovely period of warmth, we now have strong winds, rain and cold, and a blackout caused by this global warming. I don’t know why these people in Melbourne weren’t out in T-Shirts and shorts, given that their biggest concern is warming.

      I’ll have to start eating more steak and eggs, maybe that will bring back the warm weather.

      230

    • #

      I also wanted to note that Vegans seem to can’t keep out of anything lately and they appear to be an even more desperate bunch of people than the warming worriers.

      Vegans should actually be against the warming worriers, for if the latter get their way and the world is de-industrialised, we’ll go back to feudal times and the welfare of animals will be the least of our worries.

      Additionally, it’s only with technology and cheap, reliable, energy that it will become possible to produce artificial meat etc, not with unreliable and unaffordable renewable energy. So Vegans clamouring for renewables are fighting for exactly the opposite of what they want.

      190

  • #
    Steve C

    Agreed, it was a pretty meagre showing from a handful of idiots. The inportant question is, though, will this lack of support for green demos translate into a lack of Governmental support for the green cr@p?
    :-(/sarc)-:

    220

    • #
      Dennis

      Our government and opposition support is deception too.

      131

      • #
        PeterS

        That’s right Dennis. That makes the majority of voters the same fools as those in the march for voting for either major party or the Greens. Voters should look in the mirror first before complaining about the energy polices of the left in those three political parties.

        90

      • #
        sophocles

        The Anthropocene: The Age of Deception.

        30

  • #
    Lance

    O/T, but SA has become sort of famous in the US: As a prime example of how NOT to generate power.

    http://canadafreepress.com/article/south-australia-tries-wind-first-now-solar

    “South Australia is suffering from high electricity prices and potential blackouts because of its unsustainable mix of intermittent renewable energy,” “South Australia’s electricity prices are some of the most expensive in the world, which provides an incentive for households to install solar systems. The region’s electricity prices rival those of many European countries. They are three times more expensive than those in the United States and 50% higher than in the UK”

    280

    • #
      RickWill

      This is a comment on that article:

      It’s extremely difficult to impossible, to own a firearm down there as well. Aussies are exporting all their coal to China. They’ve gotta be nuts!

      When you read that article you get a good indication of throwing good money after bad in some vain hope that it can lower power prices. The lowest cost route to the end game would be to place enough solar panels on every roof or over every car park and batteries in every garage or basement so all premises would be self sufficient. The grid in SA is dead economically already.

      80

      • #
        sophocles

        The originator of that comment hasn’t a clue about the state of firearm ownership in SA.

        It is true that you just can’t go out and buy one from a neighbourhood shop, the way you would a skateboard. A firearms licence has to be applied for and earned first.

        It is also true that illiterates would have a little more difficulty in obtaining such a licence than the more literate.

        But extremely difficult to impossible? Nah.
        He doth blather too much.

        30

  • #
    Ruairi

    Group-thinkers on science should stop,
    And ask why their rallies all flop,
    And try to relate,
    To a reasoned debate,
    Perhaps then, the penny would drop.

    280

  • #
    Lance

    It is actually quite ironic, but if you think about it a bit, the greatest threat to the World is GroupThink itself.

    Groupthink is simply a mob mentality. That could apply to any type of critically unthinking gaggle of idiots regardless of the setting. Think radical religious groups, sanctimonious and willfully ignorant environmentalists, flat earthers, rabid socialists, etc.

    GroupThink = Not Thinking = Blind Mob Behavior.

    Unlikely, though, they might find this as humorous and ironic as I do.

    Perhaps someone might set up a televised debate as Jo suggests, but award a handsome prize to the winner? Even groupthinkers are not above greed.

    250

    • #

      Lance — what prize would be big enough to entice a university prof to risk losing in his own specialist topic in public, and to that most hated of animals, a climate-denier.

      The believer puts at risk, not just his golden job and multi-junkets but all his colleagues jobs and mass junkets.

      If he lost (how could he win in a fair fight) the lynch mobs would be coming as his loss would threaten their status and cash cow. He would be exiled, uninvited, scorned, blamed for doing a bad job, and blamed for even stooping so low as to let skeptics win through “theatrix”.

      If the prize were a million dollars there would probably be no serious takers.

      251

      • #
        Mary E

        Hmmm. Perhaps a big fancy awards ceremony, akin to the Oscars, for the winners of each of several debates? Have monthly or quarterly debates, with the top “scorers” in each automatically guaranteed a shot at the big prizes (statue winners determined by names pulled from a hat) and lots of press the entire year.

        Imagine it – a white carpet inscribed with symbols that look science-y, everyone in designer lab coats, photogs everywhere, a platinum and gold plated infinity symbol as the statue, hundreds of their peers in attendance, swag bags, after-parties, an hour-long TV special. I think quite a few climate scientists would trip over their laurels trying to get there.

        20

  • #
    NuThink

    No wonder science is in such a parlous state, only one month of the year allocated to science. The other eleven are probably allocated to waffly subjects such as gender studies.
    Or looking deeper into that picture and joining the dots it could mean that “The biggest threat to our planet is the march for science”.

    100

    • #
      Ava

      No longer looks like much of a threat, in Oz anyway. These a hardy few who would turn up to the opening of an envelope.

      170

    • #
      WXcycles

      If I had a teen considering going to University I’d strongly discourage them studying for what passes for a BSc course, in an Australian University.

      I’d much rather they studied business or just didn’t go to Uni at all. What a dismal sh|t of a country this has become, when that is the case.

      50

  • #
    Ava

    CNN acknowledging crowds were down.
    Maybe it was the rain, in Nye the Science Guy’s case.

    https://edition-m.cnn.com/2018/04/14/us/march-for-science-2018/index.html

    110

  • #
    Mark M

    Here is the twitter page for “March For Science New York City”:

    https://twitter.com/nyc_march

    It seems we have a consensus of sorts …

    90

    • #
      OriginalSteve

      Reminds me if something stage managed that youd see in north korea…..a bit like “spontaneous” student protests….hmmm…a bit like in America right now….

      50

      • #

        Tramp…tramp…tramp.
        Sometimes the long march
        flops ‘n Naychur laughs
        at human hubris
        by connsensuss cits
        who think nullius in verba
        and trial and error tests
        can be replaced by chants.

        60

  • #
    el gordo

    The huge crowds demanded that the guvmint reinstate a Minister for Science.

    70

    • #
      el gordo

      MPs aren’t really all that interested in the subject and Malcolm hasn’t the stomach for it.

      ‘ … in federal parliament, only 20 politicians have training in a discipline related to science, technology, engineering, maths or medicine (STEMM). That’s just 7 per cent of MPs (11 out of 150) and 12 per cent of senators (eight out of 76). That’s far lower than the proportion of Australians graduating with degrees in STEMM which, although declining, is still a reasonably healthy 33 per cent.’

      SMH 2016

      90

      • #
        NuThink

        Two political medical doctors are probably the least scientific of all, when they should understand science, namely Bob Brown and Di Natali. At least lawyers have an excuse for not understanding science, after all they make laws that they have to deal with, scientists and engineers have to deal with laws of nature.

        30

  • #
    PeterS

    A force for science versus a voice for science. The former is what those fools are doing (and what both major parties are doing also). The latter is what we really need but has become silent of late wrt the CAGW scam. How come Turnbull and Shorten aren’t amongst them? After all they are agreeing with them by their policies and in the case of Turnbull by his actions. He especially would fit in well with what those fools are demonstrating and supporting. On the other hand Abbott would be so out of place it would be like mixing oil and water. It’s odd then how Turnbull and his ministers that support him voice so much vitriol against Abbott for speaking out on the exact same issue and how we must stop following this anti-coal pro-renewables nonsense. Turnbull is the epitome of greatest hypocrisy in the history of Australian politics.

    130

  • #
    Dennis

    This item deserves a spot here, repeating …

    Taken from Andrew Bolt’s blog yesterday, comment posted by William …

    Alan Jones reveals the truth behind Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg

    This morning (13 April) Josh Frydenberg thought it would be a good idea to mock and laugh at former Prime Minister Tony Abbott on national television.

    From Radio 2GB

    Alan Jones has had enough of the Energy Minister’s duplicitous and smarmy behaviour, revealing the truth behind Mr Frydenberg.

    “Josh Frydenberg and I have known each other for a long time.

    “Josh, you are arguing renewable energy because you wanted a job with Turnbull. You were prepared to suck up to whatever Turnbull said and that got you the big job, Minister for Energy.

    “But you sold yourself out to get the job.

    “You told me and agreed with me on the front lawn of your house that the global warming stuff was rubbish.

    “You told me that on the front lawn of your house, Josh.

    “Don’t come with this nonsense now.”

    321

  • #
    John in Oz

    Plastic chairs!!!
    Plastic raincoats!!!
    Hi-vis vests (usually plastic in my experience)!!!
    Imported clothing (all clothing in Oz seems to be imported) brought to us by diesel-powered ships!!!

    Their lack of commitment is showing so why would anyone listen to their caterwauling?

    (written while enjoying bacon and eggs for breakfast)

    150

  • #
    sophocles

    I wonder if anyone protesting could actually describe The Scientific Method.
    I wonder if anyone protesting actually knows what science is.

    110

    • #
      sophocles

      In an interview reported at WUWT as “a conversation with Mr. Grégoire Canlorbe”, Willie Soon said:

      There are scientists and there are mere propagandists. For instance, Bill Nye, the soi-disant “science guy”, is in truth Bill Nye the totalitarian propaganda guy. In telling it like it is about Bill Nye, Luke Barnes said this:

      In an age when a number of prominent scientists have said profoundly
      idiotic things about philosophy, Bill Nye, the “science guy” has
      produced the Gettysburg Address of philosophical ignorance. It would
      be hard to write a parody that compressed more stupidity and shallowness
      to 4 minutes.

      I like Dr Soon’s humour 🙂

      60

  • #
    robert rosicka

    OT but if I was cynical I’d swear this story is related , so anyone want to give the lefty kale munchers your views on the green movement there is a link half way down this story .

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-15/is-environmentalism-only-for-the-wealthy/9653306

    40

  • #
    William

    The blond girl in the middle of the Sydney protest looks like she is calling for nuclear reactors.

    110

    • #
      Yonniestone

      Zooming in it also says “For a hot time call 555 235238 Gadget”……unappreciated and used by a capitalist….rough day for mixed nuts.

      70

      • #
        PeterS

        Don’t forget the hidden raisins and sultanas. That’s the vast majority of the public who keep voting for LNP, ALP or Greens.

        50

        • #
          Dennis

          I sighted a quote recently regarding Chairman Mal, I believe the comment came from former Labor PM Keating:

          “A Sultana sitting on top of a pile of compost”.

          51

    • #
      Dennis

      Nubile reactions?

      41

      • #
        sophocles

        or Nubile Fusion? Rapidly followed by Nubile Fission?

        Ground Zero would not be a safe place …

        20

  • #
    yarpos

    The ABC lingered long enough to capture one of the speakers climate alarm remarks. It seemed to highlight that the march was somewhat of an oxymoron, labelled science but talking AGW which of course is not science. When their flavour of science is just beliefs and fear mongering its little wonder that people turn away.

    130

    • #
      Ava

      Like so many before it, Political Science, Skeptical Science, March for Science, if you have to put Science in the name it probably isn’t really.

      In this case it seems more a collection of grievances.

      60

  • #
    Bruce of Newcastle

    The Marchers for Science got the full Gore effect treatment in Minnesota.

    The Al Gore Effect Comes to Minnesota

    Maybe they scared all the warmth away. 😀

    70

  • #
    Lance

    Love to see the “Polar Bear Crisis” debated on Live TV. I offer that up as a potential topic for debate.

    http://www.breitbart.com/environment/2018/03/02/delingpole-polar-bears-just-fine-shock/

    “There is no credible real world evidence whatsoever to suggest that the polar bear is in any kind of trouble. The researchers and conservation bodies that pretend otherwise are participating in fraud.”

    “In other words, polar bear zoology is yet another scientific field which has become hijacked for political reasons by alarmists who choose to ignore real world evidence in favor of a specious narrative.”

    Love reading Mr Delingpole. He never dissapoints.

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    Dennis

    Meanwhile in Thredbo Village, Snowy Mountains region of NSW, the long distance road racing bicycle event “Pollie Pedal” participants have had to cancel their to Canberra section today because of the weather, 3C coupled to rain, sleet and wind, snow on the mountain tops.

    This annual charity fund raising event is a Tony Abbott MP venture and this year seeking donations for Soldier On the organisation that looks after returned military service personnel and their families.

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      OriginalSteve

      Yes…a decent amount if snow at Perisher already…opening of the ski season isnt until early June ….

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        Dennis

        I was driving around the National Park in late January 2018 and there were large pockets of snow on the higher peaks around Perisher.

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    TdeF

    You have to love the atoms on the banner. Atoms. That’s what they care about. Orbiting electrons. Nuclei. Colours. Understanding the universe. Too bad none of them have seen an atom, touched an atom or heard an atom but they believe in them anyway.

    So these people are faithful to something they do not understand but totally believe. Like Man Made Global Warming which exists in the minds of Pachauri, Gore and Flannery, none of them with any knowledge of atoms but one with a degree in kangaroos.

    Carbon is evil. Meat is murder. Milk is prostitution. What have the British done for us?

    You might also note the complete abscence of our multicultural society. Not a Chinese, African, Pacific Islander, Indian person to be seen. The rest must be pretty happy with life in Australia and its a bit cold to go out. Leave protesting to the professionals.

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    TdeF

    The Melbourne photo is depressing, cold and miserable. What happened to the drought which would never end, the angry summer which would never end. Flannery must be tired of being wrong every time. You would think he would be right by accident just once. Still he’s found an way to make a good living by getting a science degree, which should encourage young people to study science. It doesn’t matter what subject, you are immediately an expert in everything. Especially if you talk about atoms. Like carbon.

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    pat

    jo – you are too kind when u write:

    “If it had been skeptics instead, that got less than 100 people to a major event, TV cameras would have turned up to tell the world how dismal it was.”

    whether one or one hundred thousand turned up at a CAGW sceptics’ event, it’s more likely MSM wouldn’t turn up at all, or even mention it.

    robert rosicka – see comment #18 – links to an article that was top of ABC RN’s homepage today, part of their “Class Act” series on “Big Ideas”.
    the url headline has been changed to the following and the article blames supporters of coal for exploiting the poor on “green” issues! projection what? naturally i’ts just more theirABC PR for “renewables”:

    15 Apr: ABC Class Act: Is ‘green living’ a luxury affordable only to the middle and upper classes?
    RN By Patrick Carey
    Is environmentalism a luxury of the latte-sipping rich? Are working-class people unconcerned with ‘big issues’ like climate change and sustainable energy?

    Take the Adani debate as an example — one side of the argument is often cast as ‘callous job haters’, the other as ‘reef destroying fat cats’.

    There is some statistical evidence of an environmental class divide — studies suggest the people who are most interested in environmental issues are ***well-educated and left leaning…

    PHOTO APPROX 20 ANTI-COAL PROTESTERS: Are all greenies ‘job-hating hippies’ and coal miners ‘filthy fat cats’? …

    Mr Ritter (Greenpeace) says the perception of a class divide can serve to benefit “vested interests”…
    “[The divide] serves those who benefit from driving a wedge where there needs to be solidarity.
    “To use the topical example of North Queensland, there the wedge is companies, Adani and others, saying all they care about is jobs and that environmentalists don’t. And politicians like Matt Canavan and George Christensen saying much the same thing.”…
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-15/is-environmentalism-only-for-the-wealthy/9653306

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    pat

    I went to ABC RN website this morning because I heard someone on another radio station say they’d heard something about fuel poverty in Canada on radio last nite.

    thought it might be from CBC’s “Spark” program which airs Saturday night on RN. didn’t find a segment on fuel poverty listed – and don’t have time to check the audio of the entire show – but this was on the current “Spark” page linked to from ABC. no surprise! it’s just more CBC PR for “renewables”:

    26 Mar: CBC: Energy poverty: the hidden technology gap
    Maryam Rezaei is a researcher who looks at energy policy and energy poverty in Canada. She’s also a Senior Analyst with Community Power. She says energy poverty is “basically the idea of looking at the percentage of household income that gets spent on energy needs.”

    DeAndrea Newman Salvador is the Founder and Executive Director of the Renewable Energy Transition Initiative (RETI) in Charlotte, North Carolina. She says there are a couple of definitions but the most common one for energy poverty is “when a household spends greater than 10 percent of their gross income on energy
    costs.”

    Salvador said many people who face energy poverty spend well over that threshold. “We’ve seen some instances when families spend over 30 percent of their income on energy costs.”…

    Here in Canada, energy poverty is more common than many Canadians realize. According to Rezaei’s research, 21 per cent of households in Canada experience energy poverty or 2.8 million households.

    Energy poverty can have a huge impact on the people living in those households. “I think about it in terms of the kind of compromises that this forces upon people.” Rezaei said. These can include compromises in home comfort, health, and basic dignity…

    ***Salvador started the Renewable Energy transition Initiative to help people in Charlotte deal with energy poverty…

    Community Power, the organization Rezaei works for, does energy efficiency work as well as other community based energy programming for First Nations communities…

    “For a majority of these communities electricity is generated using diesel, and the cost is about three to 10 times higher than the cost of electricity that we buy on the grid.” …

    “They don’t like the idea of running diesel for their electricity so they’re interested in ***renewable energy generation.”…
    http://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/energy-poverty-the-hidden-technology-gap-1.4589909

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      pat

      just realised CBC has a WHOPPING 19min 44sec audio included in the article I posted, so checked it and it is Nora Young from the “Spark”, going on and on with the two women quoted in the piece I posted.

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      yarpos

      ““They don’t like the idea of running diesel for their electricity so they’re interested in ***renewable energy generation.”

      Yep worked out so well in SA, have buckets of renewables and still have to run the diesels

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    pat

    a CAGW protest of one is making headlines world-wide. may he rest in peace:

    Prominent Attorney Dies After Setting Himself on Fire in NYC Park Protesting Fossil Fuels: Report
    NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth· 1h ago

    15 Apr: news.com.au: Famed gay rights lawyer David Buckel self immolates in Prospect Park New York
    A LAWYER who won a landmark case involving Brandon Teena, the transgender man played by Hilary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry, has set himself on fire and died in an environmental protest.
    A HIGH-PROFILE gay rights lawyer and environmentalist has been found burned to death in Prospect Park, New York in a bizarre protest suicide…

    The New York Daily News reports that a note left for police explained that Buckel had used “fossil fuel” in his death as a metaphor for the way humans are killing the earth.
    “My name is David Buckel and I just killed myself by fire as a protest suicide,” read a handwritten message left at the scene. “I apologise to you for the mess.”
    “My early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves,” he wrote. “A lifetime of service may best be preserved by giving a life … Honourable purpose in life invites honourable purchase in death.”
    “I hope it is an honourable death that might serve others.”
    http://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/famed-gay-rights-lawyer-david-buckel-self-immolates-in-prospect-park-new-york/news-story/143f0594300e0b126f94615bf1f86c4d

    NYT: Prominent Lawyer in Fight for Gay Rights Dies After Setting Himself on fire
    A lawyer nationally known for being a champion of gay rights died after setting himself on fire in Prospect Park in Brooklyn early Saturday morning and leaving a note exhorting people to lead less selfish lives as a way to protect the planet, the police said…

    Activist lawyer burned himself to death to protest global warming
    New York Post· 2h ago

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      pat

      excerpts from the NYT piece by Jeffery C. Mays; Zoe Greenberg, Rory Tolan and Alan Yuhas contributed reporting:

      Mr. Buckel left a note in a shopping cart not far from his body and also emailed it to several news media outlets, including The New York Times…

      Friends said that after he left the organization, Mr. Buckel became involved in environmental causes, which he alluded to in his note as the reason he decided to end his life by self-immolation with fossil fuels.
      “Pollution ravages our planet, oozing inhabitability via air, soil, water and weather,” he wrote in the email sent to The Times. “Most humans on the planet now breathe air made unhealthy by fossil fuels, and many die early deaths as a result — my early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves.”

      In his note, which was received by The Times at 5:55 a.m., Mr. Buckel discussed the difficulty of improving the world even for those who make vigorous efforts to do so.
      Privilege, he said, was derived from the suffering of others.

      Noting that he was privileged with “good health to the final moment,” Mr. Buckel said he wanted his death to lead to increased action. “Honorable purpose in life invites honorable purpose in death,” he wrote.
      The police said Mr. Buckel was pronounced dead at 6:30 a.m. in what they said was a suicide…
      https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/14/nyregion/david-buckel-dead-fire.html

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      Captain Dave

      With all (minimal) due respect, more please.

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      OriginalSteve

      Firstly murderous and suicidal leftie vegans shooting up Youtube HQ…now this.

      A self Darwin Award of sorts.

      Hey…it us what it is….

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      James Murphy

      It’s sad to see mentally ill people end up like this.

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      Mark Fraser

      Both a lawyer and an eco-zealot. Has all the makings of a good joke if not for the mental illness aspect, which is tragic.

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    In Melbourne, The Magnificent Twenty braving the cold for righteous
    science. True grit. I’ll give it two stars. **

    * Let’s be generous here.

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    RAH

    The terminally ignorant like their face time and the more ignorant faces together the better because it reinforces their belief they are in the majority and those which do not agree with them are the extremist fringe. You know that is why they must quote that fake 97% all the time don’t you? This truck driver figured out it was a lie when that 97% figure came out. You couldn’t get 97% of the people to agree the sky on a clear day is blue or the grass on a well maintained golf course fairway is green, much less agree on something so complex as human caused climate change. It did not take statistical analysis to know it was a lie, just a fundamental understanding of human nature.

    The lack of positive reinforcement must have been rather unsettling with that the flock being so small. I do hope at least some of the sheep will break from the flock one day and look upon the photos documenting their participation as I do of a HS era photograph showing me in a powder blue Leisure Suite and my Afro.

    BTW, who would have ever thought that “The Biggest Threat to Our Planet” is steak and eggs? Doesn’t the steak Fajitas I’m polishing off right now qualify?

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      nb

      ‘It did not take statistical analysis to know it was a lie, just a fundamental understanding of human nature.’
      So true.

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    Robber

    Surely all the politicians attended? Where were MT, BS? And surely SHY could get a trip funded?

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      James Murphy

      Looking at SHY travel expenses, it is not cheap for taxpayers to fund her to fly anywhere at all, indeed, it is usually much more expensive than other SA-based politicians for the same itinerary.

      Maybe she needs a few rows of empty seats as a buffer to avoid contact with anyone rational, numerate, or literate?

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      beowulf

      I think Sarah is rather preoccupied with saving her own neck within the Greens Party at the moment. Apparently there is a bit of a cat fight going on for her senate spot as part of the wider civil war going on in the Greens since their Victorian drubbing. If you had the choice between Sarah and anyone else, would you pre-select Sarah?

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    RAH

    Environmental Lawyer protests climate change by polluting.

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/04/14/green-activist-lawyer-burns-himself-to-death-to-protest-global-warming/comment-page-1/#comment-2790416

    But WE are the radical reactionary crazy people here!

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      OriginalSteve

      If youre right wing, apparently you are dangerous, and a deluded denier of “proper” science……

      But…

      If you burn yourself to death protesting over a non-cause, you are a martyr…

      The Left are completely unhinged.

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        PeterS

        It’s a historical fact that extreme left wingers are far more dangerous than extreme right wingers. Just count the number of innocent men, women and children slaughtered in the 20th Century from the two broad groups.

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          Yonniestone

          Successful assassins (whose politics we know):

          John Wilkes Booth, a Democrat, shot and killed President Lincoln
          Charles Guiteau, a member of the communist Oneida Community, shot and killed President Garfield
          Leon Czolgosz, a leftist anarchist (similar to the useful idiots in the Occupy movement) shot and killed President McKinley
          Lee Harvey Oswald, a communist, shot and killed President Kennedy.
          Failed assassins (whose politics we know):

          Severino Di Giovanni, a leftist anarchist, tried to bomb President-elect Hoover’s train
          Giuseppe Zangara, a professed anti-capitalist, tried shooting President-elect Franklin Roosevelt
          Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola, two Marxists, tried killing President Truman at the Blair House
          Samuel Byck, who tried joining the leftist Black Panther group, attempted to kill President Nixon
          Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, member of the Manson Family and also a hippie environmentalist, shot at President Ford
          Sara Jane Moore tried to kill President Ford as well because, as she said, “the government had declared war on the Left.”
          Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, a leftist connected to the Occupy movement, tried getting a one-in-a-billion shot at President Obama by firing a gun at the White House

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            James Murphy

            In Paris, 1914, Raoul Villain, commonly described as a “nationalist”, shot and killed Jean Jaurès, a prominent orator, socialist, and anti-militarist.

            From what I have read, and based on how the term is used (pejoratively) now, I’m not sure that “nationalist” accurately sums up the political leanings of Raoul Villain given the context and era in which he was living. It doesn’t justify assassination though.

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    Antoine D'Arche

    There were an excess of >20,000 deaths in the UK winter, compared to previously. The cause? The inability to afford to heat their homes as a direct result of “action on global warming”. The affected? Mostly the elderly. Our parents and grandparents.
    EVERY single person who has advocated AND continues to advocate for such “action on global warming” bears responsibility for this loss of life.
    This is a statement of fact and not an opinion.
    EVERY single bureaucrat and politician who failed to correct the problem before the loss of life is directly responsible for EVERY such death.
    They disgust me.

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      Yonniestone

      Unfortunately quite a few elderly support climate change mitigations due to their long held leftist ideals they never let go of from their university or hippy days, usually the same people will support “refugees welcome” and “open boarders” activism while accepting the demise of national industries and any future for the youth born in their country.

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      PeterS

      True. We all have to understand their Climate Action Plan (CAP) equates to Controlling All People (CAP). That’s the bottom line.

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    Another Ian

    I wonder if this bloke marched?

    “We Don’t Need No Flaming Sparky Cars (Subsidy Fr–d Boy Edition)”

    http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/index.php/2018/04/14/we-dont-need-no-flaming-sparky-cars-subsidy-fraud-boy-edition/#comments

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      Sceptical Sam

      Thanks Another Ian.

      Another Tesla performance debacle.

      It just goes from bad to worse.

      And still the virtue signalling fools buy them.

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    OriginalSteve

    New power source…high temp boilers to burn plastic waste….provide electricity…cheap….

    http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-15/australia-tossing-up-circular-approach-to-its-waste/9657342

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    Kinky Keith

    As Lance and Jo neatly point out above, the problem is Groupism and the power, position, and extraordinary financial benefits that come with defense of the Group.

    Given the incredible lifestyles available for “lucking” into the Group it is not surprising that defense has been uncompromising, vicious and ugly.

    As pointed out, the failure to debate in public, has been the most obvious indicator of lack of self belief in the Group’s core scientific claims.

    It’s time to destroy the monstrous lie at the heart of this scam the only way possible:

    With Science.

    KK

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    Hasbeen

    Wow! A cause must be really dead when they can’t even get all those inner city greenies, with nothing to do but watch TV or protest to turn up.

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      Yonniestone

      Don’t underestimate the power of direction, if any state NGO (read Soros) got funding and orders to act on this protest thousands would’ve turned out, the once seemingly harmless act of rising awareness for whatever worthy cause was conditioning for a future army of drones.

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    pat

    not “explicitly” politically partisan!

    14 Apr: The Hill: Democrats promote second annual March for Science: Vote climate change deniers out
    by Josh Delk
    PHOTO: legs of approx 13 protesters
    “For the love of science, get out there and march! Then, VOTE these ignorant climate change-deniers out of office,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee posted on Twitter, featuring a video of President Trump, Vice President Pence and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt expressing doubts about global warming and clean energy advancement…

    While not an explicitly political protest, the March for Science, now in its second year, last year targeted the environmental policies of the Trump administration, including cuts to federal research grants and large-scale deregulation by the EPA.
    The march, held in Washington, D.C., on Saturday with satellite events in various other cities, promoted a petition to “send a message to Congress and the White House that you support qualified scientific leadership.”…

    Colorful signs again dominated the rallies this year…
    PHOTO OF SMALL PROTEST
    http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/383191-democrats-promote-second-annual-march-for-science-vote-climate

    13 Apr: Scotsman: Brian Wilson: Scotland missed an open goal with renewables
    Failure of renewables to boost Scotland’s manufacturing industry is massive own goal, writes Brian Wilson
    There has been much publicity this week around the installation of the world’s most powerful wind turbine at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre off the Aberdeen coast, mainly celebrating the fact that it signifies defeat for Donald Trump…

    Of more current interest should be the question: “Where was this wondrous structure manufactured?”. The answer, of course, is Denmark, a fact buried in the smallest of print amidst the self-congratulation…
    Scottish Renewables – an industry-funded lobby group – enthused: “As the windiest country in Europe with some of the deepest water, we should be proud of Scotland’s burgeoning wind industry.” An alternative version might read: “As the windiest country in Europe, we should be angry and embarrassed that every single turbine around us has been imported.”
    The energy companies – notably Scottish Power/Iberdrola and SSE – have managed to slither out of manufacturing in Scotland on the grounds that the facilities did not exist, while the facilities do not exist because no multinational was prepared to invest in them, in the absence of any imperative to do so. It is the job of government to break this kind of impasse and that is where failure has lain…

    Indeed, the failure to turn Scotland’s renewables generation opportunity into a major regenerator of manufacturing industry is our biggest missed open goal of the century so far. It is also symptomatic of the fact that the Scottish Government appears devoid of any industrial strategy that extends beyond the manufacture of press releases and glossy brochures…READ ON
    https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/brian-wilson-scotland-missed-an-open-goal-with-renewables-1-4723174

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    Michael Spencer

    Recurring and classic letters in “The Pravda-by-the-Yarra” (otherwise known as “The Age” – of significantly reducing circulation!), such as this recent one from a (now-retired, I think – and hope) – “environmental science” teacher:

    “Why are we fed lies and half-truths by this coal-loving government?” It describes Liddell as an 1,800 megawatt power station when, in reality, it is so unreliable that it supplied only about half of this, 950 megawatts, over the summer. Yes, AGL is a big greenhouse gas producer, but Andy Vesey understands the imperative to move from coal and gas and to embrace renewables and storage. Mr Vesey knows that he must contribute to reducing climate change because it is morally right to do so. So Malcolm Turnbull and his coal mates can grovel all they like at Vesey’s feet. Like Margaret Thatcher, the CEO of AGL is not for turning. Let’s hope he stays that way and other energy companies follow his example.
    Jill Dumsday”


    Delusion on display! The usual response on trying to make contact: won’t talk; won’t listen – especially to news of the latest developments in nuclear fission technology that will, among its advantages, completely remove the non-problem of “carbon [sic] emissions”.

    It’s interesting that there would appear to be an increasing number of “green” environmental activists getting behind “Generation IV” nuclear technology, whilst here in Oz there is a completely ridiculous ban! Check some of this here: page 4 for an introduction, page 5 for environmentalists, pages 6 & 7 for more details information. http://galileomovement.com.au/media/ShouldYouReallyBeAlarmed.pdf

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      TdeF

      Sadly Jill Dumsday sounds quite genuine. As a serial letter writer, like so many others, I found other submissions, this one to a Select Committee into turbines signed

      Teacher of Biology, Environmental Science, Geography (retired)
      Proud and loving grandmother
      Very worried citizen of Australia

      Jill is really worried. She believes and taught what she was told. Think NASA, the CSIRO, Royal Society and hundreds of thousands of others under 50 who have never known a world without Global Warming and Climate Change and this being taught at every school by people like Jill.

      So how is she to accept that it is all rubbish? She would find that unbelievable. 350 Full time PhD level scientists in the CSIRO trying to detect Climate Change. More running an international conference in Hobart two years ago into “Ocean acidification”. How could it not be true? Surely they would not take the money?

      My experience with these people is that they are genuine. Why would NASA lie to us? It’s a fair question.

      Unfortunately it is not about Jill’s “Big Coal Lobbyists” but about Big Green Industries forcing people to pay for their products by massive scare tactics, a total of $1,500,000,000,000 a year currently. It’s the alarmists who have the massive funding for growth. The CSIRO budget for Global Warming must be at least $40Million a year. So what did they find? Nothing much, but are they going to say that?

      To Jill I would say, question the people making the money out of this. There are two groups. One is really trying to scare you and demanding mountains of cash, say in electricity bills to pay for windmills and home solar. $6Billion last year. The other one stands to gain nothing and is not trying to scare you. Ask a scientist who is not employed by the Climate Change industry.

      The other is that after 30 years, go to your favorite beach. Say honestly whether the water level has changed in 60 years? Are the summers any hotter? Are the winters any hotter? Are there more droughts and storms. Are there more bushfires? Or is everything pretty much as you remember it. The polar bears are fine.

      When this scam stops, there are going to be a lot of questions asked, but most of the miscreants will have retired. Jill will have her thousands of windmills and the level of CO2 will be unaffected. So a total waste which is currently hurting retirees and the poor as they get no exemption from monstrous electricity bills. Who gets the money? Windmill and solar companies and banks.

      The only thing which makes me suspicious though is the strategy that Jill attacks only Big Coal. Not petrol, diesel, wood, gas. I have noticed this everywhere, even to the point where governments are replacing coal with imported diesel. Why?

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        TdeF

        That’s why AGL wants to get out of coal. There is self evidently far more money in wind. Consider the doubling of electricity prices after Hazelwood closed. Who gets that money? The wind people. Will it change CO2 levels? No.

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          Michael Spencer

          Good observations TdeF! I have found exactly the same as the good Jill on many occasions: people who really “believe” because “the expert scientists say”, and they wouldn’t lie, would they? Or even stretch the truth slightly? After all, whatever “might” happen, or it “could” perhaps sometime in the far-off future after the said “experts” have safely retired on their well-earned pensions.

          In my experience, such people as Jill are well intentioned. They just “want to do the right thing”, which is why there seems to be a large proportion of “believers” who are also, by way of example, active churchgoers. These people seem to fit the bill nicely. If you check my PDF about the weather (link above) I’ve mentioned this very phenomenon very early, on page 2. It’s just that, once converted to this new religion – because there is no doubt that is what it is – the gullible then persist in sticking with it through thick and thin! “Don’t try and convince me with your so-called facts! I know you just an evil ‘denier’ intent on destroying the planet for my children and grandchildren!”

          I’ve just had a further demonstration this morning from another, who wrote this back in January:

          Donald Trump claims to be a genius. A genius would not make some of the statements he makes, such as “climate change is a hoax”. Before jumping to conclusions and making incorrect statements, a genius would listen to the experts and see through the misinformation and half-truths disseminated by the global-warming sceptics.
          Len Cox.

          I’ve just received this email (in response to providing lots of information in the interactive PDF):

          I stopped reading the info. I decided that it would consume too much of my time to prove you wrong. And, even when I did, you would not believe me. Regards, Len

          It’s very difficult to prise open close minds! Even when you’re trying to give them good news! I guess that’s why psychiatry seems to be a steady trade!

          By the way: two psychiatrists met one day. The first looked other deep in the eyes, and said: “You look alright! How am I?”

          And yes! Psychologists get a mention here and there – pages 2 and 8!

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        Annie

        Do you think that surname, ‘Dumsday’, is real or assumed. After all, it could be taken as pronounced ‘Doomsday’, could it not?

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    Carbon500

    Is Harry Twinotter among the protestors pictured? If not, why not?

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    pat

    14 Apr: CTV: ‘Longest winter of my life’: Edmonton breaks record with historic cold stretch
    With a report from CTV Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson
    It’s the never-ending winter. Or at least it feels like that in Edmonton.
    The city’s winter-weary residents may be forgiven for griping about the lingering chill this year after they broke their record for most consecutive days of temperatures at or below freezing.

    On unlucky Friday, April 13, the temperatures dipped to a low of -2 C with a wind chill of -6 C, according to Environment Canada. It marked the 167th consecutive day of minimum temperatures at or below 0 C, which means Edmonton hasn’t seen an overnight temperature above the freezing mark since Oct. 29, nearly six months ago.

    That’s according to weather historian Rolf Campbell who shared a chart on Twitter with historical data from the city’s coldest stretches. The previous record was set in 1974 to 1975 when Edmonton endured 166 consecutive days of temperatures at or below the freezing mark…

    Despite the optimism, it could be a while yet before seasonal temperatures return to Edmonton with Environment Canada predicting a continuation of chilly overnight lows for the coming week
    https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/longest-winter-of-my-life-edmonton-breaks-record-with-historic-cold-stretch-1.3885288

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    Dave in the States

    Wow, those “crowds” looked like a typical Hillary rally during the 2016 election cycle.

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    Deano

    I heard this being promoted on a trendy commercial FM station on Saturday morning with nothing but gushing praise and best wishes from the trendy gushing presenters. Interesting to note the disparity between hype and reality. Even more interesting to see the unashamed media pretense that this stuff has almost 100% support. If it did, why the protest?

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    Scott M

    People seem to be dressed very Warm forApr15th in Melbourne??

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    Roy Hogue

    Maybe the lack of marchers is because no one knows what science is, whether politically correct or otherwise. So how do they know what to say and do if they’re that ignorant?

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      what you say is as stated in the organisers’ manifesto. Lack of understanding of science is what they want to redress and why they are marching ie for public engagement through policy. Sort of ironic isnt it?

      Nothing in their aims or manifesto that is partisan or climate related.

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        Roy Hogue

        After this and then a horrible suicide in a public park you might think they would realize they need to do a lot of soul searching and ask some important questions.

        One such question might be, “How does this make my life more worthwhile?”

        Answer: It doesn’t. All it does is puff up their ego.

        Another one and more to the point, “What has really happened because of all the dire predictions made over the past 30 or so years by all the experts who told us they were the expert and the decision is in, no more debate is possible?”

        Answer: Nothing.

        How obvious does it need to be before it gets through to a fool’s mind?

        If I was an alien watching this planet from the comfort of my starship I would conclude that humans are nuts. I might want a specimen or two for my zoo. But what else could I hope to do with them? 😉

        On the other hand, maybe the 😉 is wrong and it should be 🙁 instead

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          what does the suicide in the public park in the US have to do with science awareness and literacy in Australia? You actually believe your own spin!?

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            Roy Hogue

            In case you didn’t notice, the same problems exists in both places. We’re all in this boat together.

            Just in case you think I don’t read what you post — I do and frankly If I were you I would not comment about spin.

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        David Smith

        From the 2017

        The movement was started by scientists sceptical of the agenda of US President Donald Trump, but Stuart Khan, one of the organisers of the Sydney march, said it quickly went global…

        …he said marchers were calling on politicians to take note that the public wanted policy based on fact.

        “The gaps that we see between what science tells us and what we actually see being translated into policy is very large, particularly when you look at things like climate change and the Great Barrier Reef,” Professor Khan said.

        “We’re calling on politicians to make laws that are based on evidence that are appropriate for our future … Australians want to understand how science and how evidence is being incorporated into policy.

        “Disease, famine, communicable disease, pollution of the ocean, climate change, all of these challenges are addressable by science.”

        http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-22/march-for-science-australians-join-worldwide-movement/8463800

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    Carbon500

    Gee Aye – regarding your comment that ‘they are marching for public engagement through policy’: who would ever trust a politician without a suitably critical scientific background to appraise what they’re being told, and decide if they as politicians need to implement policies deemed appropriate?
    I have on several occasions written to politicians, and received replies from which it’s very clear that they’ve not done any reading around climatic issues whatsoever and have been content to coast along in a dream world, nodding assent to the usual horror stories. Not one of them has discussed in any detail the points I’ve made, preferring instead to tell me how they support ‘renewables’, or not even having the courtesy to reply.
    Clearly from the news clip shown with this posting by Jo, the agenda is very much as ever – the ‘warmists’ get their public platform, and no ‘contrarians’ anywhere in sight. I’m sure Vivien Thompson is for example good at being a farmer and firefighter, but she’s not a meteorologist – and yet her broad-brush statements are being given plenty of air-time. Adam Spencer is we are told a ‘Maths and Science Ambassador’ – but what’s his background? Yes, I know I can look him up on the internet, but I’m commenting here as a member of the public seeing this as part of perhaps an evening’s viewing on the television. ‘Oh look, he’s a scientist’ – that makes it true then, doesn’t it? Professor John Church once again trots out the hoary old ‘rising sea levels’ saga. He works for a climate research centre, so no doubt all this will result in a continuing cashflow into his department.
    The scientists who believe in dangerous human- caused global warming get far too much publicity, and those who offer alternative arguments get virtually none. Billions of Dollars have been ploughed into trying to alter the perceived global climate or reduce CO2 levels – what else might this money have been better spent on?
    In closing, I’d say yes – there is a lack of understanding of science, and people are only too willing to accept what they’re told as a result. People think that because a scientist has said something, it must be right. Who are we to question the seers of the 21st century? I would be very pleased indeed to see a proper debate with scientists from both side on our television sets. Sadly, I think we’ll see porcine flight before that happens given the lamentable and unquestioning state of the media.

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      Gee Aye

      thanks for your poorly spaced and non sequential, so you say reply. Michael Spencer seems to be privy to the evidence and actual quotes you are paraphrasing so maybe he can fill me in.

      You made all that up didn’t you?

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        Annie

        Eh? I thought Carbon500’s comment excellent, making total sense. I’m afraid yours doesn’t GA.

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          you mean you agree with it so therefore it is excellent. It had nothing to do with my comment and it comes with not a shred of evidence. Pure rhetoric.

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    Michael Spencer

    Spot on Carbon500!

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    Deploracon

    Ummm… if we go the science route & demand empirical evidence where does that leave these little preciousssss’s about multiple genders? If XX+Xy ≠ LGBTQLMNOP, kinda backing themselves into a corner no?

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    yarpos

    Cant help thinking we must be short of scientists, if these gathering represent the fired up 97% concensus types demanding alarming truthiness, science ministers n stuff. Was there a conference on in Hawaii or something?

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    Amber

    Australians have bigger out door BBQ’s .

    45,000 fuel poverty deaths in the UK in one year and for who ?

    The globalist , government corporate rent seekers , and new tax to clean out the middle class .

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    Hot under the collar

    Actually, the number seen in the photo is probably double reality; or are they allowed to count the media?

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