Good News/Bad News

I'll begin with the bad, shall I?  A one Kiloton nuclear bomb just exploded.  The good news is that it went off in the Sudan - so that's alright, then!  Actually, to be serious, and to be accurate, what happened was that a 2 to 5 metre diameter asteroid hit the earth's surface somewhere in the Sudan with the force of a one Kiloton bomb going off but as no deaths have been reported, thankfully, it is assumed that it crashed in the desert.  According to Dee Norris over at Anthony Watts's site, this incoming asteroid was tracked by the Spaceguard organisation and apparently 'missiles' of this size hit earth every few months!  Now, to cheer yourselves up, here is a little game you can play, draw up a list of the three places you would most like to be hit by an asteroid - and, no, my address is not for publication!

Now for some good news.  The narrative, or fairy tale if you prefer, peddled by that pair of non-scientific 'flim-flam' men, Dr. James Hansen and Al Gore, is slowly but surely unravelling.  I can understand - to a certain degree - those of my readers who remain neutral when the criticism emanates from the likes of Steve McIntyre, but now they are coming from the greenest of the Greens, in this case, Richard A. Muller in conversation at an impeccably Green site called 'Grist'.  Here is an extract and I am grateful to Anthony Watt's site for the tip:

"Here are a couple of excerpts from the Muller interview:

What’s your take on NASA climate scientist James Hansen?

Hansen I’ve known for many years. He’s a very good climate scientist, but he’s decided to do the politics. I feel that he’s doing some cherry-picking of his own [when it comes to the science]. At that point, he’s not really being a scientist. At that point, you’re being a lawyer. He’s being an effective advocate for his side, but in the process of doing that he’s no longer a neutral party and he’s no longer giving both sides of the issues.

I know you drive a Prius. What else are you doing to reduce your carbon emissions?

My house is lit by compact fluorescent light bulbs. Let me just tell you, though: Suppose I drove an SUV and lit my house with the worst kind of light — I could still be an environmentalist. Al Gore flies around in a jet plane — absolutely fine with me. The important thing is not getting Al Gore out of his jet plane; the important thing is solving the world’s problem. What we really need are policies around the world that address the problem, not feel-good measures. If [Al Gore] reaches more people and convinces the world that global warming is real, even if he does it through exaggeration and distortion — which he does, but he’s very effective at it — then let him fly any plane he wants."

 

Comments

[fallenmonk]

So what's your point? Nothing there that says we don't have a problem just that some are rather more evangelistic than might be considered absolutely non biased.

[David Duff]

Er, that *was* my point, 'FM', except that I would rephrase "some are rather more evangelistic than might be considered absolutely non biased" as 'some are lying liars from whom it would be foolishness bordering on idiocy to buy a used-car, let alone a 'scientific' proposition. The fact that it came from one of their allies merely adds weight to the extreme caution one should employ when dealing with the prognostications of either of them.

[Pearl Necklace]

Hi there Mr. Duff, I was wondering if you could lend a helping hand. I remember that not so long ago, you were telling your readers about the wonder and excitement of American democracy.

I've been watching the election coverage, but I'm still a bit confused as to who to root for. Perhaps you could put up another post explaining how the American political system is so brilliant at electing the best leader possible, so I can get a steer?

And by "a steer", I don't mean "a great big cow", ha ha! Thanks!

[David Duff]

"And by "a steer", I don't mean "a great big cow", ha ha!"

It's the way you tell 'em, 'PK', each one a polished gem of undiluted wit - oh hell, my spell-checker's not working again!

I assume from your somewhat sardonic tone that you prefer the North Korean, or perhaps, the Zimbabwean, system of democracy. Whatever, I cannot, alas, help you in choosing who "to root for"; nor, of course, did I ever suggest that the American system was "brilliant at electing the best leader possible", even assuming that there was some set of criteria that would define such a being. All I suggested was that American democracy provided the best means of showing the American people the nature of the various candidates, even if they were left with a choice from a collection of dead beats!