Climategate: Central Figure in Scandal Asked to Step Down (Updated)
"Temporary" removal of Phil Jones until an investigation into Climategate is completed. (Update: Washington Post in denial)
Update: Climategate: The Washington Post in Denial
When I read the Washington Post’s disgraceful editorial the other day on the Climategate scandal, I thought of how far they have fallen since their big moment in the sun, Watergate. In those heady days, editor Ben Bradlee and a team of crack investigative reporters led by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein exposed the Watergate cover-up and brought down President Nixon. Of course, they were then on the side of the permanent Washington establishment, who loathed Nixon (as he loathed them), just as they are now on the side of the permanent Washington establishment, for whom global warming alarmism is a deeply held commitment.
If it were up to the Washington Post and the New York Times and the three major television broadcast networks, the Climategate scandal would be last week’s news. Their strategy is clearly to contain and sanitize it. The “world’s leading climate scientists” and the environmental pressure groups and the mainstream media have all agreed on their talking points. Their story is: Critics are cherry-picking a few nasty emails and taking them out of context, but the vast edifice of scientific consensus is unshaken. And they’re sticking to it. But already this cover-up isn’t working. The blogosphere is pushing forward with new revelations and connecting the dots. This is the work of thousands of people, some of them with more scientific and statistical expertise than the tippity-top climate scientists at the Climatic Research Unit and the Goddard Institute of Space Studies. And a lot more honest and dedicated to finding the truth, of course.
In the meantime, the Post editorial page editors are in denial. Today, the Post published three letters in reply to their editorial article. I’m not surprised that they didn’t print mine, which I sent the day the editorial was published. I copy it below. But they did print a letter from Associate Professor Michael E. Mann of Pennsylvania State University, one of the figures at the center of the Climategate scandal. I am tempted to repeat Mary McCarthy’s remark about Lillian Hellman (“every word she writes is a lie, including and and the“), but will restrain myself.
Mann’s effrontery knows no limits. In his letter, he advises readers to go to RealClimate.org to get the straight dope on the scandal. RealClimate is a global warming alarmist propaganda effort run by Mann and several of the others up to their necks in Climategate. Going to RealClimate is the same kind of thing as was checking with Nixon’s White House press office to get straight about Watergate.
Here’s the email of my unpublished letter:
From: Myron Ebell
To: letters@washpost.com
Sent: Wed Nov 25 15:40:28 2009
Subject: Letter in response to editorial article, “Climate of denial,” page A18, 25th November
25th November 2009
The Letters Editor
The Washington Post
Via e-mail
Sir or Madam,
Your editorial article “Climate of denial” is remarkably ill-informed and tendentious. The article begins by claiming that, “A hacker stole and released. …” Do you have any evidence it was a computer hacker rather than a public-spirited whistleblower from within the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England who finally grew so disgusted by the ongoing scientific fraud that he made the documents public?
Second, after tsk-tsking at a few of the emails and rebuking the scientists involved in the scandal for not responding to the scandal effectively, the article then proceeds to claim that the vast scientific edifice supporting global warming alarmism is unshaken. This is outrageous. The scientists implicated are at the center of producing the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Assessment Reports and are regularly referred to as some of the world’s top climate scientists. Have you looked at some of the three thousand files or just a few of the juicier emails? Here is just one comment in one of the files from the scientist working on one of the temperature datasets:
“What the hell is supposed to happen here? Oh yeah – there is no )’supposed’, I can make it up. So I have. ..So with a somewhat cynical shrug, I added the nuclear option – to match every WMO possible, and turn the rest into new stations (er, CLIMAT excepted). In other words, what CRU usually do. It will allow bad databases to pass unnoticed, and good databases to become bad, but I really don’t think people care enough to fix ‘em, and it’s the main reason the project is nearly a year late.” (From the “Harry Read Me” file, which may be found at http://www.anenglishmanscastle.com/HARRY_READ_ME-30.txt.)
Dozens of similar comments have already been noted in the files. How does the Post know that similar corruption is not to be found in other major research supporting the so-called scientific consensus? After all, a number of the scientists implicated are at other institutions, including the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies in NYC, and several U. S. universities.
There is certainly a climate of denial, and it includes the Post editorial page. Instead of joining the effort to stonewall this scandal, the Post should be leading the way and demanding that full civil and criminal investigations be undertaken of the scientists implicated. Or have you forgotten your role in Watergate?
Yours faithfully,
Myron Ebell.
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Myron Ebell is director of energy and global warming policy at the Competitive Enterprise Instititute, director of Freedom Action, and chairman of the Cooler Heads Coalition.
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26 Comments
1. Drew:“Overstated the case” is probably as close as the AP reporter was willing to get to the truth. It’s kind of a sissy-punch. The sub-text is still that AGW exists, but Jones merely “overstated” it. Not even a flesh wound.
Dec 1, 2009 - 12:22 pm 2. Rich Vail:I suspect that this will either be a temporary setback for him…if he is permanantly removed, then some think tank on the left will hire him at a much high pay rate…and he will continue to spew out missinformation, but at a much accelerated rate.
Dec 1, 2009 - 12:38 pm 3. A.M. Mallett:Perhaps it is now time for the emails and data files of NASA and the UN IPCC to show up for mass consumption. I know there is a patriot out there somewhere up to the task
Dec 1, 2009 - 12:43 pm 4. Wind Rider:The remarkable thing isn’t that Jones is being forced to step down, but that the AP is actually reporting on it -
Although the item is pretty sketchy about the circumstance – a ‘detail lite’ version.
It’s almost a grudging admission from a service that has willfully employed and empowered a full time reporter that is nothing more than an AGW party line amplifier system.
Dec 1, 2009 - 1:16 pm 5. Bohemond:Eyewash. Even if Jones isn’t reinstated, he’ll just be replaced by another ordained clergyman of the Church of AGW.
Dec 1, 2009 - 1:18 pm 6. Knotacommie:Step Down? 1, may I ask if Phil Jones is still being paid. 2-why isnt Phil Jones and the other AGW conspirators in prison? They CONSPIRED to commit worldwide fraud on a scale barely imaginable. James the Bs artist Hanson should be right next to him. Better yet, I have a different idea. Lets try Jones, Mann, Hansen etc under there favorite system. Since as commie pigs they all love Islam so much, lets try them under SHARIA LAW. Castration IS an option.
Dec 1, 2009 - 1:21 pm 7. Exactly!:The Climate Fest in Copenhagen will be the perfect place to serve all of the Subpeonas and Complaints. How about it Elliot ….Payback time?
Dec 1, 2009 - 1:31 pm 8. DCShakedown:First there was hard crime, then white collar crime, now we have lab coat crime. Jones should be put in jail. He’s stolen the public’s money based on HIS fraudulent research. Sadly it would all play into the progressive’s hands of course they would turn Jones into a victim and have candlelight vigils outside his prison window.
Dec 1, 2009 - 2:09 pm 9. David:And when he leaves, the university will have EXACTLY the same number of scientists it had before he left its “prestigious” (har!) Climatic Research Unit.
Dec 1, 2009 - 2:10 pm 10. tom swift:The incriminating e-mails are as good as a signed confession. Scientifically, he’s toast.
That doesn’t mean he won’t be back, as soon as the uni can come up with a way to whitewash the whole thing.
Dec 1, 2009 - 2:23 pm 11. geokstr:The independent review committee has already been announced, and is composed of individuals whose intellectual brilliance, scientific knowledge and integrity are unquestioned: Sheryl (one-piece-of-toilet-paper-per-dump) Crow, Andy (who can we beat up today) Stern, the Governator himself, and the unsinkable Leonardo DiCapria. The chairman has yet to be chosen but must have the unimpeachable objectivity that might be demonstrably earned by someone who has, at minumum, won at least one Oscar and the Nobel Peace Prize.
This exhaustive review is expected to take at least twice as long as the OJ jury.
Dec 1, 2009 - 2:39 pm 12. Richard A.:This will be a temporary set back. How do I know? Because Dan Rather is all over the TV again, and no one seems particularly bothered by the fact that ole Danny tried to use a phony report to sway an American election. Somehow it just never comes up. Danny sits there and smiles as if completely rehabilitated. Shame never even enters his mind.
We really are a bunch of stooges.
Dec 1, 2009 - 3:31 pm 13. V for victory:Dude, why bother with Washington Post? Those guys in the establishment don’t give a rip about your ripsnorting letter. Getting into a b i o t c h fight with the WashPo editorial board is pointless, like complaining that you did not get elected homecoming queen by the kids from the other side of the tracks.
You are better off trying to scoop them — which PJM and other outfits have been doing already. Good.
Dec 1, 2009 - 3:32 pm 14. Patrick:Apologies for blatantly parading my national pride from Down Here in Australia, but I just have to have a friendly jab at all you fine conservative friends in the US! Be positive, there is hope for you all yet.
Growing skepticism in Climate Change was the entire basis for a landmark leadership coup in Australia’s opposition party. Don’t underestimate the impact that this will have on the debate. Climategate, despite the media’s denial of it (which is just as prevalent down here) has not escaped the glare of public attention. Now the ETS (our “Cap and Trade” equivalent) is all but dead in the water because the opposition will do their job- oppose it. In fact, the new opposition leader once described Climate Change as “crap”.
The ousted leader was a true AGW believer and we now have a real opposition. In fact, some are suggesting the next election will be decided by Climate Change, the skeptics vs the believers. Hope springs eternal.
Again, apologies for the grandstanding but Aussies have been at the forefront of skepticism for some time and it’s now starting to bear fruit. Keep up the great work in the US, people!
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/column_at_last_a_fight_over_this_mad_tax/
Dec 1, 2009 - 3:39 pm 15. Captain Steve:The bum Obama is still sticking with the AGW scam. Don’t let him get away with it.
Al Gore, Phil Jones and Michael Mann should go to jail. But I still want to know, where was the media all this time? The fraud was obvious to anyone that seriously looked for it (eg past CO2 levels of 7000ppm vs 380ppm now don’t indicate need to panic, and medieval warm periods don’t just disappear).
Now it’s time to get to Obama’s background and birth certificate.
Dec 1, 2009 - 3:52 pm 16. Peter, NY:Don’t be waiting for a depraved MSM to scurry for the truth, they willingly conspire and whore themselves to liberal/socialist agenda daily.
A scientific intervention is required in Copenhagen. Some REAL scientist(s) attending, with real scientific endeavor and conviction, who trusts rigorous and replicable data over collusion to corrupt, conceal and manipulate science and fact needs to take a stand for truth, and for the credibility of all Science. They need to stand up and make themselves heard very loudly, they need to show REAL principle and expose all those attending as the frauds they are. Point out the offenders by name, shame them and shun them while global media run their live international feeds back into homes, and the theaters of academia.
This or something similar is required, or Science will never wake up from this collective psychosis of wanting to please bureaucrats and their lust for ever-more power over billions of lives. Environmental sciences will continue to be hijacked and corrupted by social-marxist ideologues – just like the MSM which is beyond bankrupted morally, ethically and professionally.
Journalism today is on par with the worst used-car salesmanship, it is imploding on itself and will go the way of dinosaur poop – as will the Sciences, if this cult of GW/CC grows unabated. Someone attending Copenhagen who takes pride in the Scientific method, has worked tirelessly all their lives to produce real tangible, honorable work needs to take a mighty stand *NOW*. The MSM have their heads up their collective backsides, we cannot rely on them to act responsibly.
Dec 1, 2009 - 4:52 pm 17. Theo Goodwin:Patrick writes:
“Again, apologies for the grandstanding but Aussies have been at the forefront of skepticism for some time and it’s now starting to bear fruit. Keep up the great work in the US, people!”
Aussies seem not to be cowed by Political Correctness. I have relatives who are raising a family there and I believe they chose Australia just to avoid PC. Andrew Bolt is one of the very best reporters and analysts working on Climategate. More power to Australia.
Dec 1, 2009 - 6:20 pm 18. Wil:If Obama goes to Copenhagen and signs away a trace of American sovereignty, or gives away any American taxpayer money towards this disgusting scam, he must be impeached.
Because then he would either have been too stupid or naive to have recognized the scam (which is unacceptable), or he would have known this was a scam all along, and would be selling out his own country in order to further his dream of a totalitarian world government (I think he has given up on his dream of a totalitarian U.S. government, but we’ll have to see about that).
Dec 1, 2009 - 6:33 pm 19. The Englishman:Great article, – the link to the file should be to http://www.anenglishmanscastle.com/HARRY_READ_ME.txt – The gremlins seem to have got to the one above.
Dec 1, 2009 - 10:19 pm 20. Patrick:Theo Goodwin writes
“Aussies seem not to be cowed by Political Correctness. I have relatives who are raising a family there and I believe they chose Australia just to avoid PC.”
Thank you Theo. We seem to have a healthy disrespect for authority.
However, it’s still challenging at present. We have wall-to-wall leftist governments in state and federal, and a growing influence from the Greens party. But with a smaller population, leftist lies only have so many places to run and hide.
Wil: The UN have repeatedly, throughout history attempted to scam this magic figure of 0.7% of western GDP. Summarised well here:
Dec 2, 2009 - 1:46 pm 21. Sebastian Shaw:http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/the_copenhagen_con_same_demand_different_excuse/P40/
Will, Obama can sign it all he wants to; however, it has to be ratified by 2/3 of the Senate to become law. It ain’t going to happen.
Dec 2, 2009 - 1:59 pm 22. Btok:Time is getting short and it is coming down to the fact, that soon ( December 7 to December 18 ) I will have to pray to the good Lord to maintain our freedoms and not allow our leaders to sign the Copenhagen Treaty, which will take away our liberties, let go and let God-this being a challenge to our Lord and Saviour? However, while there is still time to prevent the loss of a lifetime, perhaps loss of life it’s self – I will do what I am able to fight for our freedoms! The whole Climate Change agenda is a proven fraud and racketeering, but the United Nations and Globalist governments don’t care as that is just the excuse instrument they have used to ensnare us! Has everybody out there become a tree hugger? The tree will be standing 100 years from now, but will you be looking at the tree, from inside the fence of a Concentration Camp? Anyone out there want to fight to maintain their freedom anymore? Please do all you can to preserve freedom in North America!
Check out what Government is doing behind your back at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VebOTc-7shU
Canadians,to request that PM Harper doesn’t sign the Copenhagen Treaty, thereby causing Canadians to lose
their Sovereignty and Freedom email the PM at: pm@pm.gc.ca
Any lawyers want to help out by filing this Copenhagen Treaty be classified as an illegal Treaty, in order to, help save Freedom in North America? ( Unlimited Promotion Opportunity Here For a Law firm to Gain a favorable high profile credibility! )
Dec 2, 2009 - 3:24 pm 23. mw:So Phil Jones stepped down as
Dec 2, 2009 - 4:29 pm 24. bbbeard:DirectorHigh Priest of the Universtiy of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit pending an investigation. Well, if his GW warming projections don’t hold up, at least he knows that his legacy will live on with his groundbreaking New & Improved CRU Scientific Method. I was able to reverse engineered the East Anglia CRU Scientific Methodology from the procedures documented in the purloined e-mails and code. It is clear to me that they have built on the work of maverick chemist Theodore Hapner, who revolutionized thinking about the scientific method in 2006. Godspeed Phil Jones.FAKE BUT ACCURATE.
BBB
Dec 2, 2009 - 11:40 pm 25. Steve DeMarcus:So when do they indict him? It is time for grand juries to look into this mess.
Dec 3, 2009 - 3:49 pm 26. emmaliza:It may take awhile, but truth always surfaces. When non-internet, non-Fox viewers finally learn what has happened, that there is no scientific proof to support the fearful man-made warming, it will mark the end of the MSM who chose to cover this up, rather than explore and report. If the regime in Washington continue to ignore our pleas to investigate climate data, they will be choosing political suicide.
The electronic age predicted by Dr. McLuhan back in the 60’s has happened; as he predicted, it is changing everything in our culture. Goodby to news organizations that choose to ignore journalism. We no longer need them. Politicians cannot hide in this new age; we know what they are doing and saying.
Dec 4, 2009 - 4:41 pm