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How to pretend to debate climate change

James Delingpole is certainly leaving his mark in Australia.

The ABC, in a much publicised stunt to “debate” climate change, with warmist Tony Jones and QandA, and titled I Can Change Your Mind About Climate Change, had its traditional stacked panel and the inevitable planned gotcha moment:

an outrageously parti-pris greenie moderator,  a greenie “social researcher” (whatever that is), a greenie youth activist, the head of the ultra-greenie, even-worse-than-the-Royal-Society CSIR[O] and two more greenie plants in the audience.

The critical “gotcha” moment came when Tony Jones went to an audience member — Oceanographer Matthew England  — who happened conveniently to have already been given a lapel microphone.  Jo Nova gives a brilliant account of the ABC perfidy. To compound it all, Tony Jones’ collusion is amusing when he pretends to wait for a microphone to be passed to the scientist. [Watch from 36:00]

To top off Delingpole’s visit, he himself experiences the depth of the ABC’s bigotry in an interview with one of the lions of left orthodoxy in Melbourne.

The only fly in the ointment so far has been a beardie, leftie irritant on Melbourne radio (ABC: where else?) called John somebodyorother who kept interrupting me and protesting – rather too much I thought – what a consummate professional he was. I keep forgetting his name.

Hint for James.  John is spelled JON.

Shamelessly, the interviewer in question insisted he was just bravely and fiercly going about his professional duty to question all sides of the debate. Yeah, that’s right. Just like he did with one of his favs last year. 

It is instructive to listen to both interviews, just to compare how even-handed and professional he is with his interrupting.

A distaste for competition because it is not inclusive

UK journalist Rodd Liddle points to the aversion in Western society for competition in the name of inclusiveness. It comes, he says, from a Left liberal confusion between the terms elitism and privilege, as when recently Trenton Oldfield, “the smirking Australian”, confused his own privileged position with elitism, mindlessly interupting the Oxford Cambridge boat race.

Liddle gives us a personal example of this “grotesque dumbing-down of standards” at his own daughter’s school.

At my daughter’s school last year, the 50m sprint took the following form: all the kids lined up and ran as fast as they could to the halfway point. Then they waited for the fatties to catch up and, holding hands, all walked or trotted to the finish line, where everyone received an identical token.

He says this attitude cannot auger well for the British Olympics.

The official propaganda insists that this costly jamboree is not about the physical excellence of the elite competitors but is instead an ‘inclusive’ event, something in which we can all take part and all be winners.

And it is not just the weather

Never let it be said again that Margaret Thatcher was bad for Great Britain.

Yet another example of the Left not understanding the issues and being blinded by ideology.

It would be amusing to do a similar survey here in Australia; not that our Julia takes any notice of polls and people’s opinions.

[Thanks to reader Andrew R]

How Gillard intends to shame Australia internationally

This is either self-destructive madness or cynical tokenism to buy into the UN Security Council. Not content with attempting to undermine Australia with the introduction of a carbon tax — a deeply unpopular policy — the Gillard government is wanting us to be hauled before the International Court of Justice to shame her own country. This is quite insane and irresponsible and clearly not in Australia’s national interest. It shows the Prime Minister is prepared to betray Australia for her own policy goals.

 FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr has volunteered Australia to give evidence on behalf of poor nations that want the United Nations to investigate if big emitters – potentially including Australia – have a legal responsibility to keep their greenhouse gases from hurting other countries.

Australia would give evidence supporting a push led by Palau for a UN resolution asking the International Court of Justice to assess how much countries were responsible for the damage their emissions did overseas.

Climate law experts said that if the resolution was successful, it could be the first step by worst-affected nations in seeking reparations from countries such as the US, China and Australia.

The dangers of untying tethered elephants in the Middle East

I have expressed concern in several previous blogs about the lack of incisive and critical reporting about the situation in Syria.

As if to confirm my suspicions, this detailed piece in Quadrant by Paul Stenhouse, makes me feel no less comfortable with the great big denial going in the West.  What is it about our press that lacks the curiosity to explore alternative views?

A delegation of foreign journalists went to the Alawite neighbourhoods of Homs. Expecting to see peaceful demonstrations, they saw security forces under siege from unidentified gunmen, and impact damage from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). They were able to gather testimonials from the local populace who had suffered atrocities at the hands of the insurgents, but “they did not publish these facts on their return, fearing they would be criticised by the mainstream media for breaking with the generally accepted narrative”.

The Syrian model of an Arab society offends extremist and closed Muslim societies. It now seems to offend the USA and its allies. If they have their way, it will disappear along with the Assad regime. That will be a sad day for the Middle East, and a worse one for the Western powers, who will have unleashed an uncertain future on millions of defenceless non-Muslims and non-extremist Muslims.