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Friday, June 12, 2009

Debunking 9/11 Conspiracy Theories

The Internet allows ignorance to blossom as it has for the 9/11 Truth movement. To the naive their arguments can seem compelling but when you actually analyze their claims with hard science and facts, they completely fall apart. I was not only trained in computer information systems but also architecture. This is why absolutely nothing about any of the building collapses looked suspicious to me. I have nothing but contempt for the "truthers" who push propaganda on the naive. Their claims are just ignorant: "the WTC fires were not hot enough to melt steel" (they didn't have to be, just hot enough to weaken it's load bearing ability); "WTC 7 fell at free fall speed" (it didn't - it fell 40% slower); "WTC 7 was a controlled demolition" (zero evidence to support this); "Aircraft hitting buildings should leave a cartoon cutout" (hollow aluminum aircraft hitting high-strength, load-bearing perimeter steel columns will leave no such shape) and on and on. I literally laughed out loud the first time I saw "Loose Change" and that idiot Dylan Avery claimed pressure releases from the weight of the WTC towers collapsing on themselves were a controlled demolition. Only someone absolutely ignorant of structural design and engineering would believe these ridiculous claims. Unfortunately this appears to be a significant number of people which compelled me to write this. I give the utmost praise to those fighting this insanity and the cult like movement that is "9/11 Truth". Without their hard work knocking down one conspiratorial claim after the next this whole situation could be much worse. What I have done here is compile a simple reference debunking the 9/11 Conspiracy Theories. Please share the real truth.

911

Bullshit! - 9/11 Conspiracy Theories (9min) (Penn & Teller: Bullshit!)

The Conspiracy Files: 9/11 (60min) (BBC)

The 9/11 Conspiracies: Fact or Fiction (90min) (The History Channel)

Why the Towers Fell (60min) (NOVA)

References:
9/11 Conspiracy Theories: The 9/11 Truth Movement in Perspective (Skeptic Magazine)
Debunking The 9/11 Myths (Popular Mechanics)
Fahrenheit 2777: 9/11 has generated the mother of all conspiracy theories (Scientific American)
NIST Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster FAQs (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
NIST Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster FAQs - Supplement (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Nutty 9-11 Physics (Steve Dutch, Ph.D. Professor of Natural and Applied Sciences)
Panoply of the Absurd (Der Spiegel)
Purdue creates scientifically based animation of 9/11 attack (Purdue University)
Q&A: What really happened (The Conspiracy Files)
The Physics of 9/11 (Manuel Garcia, Ph.D. Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering)
The Thermodynamics of 9/11 (Manuel Garcia, Ph.D. Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering)
Unraveling Anti-Semitic 9/11 Conspiracy Theories (PDF) (The Anti-Defamation League)
Why Did the World Trade Center Collapse? Science, Engineering, and Speculation (Thomas W. Eagar, Professor of Materials Engineering and Engineering Systems, MIT)

WTC 7

The Conspiracy Files: 9/11 - The Truth Behind The Third Tower (60min) (BBC)

References:
6 Debunked 9/11 Conspiracy Claims From NIST's New WTC 7 Report (Popular Mechanics)
9/11 demolition theory challenged (BBC)
9/11 third tower mystery 'solved' (BBC)
How the Loss of One Column May Have Led to the Collapse of WT7 (PDF) (Structure Magazine)
NIST WTC 7 Investigation Finds Building Fires Caused Collapse (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Questions and Answers about the NIST WTC 7 Investigation (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
The Fall of WTC 7 (Manuel Garcia, Ph.D. Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering)

Conspiracy Theory Videos

Loose Change:

Screw Loose Change - Not Freakin' Again edition (2hr 58min)

911 In Plane Site:

Not in Plain Sight (14min)

9/11 Mysteries:

Screw 9/11 Mysteries - Clunkity Clunk Edition (2hr 35min)

September Clues:

September Clues - Busted! (28min)

Debates

Dylan Avery, Jason Bermas (Loose Change) vs. James Meigs, David Dunbar (Popular Mechanics) (59min)

Dylan Avery, Jason Bermas (Loose Change) vs. Mark Roberts (9/11 Researcher) (1/2) (30min)

Dylan Avery, Jason Bermas (Loose Change) vs. Mark Roberts (9/11 Researcher) (2/2) (30min)

James H. Fetzer (Scholars for 9/11 Truth) vs. Mark Roberts (9/11 Researcher) (1/3) (30min)

James H. Fetzer (Scholars for 9/11 Truth) vs. Mark Roberts (9/11 Researcher) (2/3) (30min)

James H. Fetzer (Scholars for 9/11 Truth) vs. Mark Roberts (9/11 Researcher) (3/3) (30min)

Richard Gage (Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth) vs. Mark Roberts (9/11 Researcher) (1/2) (30min)

Richard Gage (Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth) vs. Mark Roberts (9/11 Researcher) (2/2) (30min)

Books

Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to the Facts (The Editors of Popular Mechanics)
The 9/11 Commission Report (PDF) (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks)

Peer-Reviewed Papers

Progressive Collapse of the World Trade Center: Simple Analysis (PDF)
(Journal of Engineering Mechanics, Vol. 134, No. 2, February, 2008)
- K.A. Seffen

Why Did the World Trade Center Collapse? - Simple Analysis (PDF)
(Journal of Engineering Mechanics, Vol. 128, No. 1, January 2002)
- Zdenek P. Bazant, Yong Zhou

Why Did the World Trade Center Collapse? Science, Engineering, and Speculation (PDF)
(JOM Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, Vol. 53, No. 12, December, 2001)
- Thomas W. Eagar, Christopher Musso

Websites

911 Myths
Debunking 911
Journal Of Debunking 9/11 Conspiracy Theories
Links for 9/11 Research
NIST and the World Trade Center
Screw Loose Change Blog

"There is a distinct difference between having an open mind and having a hole in your head from which your brain leaks out." - James Randi

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Monday, May 11, 2009

Windows XP Supported until 2014

Microsoft ended Windows XP's Direct OEM and Retail License Availability on June 30, 2008 and System Builder License Availability on January 31, 2009. Which means you will be unable to purchase new copies of Windows XP (except for those still for sale on the market) after this date. Recently Microsoft ended "Mainstream Support" on April 14, 2009 but will continue "Extended Support" of Windows XP Home, Media Center and Professional Editions through April 8, 2014.

"Microsoft will continue to support Windows XP until 8 April 2014 – about five years from now. So what are the differences between Mainstream and Extended?

Mainstream Support provides both consumers and enterprise customers with a full offering of support including complimentary support, design change requests, security updates and other kinds of updates for the product.

Extended Support does alter the range of support a bit, but for the vast majority of customers the essential core remains the same. For example, customers will continue to receive free security updates and can call in for paid support until the second Tuesday in April of 2014."

For a vast majority of users (Over 60% still use Windows XP) , this can mean a savings of a few hundred dollars by not having to buy Windows Vista. You can rest assured that you will receive free security updates until April 8, 2014. Lack of security updates is one of the main reasons people are forced to upgrade. Windows 2000 users will be faced with this problem on July 13, 2010 when extended support runs out. Considering Windows XP is a very reliable operating system with extensive free software and free games available for it, there is no compelling reason to upgrade to Vista unless you require DirectX 10 game support.

References:
Extended Support Begins for Windows XP—Support for XP Continues Until 2014 (Microsoft Support Lifecycle Blog)
Microsoft Support Lifecycle (Microsoft)
Windows Life-Cycle Policy (Microsoft)
XP Freeware - A Windows XP Freeware Guide (Optimize Guides)
XP Games - A Windows XP Freeware Game Guide (Optimize Guides)
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Sunday, May 03, 2009

The Case Against Sarah Palin (2012)

Even though the U.S. Presidential elections are long over (no I did not vote for and do not support Barrack Obama) there is a lot of talk about Sarah Palin running for President in 2012. I find this absolutely ridiculous as she was not and will not be the most qualified person the Republican party has to run. John McCain chose her for no other reason then with the hopes to pick up disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters. Picking someone for their race or gender is identity politics and I am firmly against affirmative action. Contrary to delusional social conservatives, Sarah Palin is not only unqualified with irrelevant education for political office but she is on the wrong side of important issues. Social conservatives only care about a handful of issues, mainly abortion and religion. So if a candidate passes this litmus test everything else can be excused, which is ridiculous. No matter how many times I factually proved people wrong about her I am continuously censored and banned by the same people who cry that the left censors them. Which only proves they are hypocrites. I personally was never a Republican but a Conservative Libertarian. The Republican party is going down a dangerous path appealing to the right-wing extremists if it seriously considers running Sarah Palin again. You would think that losing badly would teach people a lesson but it appears some people wish to ignore reality and want to pretend people are really "scared" of Sarah Palin's religion, family values, being a strong women or some other nonsense. These same people have obviously never spoken to a liberal of any sort as liberals are only in fear of having an idiot as president. As I will prove here, the case against Sarah Palin is overwhelming.

Sarah Palin Can't Name a Newspaper She Reads

Sarah Palin Can't Name a Supreme Court Case

Sarah Palin - Bailout is about Healthcare

Sarah Palin Doesn't Know What The Bush Doctrine Is

Sarah Palin's Foreign Policy Experience

Sarah Palin Gets Pranked

Fox News: Palin didn't know Africa was a continent

O'Reilly: Palin didn't know Africa was a continent

Palin: Founding Fathers Wrote Pledge of Allegiance (Drudge Report)

Resume

Age: 45

Religion:
- Pentecostal

Education:
- Attended, University of Hawaii at Hilo, 1982
- Attended, Hawaii Pacific University, 1982
- Attended, North Idaho Community College, 1983
- Attended, University of Idaho, 1984-1985
- Attended, Matanuska-Susitna Community College, 1985
- B.S. Journalism, University of Idaho, 1987

Political Experience:
- Former Council Member, Wasilla City Council, Alaska, 1992-1996
- Former Mayor, Wasilla City, Alaska, 1996-2002 (pop: 7,028) (Votes: 909)
- Failed Candidate, Lieutenant Governor, Alaska, 2002
- Resigned, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, 2003-2004
- Governor, Alaska, 2006-present (2 years) (pop: 670,053) (4th Smallest State) (0.002% of the U.S. population)

Professional Experience:
- First Place, Miss Wasilla Beauty Contest, 1984
- Second Place, Miss Alaska Pageant, 1984
- Television Sports Reporter, 1987-1989
- Director, Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc., 2003-2007

Accomplishments:
- Spent more than $50,000 in city funds to redecorate her office as Mayor of Wasilla
- Increased Spending by 55% as Mayor of Wasilla
- Secured $27 million in Federal Earmarks as Mayor of Wasilla
- Raised the Sales Tax by 25% as Mayor of Wasilla
- Racked up $20 Million in Long Term Debt as Mayor of Wasilla
- Supported building the 'Bridge to Nowhere' as Governor of Alaska
- Kept $223 Million in Federal Earmarks for the 'Bridge to Nowhere' as Governor of Alaska
- Increased Spending by 31% as Governor of Alaska
- Requested $456 Million in Federal Earmarks as Governor of Alaska
- Alaska's State Economic Freedom Ranking Dropped from 33 to 45 as Governor of Alaska
- Alaska Ranked 48 out of 50 as one of The Worst States for Business as Governor of Alaska
- Raised Taxes on Oil Profits to 25% as Governor of Alaska
- Requested $642 Million of Federal Stimulus Money as Governor of Alaska

Qualified?

"So, Sarah Palin. The man who would be the oldest to embark on a first presidential term has chosen as his possible successor a person of negligible experience." - George Will, Conservative Columnist (The Washington Post)

"The vice president's only constitutional duty of any significance is to become president at a moment's notice. Palin is not ready. Nor is Obama. But with Palin, the case against Obama evaporates." - Charles Krauthammer, Conservative Columnist (The Washington Post)

"Can anyone say with a straight face that Palin would have gotten picked if she were a man?" - Ramesh Ponnuru, Conservative Columnist (National Review)

"The Palin pick shows a low opinion of the vice presidency, and it shows conservatives in a bad light." - Rick Brookhiser, Conservative Columnist (National Review)

"Obama, for all his far-left socialism, picked a running mate who is perceived as giving the ticket more experience. McCain, in defiance of all logic, undermined his strong suit by selecting a political neophyte who waters down his key advantage over Obama." - Michael Savage, Conservative Talk Radio Host (Michael Savage)

"Ms. Palin's experience in government makes Barack Obama look like George C. Marshall. She has zero foreign policy experience, and no record on national security issues. Mr. McCain's supporters argue that he is more serious about national security than Barack Obama. But the selection of Sarah Palin invites the question: How serious can he be if he would place such a neophyte second in line to the presidency?" - David Frum, Former Speechwriter for President George W. Bush (National Post)

"She's not qualified, she doesn't have the judgment, to be next in line to the president of the United States," - Larry Persily, Former Congressional Liaison, Alaska Governor's Washington DC Office (Bloomberg)

"I think it's a stretch to, in any way, to say that she's got the experience to be president of the United States." - Chuck Hagel, Republican Senator from Nebraska (Omaha World Herald)

"I do not think that Barack Obama or her are experienced enough to be President of the United States - neither one of them, ...certainly Joe Biden is much more qualified than Sarah Palin" - John Ensign, Republican Senator from Nevada (Las Vegas Sun)

"I don't think at the moment she is prepared to take over the reins of the presidency" - Lawrence Eagleburger, Former Secretary of State for President George H.W. Bush (The Washington Post)

"I think it has very much undermined the whole question of John McCain’s judgment. You know what most Americans I think realized is that you don’t offer a job, let alone the vice presidency, to a person after one job interview. Even at McDonald’s, you’re interviewed three times before you get a job." - Ken Duberstein, Former Chief of Staff for President Ronald Reagan (Politico)

"I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Sen. McCain made." - Colin Powell, Former Secretary of State for President George W. Bush (L.A. Times)

"Palin is in no way qualified to take over the presidency should, God forbid, McCain die in office." - Diane McCarty, Former Mayor of Tenakee Springs, Alaska (Juneau Empire)

"Her interviews with ABC's Charles Gibson and CBS's Katie Couric were downright embarrassing. Her knowledge of American political history and international issues was disgraceful. Is she spunky? Is she ambitious? Is she attractive? Can she sometimes deliver a powerful speech? Yes to all. Is she dumb? Well, let's put it this way: She's clearly no intellect." - Bonnie Erbe (U.S. News & World Report)

"As we’ve seen and heard more from John McCain’s running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn’t know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion." - Kathleen Parker, Conservative Columnist (National Review)

"The most qualified? No. I think they went for this - excuse me - political bullshit about narratives," - Peggy Noonan, Conservative Columnist (Politico)

Polls

82% believed Sarah Palin caused John McCain to lose the election (CNN)
81% of independent voters said they were less likely to vote for McCain because of Palin (Los Angeles Times / Bloomberg)
80% of women voters believe McCain picked Palin for Political Reasons not Qualifications (Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group)
79% of uncommitted voters did not believe Palin won the VP Debate (CBS News / Knowledge Networks)
75% of likely voters did not believe Palin has the right experience to be president (AP / GfK)
72% of registered independent voters were not very comfortable with Palin as President (FOX News / Opinion Dynamics)
72% of voters say that McCain's choice of Palin did not make them inclined to vote Republican (San Francisco Chronicle)
70% of voters do not believe Sarah Palin is qualified to step in as President (FOX News / Edison/Mitofsky)
68% of voters were not very comfortable with Palin as President (FOX News / Opinion Dynamics)
66% of likely voters were not very comfortable with Palin as Vice President (FOX News / Opinion Dynamics)
61% of voters did not believe Sarah Palin is ready to serve as President (USA Today / Gallup)
60% of voters do not believe Palin is Qualified to be President if Necessary (CNN Exit Polls)
60% of women under 50 have an unfavorable opinion of Sarah Palin (The Pew Research Center)
60% of Americans do not think Sarah Palin has enough experience to be President (ABC News)
59% of voters said Sarah Palin is not qualified (New York Times / CBS News)
58% of Americans do not think Palin is qualified to assume the presidency (CNN / Opinion Research)
58% of likely women voters do not have a positive opinion of Palin (Time Magazine)
57% of likely voters said Palin does not have the personal qualities a president should have (CNN / Opinion Research)
56% of registered women voters trust Hillary Clinton more than Sarah Palin (Blum & Weprin Associates)
55% of registered voters did not believe Palin is qualified to step in as president (Newsweek / Princeton Survey Research Associates)
55% of voters said Sarah Palin is unqualified (NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
52% of women voters said Sarah Palin is not qualified (Quinnipiac University / Wall Street Journal)
51% of likely voters view Sarah Palin unfavorably (ABC News / Washington Post)

2012 Presidential Poll: Obama blows out Palin 55-35 (Public Policy Polling)

Issues

Bailout:

Sarah Palin: Bailout or Great Depression. Choose (U.S. News and World Report)

Bridge to Nowhere:

Palin's Bridge Claim Sinks (Video) (CBS News)
Palin backed 'bridge to nowhere' in 2006 (USA Today)
Palin "bridge to nowhere" line angers many Alaskans (Reuters)
Palin touts stance on 'Bridge to Nowhere,' doesn't note flip-flop (Anchorage Daily News)
Record Contradicts Palin's 'Bridge' Claims (The Wall Street Journal)

ADN: "Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?"
PALIN: "Yes." - (Anchorage Daily News, 2006)

Palin hung on to 'bridge to nowhere' funds (United Press International)
Palin Administration Still Pursuing ‘Nowhere’ Project (Pro Publica)

Budget Surplus:

Alaska sees $1.25 billion budget gap on oil price drop (Reuters)

"Sliding oil prices and production have prompted Alaska officials to forecast a state budget shortfall of $1.25 billion in the next fiscal year instead of the surplus they predicted just two months ago." - Reuters

Drug Use:

She Smoked Pot! (The Atlantic)
Sarah inhaled (Salon)

Earmarks:

Alaska 1st, Ariz. last in pork spending (USA Today)
Palin Admits Backing Earmarks (The Washington Post)
Palin used system she now opposes (Los Angeles Times)
Palin's earmark requests: more per person than any other state (The Seattle Times)
Palin's Project List Totals $453 Million (The Wall Street Journal)
Palin's Small Alaska Town Secured Big Federal Funds (The Washington Post)
Setting The Record: Palin's Earmarks (CBS News)

Economy:

Alaska Ranks 48 of 50 as one of The Worst States for Business (Forbes)
Alaska Ranks 45 of 50 States in Economic Freedom (PDF) (Pacific Research Institute)

"Between 2004-2008 Alaska dropped 12 spots from 33 to 45 out of 50 states in Economic Freedom. It ranks 49 in welfare spending, 31 in Government Size and 30 in fiscal policy." - Pacific Research Institute

Energy Expert:

Palin's Nonsensical Answer On Domestic Energy

Family Values:

Palin says daughter, 17, is pregnant (Reuters)
Levi Johnston reveals that Sarah Palin knew he and Bristol were having sex (The New York Daily News)
Levi Johnston: Palin is lying (Politico)

Fiscal Policy:

Sarah Palin's wasteful ways (Salon)
Spending rose in Palin's Alaska administrations (USA Today)

Global Warming:

Palin acknowledges global-warming threat (The Seattle Times)
Biden, Palin in complete agreement: Carbon caps are coming (The Industry Standard)
MODERATOR: "...do you support capping carbon emissions?"
PALIN: "I do. I do." (Transcript)

STATE OF ALASKA OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR: ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 238

"I, Sarah Palin, Governor of the State of Alaska, under the authority of art. III, secs. 1 and 24 of the Alaska Constitution establish the Alaska Climate Change Sub-Cabinet to advise the Office of the Governor on the preparation and implementation of an Alaska climate change strategy.

10. the opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Alaska sources.

12. the opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the operations of Alaska state government;

13. the opportunities for Alaska to participate in carbon-trading markets, including the offering of carbon sequestration."

Illegal Immigration:

Palin: "I support a path to citizenship for illegals" (Hot Air)

Military Experience:

'Commander' Palin and the Alaska National Guard' (Anchorage Daily News)

"Palin has never personally ordered the state guard to do anything." - ADN

Pipeline:

Alaska lawmakers question gas line's economics (USA Today)

"The Canadian company won an exclusive state license to build the pipeline under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, and with it up to $500 million in state incentives. Another company, formed by ConocoPhillips and BP PLC, is proposing its own pipeline without the incentives.

The global recession, combined with the new sources of natural gas, are creating surpluses in the Lower 48 that could depress prices for years to come, and possibly stall the Alaska project. Natural gas was trading around $7 per 1,000 cubic feet when the Legislature passed the inducement act in 2007 and briefly soared to more than $10 in 2008, making the project more enticing. But on Wednesday, prices settled at $3.68 per 1,000 cubic feet, and that’s not the only thing dropping. The state budget is facing $1.3 billion shortfalls this year and next.

Still, the gas pipeline will not be in service until 2019 at best and state officials say lawmakers need to focus on a long-term prize that could be the state’s next economic lifeline.

Natural gas is plentiful in the Lower 48 and becoming ever more so thanks to new sources like shale to bolster dwindling supplies of conventional gas. In just the last 10 years, more than 20,000 miles of new natural gas pipeline have been built and brought online and another 10,100 miles are planned by 2010, according to the Energy Information Administration. If completed, the nation’s natural gas capacity would jump by more than 38 percent, the EIA said.

Still, no matter how rosy a picture the energy analysts and state officials paint, it’s the big oil companies that hold the leases to Alaska’s gas. And while the two pipeline competitors said they are moving toward a 2010 open season — where it’s hoped that producers will bid on space in the line to ship the gas — it’s not at all certain that will happen. The oil and gas companies have complained that the state’s tax structure and fiscal terms are too uncertain for them to make that 25- to 30-year bet." - USA Today

AP: Palin pipeline terms curbed bids (USA Today)
No guarantee gas pipeline will be built (USA Today)
Palin's Pipeline Is Years From Being a Reality (The New York Times)

Private Sector Experience:

Sarah the CEO? (Inc.com)

"Both returns name Todd Palin as proprietor and the couple's Wasilla home as a main office. On her public financial disclosure form, Palin describes the business as a sole proprietorship owned by her husband" - Inc.com

Pro-Life:

Palin picks former Planned Parenthood board member for Alaska Supreme Court (Associated Press)
Sarah Palin considered aborting Down's syndrome son 'for a fleeting moment' (The Guardian, UK)

Reformer:

Mean Girl (Salon)

"Palin's reputation as a reformer stems primarily from her headline-grabbing ouster of state GOP chairman Randy Ruedrich from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for flagrant conflict-of-interest abuses. At the time, Palin was heralded in the press as a whistle-blower, but it was later revealed that she was guilty of the same charge that she had brought against Ruedrich -- using state office equipment for partisan political business. (While still mayor of Wasilla, she sent out campaign fundraising appeals from her office during her race for lieutenant governor.)

Others suspect that Palin had self-serving reasons for taking on Ruedrich and resigning her seat on the commission. The state energy panel had ignited a public firestorm in Palin's home base, Mat-Su Valley, by secretly leasing sub-surface drilling rights on thousands of residential lots to a Colorado-based gas producer. Outraged farmers and homeowners, who woke up one morning to find drilling equipment being hauled onto their land, were in open revolt against the commission. While Palin initially supported the leasing plan, she was shrewd enough to realize it was political suicide to alienate conservative property owners in her own district. According to some accounts, she was also growing tired of commuting to state offices in Anchorage and poring over dry, tedious technical manuals for her job. All in all, it seemed like the right move to jump ship -- and going out a hero was an added plus.

"Sarah quit the commission to make political hay," Halcro asserted.

In the end, Ruedrich admitted wrongdoing and settled the ethics case by paying $12,000 in civil fines. But Palin did not drive the well-connected Republican operative into exile. In fact, he remains the party's state chairman and he could be seen on the floor of the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., hugging the newly crowned vice-presidential candidate and cheering her feisty speech against greedy old boys like, well, him.

"The idea that Sarah shook up the state's old-boy network is one big fantasy, it's complete bullshit," Halcro said. "She got all this public acclaim for throwing people who backed her under the bus -- but she only did it after they became expendable, when she no longer needed them.

"The good old boys in Alaska are still the good old boys -- they're alive and kicking. Randy is still running the Republican Party -- he wasn't happy about being turned into a national poster boy for corruption, but he went along with the program." - Salon

Religion:

Palin once blessed to be free from 'witchcraft' (USA Today)

Does Sarah Palin Have a Pentecostal Problem? (Time Magazine)

Where she was saved (Salon)

"When she's in the state capital, Palin attends the Juneau Christian Center, an Assemblies of God (Pentecostal) Church" - Salon

Palin's preacher problem (The Guardian, UK)

Jewish voters may be wary of Palin (Politico)

McCain’s VP Wants Creationism Taught in School (Wired)

Renewable Energy:

- Alaska Generates Only 0.1% of it's Electricity from Renewable Energy (Not Hydroelectric) (EIA)

Socialism:

Fact Check: Palin's Alaska spreads its wealth (FOX News)

"We're set up, unlike other states in the union, where it's collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs." - Sarah Palin, 2008

Palin enthusiastically practices socialism, Alaska-style (Anchorage Daily News)
Palin: Government Can Fix Social Ills (CBS News)

Taxes:

Alaska Raises Tax On Oil Profits To 25% (CBS News, November 17, 2007)
Alaska Gov. Palin signs bill to hike oil tax (Reuters, December 19, 2007)
Palin owes thousands in Back Taxes (Anchorage Daily News)
Palin Now Owes Taxes on Payments for Nights at Home, State Rules (The Washington Post)

The case against Sarah Palin is overwhelming to any rational human being. I have nothing against her personally only the disinformation campaign launched by her cult like supporters. 'Palintologists' as I like to call them obsessively spread lies and propaganda about her and try to silence all opposing arguments. They have successfully moved to have all dissenters banned and censored from conservative web sites. Dissent will not be tolerated in the new Palin collective. Apparently when they cannot win the argument through debate they will have you silenced. The problem with that is the more you try to silence me, the louder I get - Palintologists be warned.

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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Global Cooling in 2008

2008 was a year of Global Cooling contrary to the propaganda promoted by Al Gore and the mainstream media about a "warming earth". Hundreds to thousands of people froze to death in India, China and Afghanistan. There was record breaking cold temperatures and snow falls yet the hysteria continued - a climate tour icebreaker got stuck in Arctic ice, AGW activists learned the hard way that the Arctic still had ice and snow fell as the UK's House of Commons debated Global Warming legislation. Ironic? Yes but the empirical evidence clearly shows that the climate is cooling:

Resources:
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution
Censored Global Warming Videos
NO 'Consensus' on "Man-Made" Global Warming
The Anti "Man-Made" Global Warming Resource
The Sun controls the Earth's climate

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

The Sun controls the Earth's climate

Unstoppable Solar Cycles (10 min)

The persistent role of the Sun in climate forcing (The Danish National Space Center)

Over the past 20 years the solar cycle remains fully apparent in variations both of tropospheric air temperature and of ocean subsurface water temperature.

When the response of the climate system to the solar cycle is apparent in the troposphere and ocean, but not in the global surface temperature, one can only wonder about the quality of the surface temperature record. For whatever reason, it is a poor guide to Sun-driven physical processes that are still plainly persistent in the climate system.

One cannot distinguish between the effects of anthropogenic gases such as carbon dioxide and of natural greenhouse gases. For example, increased evaporation means that infrared radiation from water vapor, by far the most important greenhouse gas, will tend to provide positive feedback for any global warming, ... In any case, the most recent global temperature trend is close to zero.

The continuing rapid increase in carbon dioxide concentrations during the past 10-15 years has apparently been unable to overrule the °attening of the temperature trend as a result of the Sun settling at a high, but no longer increasing, level of magnetic activity. Contrary to the argument of Lockwood and FrÄohlich, the Sun still appears to be the main forcing agent in global climate change.

The Cosmic Climate Connection (1 min)

100,000-Year Climate Pattern Linked To Sun's Magnetic Cycles (Dartmouth College)
Breathing Cycles in Earth's Upper Atmosphere Linked to Solar Wind Disturbances (University of Colorado at Boulder)
Changes In Sun’s Intensity Tied To Recurrent Droughts In Maya Region (University of Florida)
Cosmic Rays Linked To Global Warming (University of New York)
Evidence For Sun-climate Link Reported By UMaine Scientists (University of Maine)
Flares From Sun's Far Side May Affect Space Weather Of Inner Planets (Swedish Institute of Space Physics)
Greater Solar Activity May Bring United States More Gray Days (NASA)
Holes In Sun's Corona Linked To Atmospheric Temperature Changes On Earth (Long Island University)
NASA Finds Sun-Climate Connection in Old Nile Records (NASA)
NASA Study Finds Increasing Solar Trend That Can Change Climate (NASA)
New Analysis Shows Earth's Lower Stratosphere In Synch With Solar Cycle (National Center for Atmospheric Research)
New Experiment To Investigate Effect Of Galactic Cosmic Rays On Clouds And Climate (CERN)
Northern Climate, Ecosystems Driven By Cycles Of Changing Sunlight (University Of Illinois)
Regional Variation In Warming From Sun During Solar Cycle Shown By Satellite (University of Colorado)
Scientists Determine Biological And Ecosystem Changes In Polar Regions Linked To Solar Variability (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
Sun's Direct Role In Global Warming May Be Underestimated, Duke Physicists Report (Duke University)
Sun's Magnetic Field May Impact Weather And Climate: Sun Cycle Can Predict Rainfall Fluctuations (University of New England, Australia)
Sun's Past Strength Took Toll On Tropical Glaciers, Worsens Today's Outlook (University of Alberta, Canada)
Surface Warming And The Solar Cycle (University of Washington)
The Sun's Chilly Impact On Earth (NASA)
The Sun Is More Active Now Than Over The Last 8000 Years (Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research)

Read the sunspots (R. Tim Patterson, Ph.D. Professor of Earth Science)
Solar Variability and Climate Change (Willie Soon, Ph.D. Astrophysicist)
The Sun Also Warms (Sallie Baliunas, Ph.D. Astrophysics, Willie Soon Ph.D. Astrophysicist)
Why So Hot? Don't Blame Man, Blame the Sun (Sallie Baliunas, Ph.D. Astrophysics)

Climate History and the Sun (PDF) (Sallie Baliunas Ph.D. Astrophysics, Willie Soon Ph.D. Astrophysicist)
Shining More Light on the Solar Factor (PDF) (Joseph D’Aleo, M.S. Meteorology, CCM, AMS Fellow)
Solar Cycles, Not CO2, Determine Climate (PDF) (Zbigniew Jaworowski, M.D. Ph.D. D.Sc.)
The Varying Sun & Climate Change (PDF) (Sallie Baliunas, Ph.D. Astrophysics, Willie Soon Ph.D. Astrophysicist)

Resources:
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution
Censored Global Warming Videos
NO 'Consensus' on "Man-Made" Global Warming
The Anti "Man-Made" Global Warming Resource

Read the rest of this entry »

Saturday, December 06, 2008

The Anti Marijuana Resource

Marijuana - The Real Facts (1 hr)

Marijuana is a very dangerous drug that has been propagandized as "safe" by weak minded idiots. The reality is marijuana is an addictive drug that can cause brain damage, cancer, gum disease, heart disease, infertility, lung disease, obesity, pregnancy failure, viral infections and doubles the risk of car accidents. The United States has the highest level of marijuana use due to an increased ignorant acceptance of it as "safe" by popular culture through movies, music, television and video games.

Addiction:
Animals Exposed To Marijuana's Active Component Will Self-Administer The Drug (NIH-National Institute On Drug Abuse)
Marijuana Withdrawal As Bad As Withdrawal From Cigarettes (Drug and Alcohol Dependence Journal)
Marijuana Withdrawal Reported By Teens Seeking Treatment (Drug and Alcohol Dependence Journal)
Smoking, Drinking, Drugs: The Younger They Start, The Harder It Is To Quit (Health Education & Behavior Journal)

Gateway Drug:
Cannabis linked to use of amphetamines (Addiction Journal)
Brain Studies Tie Marijuana to Other Drugs (Science/AAAS)
Early cannabis abuse 'leads to heroin addiction' (Mount Sinai School of Medicine)
Early marijuana use increases risk of drug and alcohol problems later in life (Washington University School of Medicine)
Illicit Drug Use Starts With Cannabis (University of Otago, New Zealand)
Marijuana use linked to hallucinogen use (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health)
National Study Shows "Gateway" Drugs Lead to Cocaine Use (Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse)

Brain Damage:
Cannabis Could Increase Risks Of Psychotic Illness By 40 Percent (The Lancet Medical Journal)
Cannabis Increases Risk Of Psychosis (British Medical Journal)
Cannabis increases risk of depression and schizophrenia (British Medical Journal)
Cannabis Triggers Transient Schizophrenia-like Symptoms (Neuropsychopharmacology Journal)
Cannabis use 'dulls the brain' (Journal of the American Medical Association)
Concerns over mental health risk of smoking cannabis (British Journal of Psychiatry)
Daily Consumption Of Cannabis Predisposes To Appearance Of Psychosis And Schizophrenia (University of Granada)
Early Cannabis Use Increases Risk of Schizophrenia (University of Otago, New Zealand)
Frequent Marijuana Use May Affect Brain Function (NeuroReport Journal)
Heavy Cannabis Use May Lead to Psychotic Symptoms (University of Otago, New Zealand)
Heavy Marijuana use has a detrimental impact on intelligence (Canadian Medical Association Journal)
Heavy Marijuana Use May Damage Developing Brain In Teens, Young Adults (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)
How Smoking Marijuana Damages The Fetal Brain (Science Journal)
Lab study shows THC exposure as adolescents linked to negative effects of THC as adults (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology)
Long-term Cannabis Users May Have Structural Brain Abnormalities (Archives of General Psychiatry Journal)
Marijuana And Alcohol Taken Together Induced Widespread Nerve Cell Death In Brains Of Young Rats (Annals of Neurology Journal)
Marijuana Damages Brain (King's College, UK)
Marijuana Is Linked to Brain Damage (The Lancet Medical Journal)
Marijuana Use Affects Blood Flow In Brain Even After Abstinence (Neurology Journal)
Marijuana use in pregnancy damages kids' learning (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
Marijuana Use Takes Toll On Adolescent Brain Function (American Academy of Pediatrics)
Memory, speed of thinking get worse over time with marijuana use (American Academy of Neurology)
More Evidence Of Cannabis-induced Psychosis (BMC Psychiatry Journal)
Scans reveal brain damage from cannabis is like schizophrenia (Albert Einstein College of Medicine)
Schizophrenia Linked To Dysfunction In Molecular Brain Pathway Activated By Marijuana (Archives of General Psychiatry Journal)
Skunk smokers 18 times more likely to be psychotic (Royal College of Psychiatrists)
Smoking Marijuana Impairs Cognitive Function In MS Patients (Neurology Journal)
Starting marijuana use during teens may result in cognitive impairment later in life (NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse)
Teen Drug Use Associated With Psychiatric Disorders Later In Life (NIH/National Institute On Drug Abuse)
Teen Marijuana Use Worsens Depression, Leads To More Serious Mental Illness (Office of National Drug Control Policy)

Cancer:
Marijuana ingredient promotes tumor growth, impairs anti-tumor defenses (NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse)
Marijuana Use Linked to Increased Risk of Testicular Cancer (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)
Marijuana Use Associated with HPV-Positive Head and Neck Cancer (Journal of the National Cancer Institute)
Smoking Marijuana May Increase Risk Of Head And Neck Cancers (Cancer Epidemiology Biomarker and Prevention Journal)

Gum Disease:
Heavy Marijuana Use Linked To Gum Disease (Journal of the American Medical Association)

Heart Disease:
Adolescent binging on marijuana linked to stroke (Saint Louis University)
Marijuana use can trigger heart attack (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center)
Marijuana Use May Pose Health Threat To Baby Boomers (American Heart Association Circulation Journal)
Possible Connection Between Marijuana Abuse And Stroke Or Heart Attacks (Molecular Psychiatry Journal)
Regular Cannabis May Increase Risk Of Stroke In Young Users (British Medical Journal)

Infertility:
Abusing Marijuana May Overload System, Inhibit Fertility (American Society for Cell Biology)
Marijuana-Like Compounds May Alter Human Fertility (American Society of Cell Biology)
Sperm From Marijuana Smokers Move Too Fast Too Early, Impairing Fertility (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)

Lung Disease:
Impact On Lungs Of One Cannabis Joint Equal To Up To Five Cigarettes (British Medical Journal)
Long-term Marijuana Smoking Leads To Respiratory Complaints (Archives of Internal Medicine Journal)
Marijuana associated with same respiratory symptoms as tobacco (Yale School of Medicine)
Marijuana Smoke Contains Higher Levels Of Certain Toxins Than Tobacco Smoke (ACS Chemical Research In Toxicology Journal)
Marijuana Smokers Face Rapid Lung Destruction -- As Much As 20 Years Ahead Of Tobacco Smokers (Respirology Journal)
Marijuana Worsens COPD Symptoms In Current Cigarette Smokers (American Thoracic Society)
Research Confirms Adverse Effects of Cannabis on Respiratory Health (University of Otago, New Zealand)

Obesity:
Machinery Of The 'Marijuana Munchies' (Neuron Journal)

Pregnancy Complication:
Marijuana Use Causes Early Pregnancy Failure (Journal of Clinical Investigation)
Marijuana use could cause tubal pregnancies (Vanderbilt University Medical Center)

Viral Infection:
Marijuana Component Opens The Door For Virus That Causes Kaposi's Sarcoma (Cancer Research Journal)
Regular Marijuana Use Increases Risk Of Hepatitis C-related Liver Damage (AGA Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology Journal)

Vomiting:
Severe Vomiting Sickness With Chronic Cannabis Abuse (World Journal of Gastroenterology)

Myth - Pain Relief:
Oral Cannabis Ineffective In Treating Acute Pain (Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists)

Sociological:
African-American Girls Who Use Marijuana Engage In Riskier Sex, Have Higher STD Rate (School of Public Health, Emory University)
Cannabis Almost Doubles Risk Of Fatal Crashes (British Medical Journal)
Children who smoke cannabis are twice as likely to offend (Queen's University Belfast)
Driving under influence of cannabis more common and riskier than drink driving (University of Otago, New Zealand)
Early Exposure To Drugs, Alcohol Creates Lifetime Of Health Risk (Psychological Science Journal)
Emotional Intelligence And The Use Of Tobacco And Cannabis (UAB Department of General, Development and Educational Psychology)
Frequent Family Meals Might Reduce Teen Substance Use (Journal of Adolescent Health)
Glamorization Of Drugs In Rap Music Jumped Dramatically Over 2 Decades (Addiction Research & Theory Journal)
Malt Liquor Linked To Marijuana Use Among Young Adults (Psychology of Addictive Behaviors Journal)
One Of Every Three Popular Songs Contains References To Substance Use (American Public Health Association)
Pop Stars More Than Twice As Likely To Die An Early Death (British Medical Journal)
References To Explicit Substance Use Common In Popular Music (Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine Journal)
Religiosity Curbs Teen Marijuana Use By Half (Journal of Drug Issues)
Researchers Find Factors That Encourage Cannabis Use Among University Students (Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research)
Rising Teen Marijuana Use Is Fueled By Change In Attitudes (American Journal of Public Health)
Teens who frequently go out with friends more likely to use marijuana (Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine)
United States Has Highest Level Of Illegal Cocaine And Cannabis Use (PLoS Medicine Journal)

News:
Cannabis profits 'funding terrorism' (The Daily Telegraph, UK, August 9, 2003)
Cannabis linked to student’s suicide (The Times, UK, September 9, 2003)
Patient died after cannabis trial (The Times, UK, December 12, 2005)
3 Arrested for Pot Cookie Giveaway (FOX News, September 8, 2006)
Students Allegedly Share Pot Brownie (FOX News, October 18, 2006)
N.M. Cops Sue Burger King Over Marijuana-Laced Hamburgers (FOX News, November 7, 2006)
Three guilty of supplying cannabis chocolate (Daily Mail, UK, December 15, 2006)
Boy on skunk cannabis butchered a grandmother (Daily Mail, UK, April 3, 2007)
Feds: Marijuana still getting stronger (USA Today, April 25, 2007)
Marijuana THC Levels Getting Stronger (NewsMax, April 26, 2007)
Report: Pot Getting Stronger (FOX News, April 26, 2007)
Drug Dealers Targeting Younger Customers With Deadly New Mixtures (FOX News, May 8, 2007)
Student's cannabis rampage emulates ultra-violent computer game (Daily Mail, UK, May 15, 2007)
School Trip Cut Short After Student Eats Pot Brownie (FOX News, May 15, 2008)
Artist beaten to death by teens high on cannabis in savage attack (Daily Mail, UK, June 22, 2007)
Ice Cream Vendor Accused of Selling Pot (FOX News, July 6, 2007)
Mother blames cannabis for suicide of promising violinist daughter (Daily Mail, UK, September 6, 2007)
Feds Bust Marijuana-Laced Snack Factory (FOX News, September 28, 2007)
Cannabis now three times stronger (BBC, February 5, 2008)
Cannabis dealers prey on hospitals (The Times, UK, February 6, 2008)
High School Student Accused of Giving Teacher Marijuana-Laced Cookies (FOX News, February 29, 2008)
Shock video of couple forcing 18-month-old baby to smoke marijuana (Daily Mail, UK, April 18, 2008)
Youths 'smoked cannabis from skull' (The Daily Telegraph, UK, May 9, 2008)
Addict stole tiny puppy then blew marijuana smoke in its face until it passed out (Daily Mail, UK, July 3, 2008)
Cops: Drug-Laced Treats Dropped Off at Police Stations (FOX News, July 9, 2008)
Health fears grow for cannabis users as marijuana potency is 'highest for 30 years' (Daily Mail, UK, June 12, 2008)
Florida Preschool Teachers Find Pot in Toddler's Lunch Box (FOX News, July 18, 2008)
Cannabis users warned as high- strength skunk floods market (Daily Mail, UK, September 3, 2008)
Cannabis smoking led to brutal killing (The Daily Telegraph, UK, October 7, 2008)
Drunk motorist on cannabis killed holiday couple in 120mph crash (The Daily Telegraph, UK, October 23, 2008)
Student suicide over course worries after cannabis use (The Daily Telegraph, UK, October 30, 2008)
Nebraska Man Stuffs Cat Inside Bong (FOX News, March 2, 2009)
Mother gives marijuana brownie to child (San Francisco Chronicle, March 5, 2009)
Florida preschooler shows classmate bag of marijuana (The Australian, March 12, 2009)
Colorado Teen Allegedly Tries to Kill Mother After Marijuana Find (FOX News, March 16, 2009)

Note: This is not a resource on the legality of marijuana or a comparison to alcohol or tobacco.
Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution

"CO2 for different people has different attractions. After all, what is it? - it’s not a pollutant, it’s a product of every living creature’s breathing, it’s the product of all plant respiration, it is essential for plant life and photosynthesis, it’s a product of all industrial burning, it’s a product of driving – I mean, if you ever wanted a leverage point to control everything from exhalation to driving, this would be a dream. So it has a kind of fundamental attractiveness to bureaucratic mentality." - Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D. Professor of Atmospheric Science, MIT

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is not pollution and Global Warming has nothing to do with pollution. The average person has been misled and is confused about what the current Global Warming debate is about, greenhouse gases. None of which has anything to do with air pollution. People are confusing Smog, Carbon Monoxide (CO) and the pollutants in car exhaust with the life supporting, essential trace gas in our atmosphere, Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Pollution is already regulated under the Clean Air Act and regulating Carbon Dioxide (CO2) will do absolutely nothing to make the air you breath "cleaner". Regulating Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions through either 'Carbon Taxes' or 'Cap and Trade' policies will cause energy prices (electricity, gasoline, diesel fuel, propane, heating oil ect...) to skyrocket.

"CO2 is not a pollutant. In simple terms, CO2 is plant food. The green world we see around us would disappear if not for atmospheric CO2. These plants largely evolved at a time when the atmospheric CO2 concentration was many times what it is today. Indeed, numerous studies indicate the present biosphere is being invigorated by the human-induced rise of CO2. In and of itself, therefore, the increasing concentration of CO2 does not pose a toxic risk to the planet." - John R. Christy, Ph.D. Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alabama

"Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant but a naturally occurring, beneficial trace gas in the atmosphere. For the past few million years, the Earth has existed in a state of relative carbon dioxide starvation compared with earlier periods. There is no empirical evidence that levels double or even triple those of today will be harmful, climatically or otherwise. As a vital element in plant photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is the basis of the planetary food chain - literally the staff of life. Its increase in the atmosphere leads mainly to the greening of the planet. To label carbon dioxide a "pollutant" is an abuse of language, logic and science." - Robert M. Carter, Ph.D. Professor of Environmental and Earth Sciences, James Cook University

"Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. On the contrary, it makes crops and forests grow faster. Economic analysis has demonstrated that more CO2 and a warmer climate will raise GNP and therefore average income. It's axiomatic that bureaucracies always want to expand their scope of operations. This is especially true of EPA, which is primarily a regulatory agency. As air and water pollution disappear as prime issues, as acid rain and stratospheric-ozone depletion fade from public view, climate change seems like the best growth area for regulators. It has the additional glamour of being international and therefore appeals to those who favor world governance over national sovereignty. Therefore, labeling carbon dioxide, the product of fossil-fuel burning, as a pollutant has a high priority for EPA as a first step in that direction." - S. Fred Singer, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia

"Carbon and CO2 (carbon dioxide) are fundamental for all life on Earth. CO2 is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic gas. CO2 is product of our breathing, and is used in numerous common applications like fire extinguishers, baking soda, carbonated drinks, life jackets, cooling agent, etc. Plants' photosynthesis consume CO2 from the air when the plants make their carbohydrates, which bring the CO2 back to the air again when the plants rot or are being burned." - Tom V. Segalstad, Ph.D. Professor of Environmental Geology, University of Oslo

"To suddenly label CO2 as a "pollutant" is a disservice to a gas that has played an enormous role in the development and sustainability of all life on this wonderful Earth. Mother Earth has clearly ruled that CO2 is not a pollutant." - Robert C. Balling Jr., Ph.D. Professor of Climatology, Arizona State University

"Many chemicals are absolutely necessary for humans to live, for instance oxygen. Just as necessary, human metabolism produces by-products that are exhaled, like carbon dioxide and water vapor. So, the production of carbon dioxide is necessary, on the most basic level, for humans to survive. The carbon dioxide that is emitted as part of a wide variety of natural processes is, in turn, necessary for vegetation to live. It turns out that most vegetation is somewhat 'starved' for carbon dioxide, as experiments have shown that a wide variety of plants grow faster, and are more drought tolerant, in the presence of doubled carbon dioxide concentrations. Fertilization of the global atmosphere with the extra CO2 that mankind's activities have emitted in the last century is believed to have helped increase agricultural productivity. In short, carbon dioxide is a natural part of our environment, necessary for life, both as 'food' and as a by-product." - Roy Spencer, Ph.D. Meteorology

"I am at a loss to understand why anyone would regard carbon dioxide as a pollutant. Carbon dioxide, a natural gas produced by human respiration, is a plant nutrient that is beneficial both for people and for the natural environment. It promotes plant growth and reforestation. Faster-growing trees mean lower housing costs for consumers and more habitat for wild species. Higher agricultural yields from carbon dioxide fertilization will result in lower food prices and will facilitate conservation by limiting the need to convert wild areas to arable land." - David Deming, Ph.D. Professor of Geology and Geophysics, University of Oklahoma

"Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. It is a colorless, odorless trace gas that actually sustains life on this planet. Consider the simple dynamics of human energy acquisition, which occurs daily across the globe. We eat plants directly, or we consume animals that have fed upon plants, to obtain the energy we need. But where do plants get their energy? Plants produce their own energy during a process called photosynthesis, which uses sunlight to combine water and carbon dioxide into sugars for supporting overall growth and development. Hence, CO2 is the primary raw material that plants depend upon for their existence. Because plants reside beneath animals (including humans) on the food chain, their healthy existence ultimately determines our own. Carbon dioxide can hardly be labeled a pollutant, for it is the basic substrate that allows life to persist on Earth." - Keith E. Idso, Ph.D. Botany

"Atmospheric CO2 is required for life by both plants and animals. It is the sole source of carbon in all of the protein, carbohydrate, fat, and other organic molecules of which living things are constructed. Plants extract carbon from atmospheric CO2 and are thereby fertilized. Animals obtain their carbon from plants. Without atmospheric CO2, none of the life we see on Earth would exist. Water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are the three most important substances that make life possible. They are surely not environmental pollutants." - Arthur B. Robinson, Ph.D. Professor of Chemistry

Defined

"Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - A colourless, odourless gas produced by burning carbon and organic compounds and by respiration, and absorbed by plants in photosynthesis." - Compact Oxford English Dictionary

"Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - A heavy colorless odorless atmospheric gas. Source: respiration, combustion. Use: during photosynthesis, in refrigeration, carbonated drinks, fire extinguishers." - Encarta Dictionary

"Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - A heavy colorless gas that does not support combustion, dissolves in water to form carbonic acid, is formed especially in animal respiration and in the decay or combustion of animal and vegetable matter, is absorbed from the air by plants in photosynthesis, and is used in the carbonation of beverages." - Merriam-Webster Dictionary

"Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - A colorless, odorless, incombustible gas, CO₂, formed during respiration, combustion, and organic decomposition and used in food refrigeration, carbonated beverages, inert atmospheres, fire extinguishers, and aerosols." - The American Heritage Dictionary

"Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - A colorless, odorless, incombustible gas that is produced naturally in breathing, combustion, and decomposition, and commercially for use in dry ice, fire extinguishers, and carbonated beverages." - Wordsmyth Dictionary

Carbon Dioxide

- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is a natural part of Earth's Atmosphere (NASA)
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have risen from 0.028% to 0.038% (380ppm) over the past 100 years (IPCC)
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is not toxic until 5% (50,000ppm) concentration (Source)
- Any detrimental effects of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) including chronic exposure to 3% (30,000ppm) are reversible (Source)
- OSHA, NIOSH, and ACGIH occupational exposure standards are 0.5% (5,000 ppm) Carbon Dioxide (CO2) (Source)

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is a treaty to regulate 'Greenhouse Gases' only:
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Methane (CH4)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) (Laughing Gas, Nitrous, NOS)
- Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
- Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
- Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)

Car Exhaust

Car Exhaust consists of:
Harmless:
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Nitrogen (N2)
- Water vapor (H2O)
Some Pollutants:
- Carbon monoxide (CO) *
- Hydrocarbons or Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) *
- Nitric oxide (NO) *
- Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) *
- Particulate matter (PM-10) *
- Sulfur dioxide (SO2) *

* Your car's Catalytic Converter removes about 95% of these pollutants by converting them to Water and Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Smog

Smog consists of:
- Ozone (O3) * (formed from the photochemical reaction of Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) + Hydrocarbons)
- Particulate matter (PM-10) *
- Sulfur dioxide (SO2) *

* Air Pollution is already regulated in the: 1970 Clean Air Act (Amended: 1977, 1990)

SUVs

- Since the mid-1970s, the fuel economy of SUVs and light trucks has improved by nearly 60%. (Source)
- Today’s SUVs are 50% more efficient than cars were a generation ago. (Source)
- The emissions from a new midsize SUV are cleaner than those of the average passenger car built just three years ago. (Source)
- All the cars and light trucks in the U.S. make up only about 2% of all man-made greenhouse gases worldwide. (Source)

Air Quality in America

- The United States has sharply reduced air pollution levels, despite large increases in nominally "polluting" activities (Source)
- Air pollution affects far fewer people, far less often, and with far less severity than is commonly believed. (Source)
- Areas in the United States with the highest pollution levels have improved the most (Source)
- Air quality in the United States will continue to improve (Source)
- Regulators and environmental activists exaggerate air pollution levels and obscure positive trends in the United States (Source)

Air Quality in America (PDF) (AEI)

Cap and Trade

Obama: "Cap & Trade Will Cause Electricity Rates to Skyrocket"

Cap-and-Trade Could Cost Average Family $10,800 in Lost Income (US Newswire)
Duke Energy CEO: Cap-and-Trade Plan Would Raise Electric Rates 40% (The Wall Street Journal)
Cap & Trade Is Not A Market Solution (Robert P. Murphy, Ph.D. Economics)
Beware of Cap and Trade Climate Bills (The Heritage Foundation)

Resources:
Censored Global Warming Videos
NO 'Consensus' on "Man-Made" Global Warming
The Anti "Man-Made" Global Warming Resource

Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Peak Oil is a Myth

Myth: The World is Running Out of Oil (5min)

175-315 Billion barrels of oil are recoverable at $15 a barrel in the Oil Sands of Alberta, Canada. With a remaining potential of 1.7-2.5 Trillion barrels. In Canada's oil sands alone, the supplies will last over 100 years.

The Bottomless Well (Peter Huber, Mark Mills, 2005)

Despite Popular Belief, The World is Not Running Out of Oil, Scientist Says (Science Daily)
It’s a myth that the world’s oil is running out (The Times, UK)
Myth: The World is Running Out of Oil (ABC News)
No Evidence of Precipitous Fall on Horizon for World Oil Production (Cambridge Energy Research Associates)
Oil: Never Cry Wolf—Why the Petroleum Age Is Far from over (Science)
Oil, Oil Everywhere... (The Wall Street Journal)
The World Has Plenty of Oil (The Wall Street Journal)

Environmental:
Oil sands cleanup (Financial Post, Canada)
Yes, we can strike a balance on the oil sands (Financial Post, Canada)

EROEI (Energy Return On Energy Invested):
Thermodynamics and Money (Peter Huber, Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, MIT)

"The economic value of energy just doesn't depend very strongly on raw energy content as conventionally measured in British thermal units. Instead it's determined mainly by the distance between the BTUs and where you need them, and how densely the BTUs are packed into pounds of stuff you've got to move, and by the quality of the technology at hand to move, concentrate, refine and burn those BTUs, and by how your neighbors feel about carbon, uranium and windmills. In this entropic universe we occupy, the production of one unit of high-grade energy always requires more than one unit of low-grade energy at the outset. There are no exceptions. Put another way, Eroei--a sophomoric form of thermodynamic accounting--is always negative and always irrelevant. "Matter-energy" constraints count for nothing. The "monetary culture" still rules."

Facts:
- 95% of the world's proven oil and gas reserves are controlled by national oil companies (Forbes)
- Only 16% of U.S. oil imports come from the Middle East (EIA)
- The largest supplier of oil to the U.S. is Canada (EIA)
- The second largest supplier of oil to the U.S. is Mexico (EIA)
- Only 0.005% of U.S. domestic oil production is exported (EIA)
- Only 1.5% of the United States electrical generation comes from oil (EIA) (48% Coal, 20% Natural Gas, 19% Nuclear)
- The U.S. uses 25% of the world's oil supply because it produces over 25% of the world's economy (World Bank)

Failed Predictions:
- 1885, U.S. Geological Survey: "Little or no chance for oil in California."
- 1891, U.S. Geological Survey: "Little or no chance for oil in Kansas and Texas"
- 1914, U.S. Bureau of Mines: Total future production limit of 5.7 billion barrels of oil, at most a 10-year supply remaining.
- 1939, Department of the Interior: Oil reserves in the United States to be exhausted in 13 years.
- 1951, Department of the Interior, Oil and Gas Division: Oil reserves in the United States to be exhausted in 13 years.

Reserves:
- 1.3 Trillion barrels of 'proven' oil reserves exist worldwide (EIA)
- 1.8 to 6 Trillion barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Oil-Shale Reserves (DOE)
- 986 Billion barrels of oil are estimated using Coal-to-liquids (CTL) conversion of U.S. Coal Reserves (DOE)
- 173 to 315 Billion (1.7-2.5 Trillion potential) barrels of oil are estimated in the Oil Sands of Alberta, Canada (Alberta Department of Energy)
- 100 Billion barrels of heavy oil are estimated in the U.S. (DOE)
- 90 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in the Arctic (USGS)
- 89 Billion barrels of immobile oil are estimated recoverable using CO2 injection in the U.S. (DOE)
- 86 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (MMS)
- 60 to 80 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in U.S. Tar Sands (DOE)
- 32 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in ANWR, NPRA and the Central North Slope in Alaska (USGS)
- 31.4 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in the East Greenland Rift Basins Province (USGS)
- 7.3 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in the West Greenland–East Canada Province (USGS)
- 4.3 Billion (167 Billion potential) barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Bakken shale formation in North Dakota and Montana (USGS)
- 3.65 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Devonian-Mississippian Bakken Formation (USGS)
- 1.6 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Eastern Great Basin Province (USGS)
- 1.3 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Permian Basin Province (USGS)
- 1.1 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Powder River Basin Province (USGS)
- 990 Million barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Portion of the Michigan Basin (USGS)
- 393 Million barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. San Joaquin Basin Province of California (USGS)
- 214 Million barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Illinois Basin (USGS)
- 172 Million barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Yukon Flats of East-Central Alaska (USGS)
- 131 Million barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Southwestern Wyoming Province (USGS)
- 109 Million barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Montana Thrust Belt Province (USGS)
- 104 Million barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Denver Basin Province (USGS)
- 98.5 Million barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin Province (USGS)
- 94 Million barrels of oil are estimated in the U.S. Hanna, Laramie, Shirley Basins Province (USGS)

For Comparison:
- 260 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in Saudi Arabia (EIA)
- 80 Billion barrels of oil are estimated in Venezuela (EIA)

Read the rest of this entry »

Friday, November 14, 2008

The Anti Wikipedia Resource

"Truth based on who edits last"

Wikipedia can be edited by anyone with an Internet connection, regardless of age, education or experience. The average person is completely unaware that what they may be reading on a Wikipedia page could be completely false or intentionally misleading. And the only way to verify the information posted to Wikipedia is to independently research the subject from a reputable source. Wikipedia is thus broken by design and "truth" is simply determined by who edits last.

The Truth According To Wikipedia (48 min)

The Cult of the Amateur (Andrew Keen, 2007)

The Faith-Based Encyclopedia (Robert McHenry, Former Editor in Chief, the Encyclopedia Britannica)
The Wikipedia FAQK (Wired)
The Wikification of Knowledge (John C. Dvorak, PC Mag)
Wikipedia: Stop citing our site (CNET News)

Controversy:
A Contributor to Wikipedia Has His Fictional Side (The New York Times)
- Bogus boy's departure puts trivia at risk (The Register)
- Fake Wikipedia prof altered 20,000 entries (The Daily Telegraph, UK)
- Wikipedia 'expert' lied about qualifications (The Inquirer)
- Wikipedia 'professor' is 24-year-old college dropout (The Daily Telegraph, UK)
A false Wikipedia 'biography' (USA Today)
- Snared in the Web of a Wikipedia Liar (Canada Free Press)
A History Department Bans Citing Wikipedia as a Research Source (The New York Times)
Appeals court smacks down judge for relying on Wikipedia (ArsTechnica)
- Asylum-Seeker Rejected Based On Wikipedia, Appeals Court Reverts (Wired)
Australian politicians 'doctor Wikipedia entries' (The Daily Telegraph, UK)
- Howard row over Wikipedia edits (BBC)
CIA, FBI computers used for Wikipedia edits (Reuters)
Congress caught making false entries in Wikipedia (CNET News)
Dutch Justice Ministry to Block 30,000 Workers From Using Wikipedia (FOX News)
Dutch Royals Caught Revising Wikipedia (FOX News)
Falling exam passes blamed on Wikipedia 'littered with inaccuracies' (The Scotsman, UK)
- Wackypedia blamed for Scotland's falling exam results (The Inquirer)
Insider Editing at Wikipedia (The New York Times)
- Wikipedia founder modifies his bio (CNET News)
Judges told repeatedly to stop using Wikipedia (ArsTechnica)
- No judicial notice for Wikipedia (ZDNet)
'Knight decorated for bravery' exposed as footsoldier in call centre's front line (The Time, UK)
- Meet The Real Sir Walter Mitty (Daily Record, UK)
- Mcilwraith Entry in Wikipedia (Daily Record, UK)
Left in Control of Wikipedia (NewsMax)
Online encyclopedia offline in China (USA Today)
- China Lifts Wikipedia Ban, but Some Topics Remain Blocked (The New York Times)
- Who Did What in China’s Past? Look It Up, or Maybe Not (The New York Times)
School officials unite in banning Wikipedia (The Seattle Times)
- Wikipedia more dangerous than crack (The Inquirer)
Seeing Corporate Fingerprints in Wikipedia Edits (The New York Times)
Wikipedia attacked by Nazis (The Inquirer)
- Website denigrates Wiesenthal (The Age, Australia)
Wikipedia ban for disruptive professor (The Guardian, UK)
Wikipedia banned from UCSC class (Vallejo Times Hearald)
Wikipedia brands Wikia as spam (Valleywag)
Wikipedia "broken beyond repair", co-founder says (The Inquirer)
Wikipedia Entry on Ken Lay Mighty Confused for 45 Minutes (FOX News)
Wikipedia Falsely Reports Sinbad's Death (The Washington Post)
Wikipedia founder admits to serious quality problems (The Register)
Wikipedia lambasted for plagiarism (The Inquirer)
Wikipedia used to spread malicious code (USA Today)
- Wikipedia gives you malware (The Inquirer)
Wikipedia 'Vandalism' Entry Vandalized (Information Week)
Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales in donations row (The Daily Telegraph, UK)
- More woes for Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales (The Age, Australia)
Wikiscanner reveals source of edits (Taipei Times)

"A UN computer is identified as the source of an edit that calls a respected Italian journalist a promiscuous racist, Wikiscanner also identified a BBC computer as being used to change US President George W. Bush's middle name from "Walker" to "Wanker." A computer belonging to Reuters news service is listed as adding "mass murderer" to a Wikipedia description of Bush."

Kid Friendly:
Erik Möller, No. 2 at Wikipedia, a defender of pedophilia (Valleywag)
- Wikipedia leader Erik Möller: "Children are pornography" (Valleywag)
- Wikipedia's porn-loving No. 2 and his abiding concern for the children (Valleywag)
- Wikipedia's Erik Möller on the history of child sexual abuse: All Greek to him! (Valleywag)
- Why Sue Gardner hired a pedophilia supporter to run Wikipedia (Valleywag)
Is Wikipedia wicked porn? (WorldNetDaily)
- Wikipedia debates kiddie porn action (WorldNetDaily)
- FBI investigates 'Wikipedophilia' (WorldNetDaily)
Violent threats on Wikipedia page went unchecked (Los Angeles Times)
Wikipedia publishes suicide instructions (WorldNetDaily)

Global Warming:
Wikipedia's Zealots (Financial Post, Canada)
- The Real Climate Martians (Financial Post, Canada)
- The Opinionator (Financial Post, Canada)
Wikipropaganda On Global Warming (CBS News)

Nature's Flawed Study:
Fatally Flawed: Refuting the recent study on encyclopedic accuracy by the journal Nature (PDF) (Britannica)
Nature's Flawed Study of Wikipedia's Quality (Nicholas Carr, M.A. English literature, Harvard University)
"It is not one of the peer-reviewed, expert-written research articles for which the journal is renowned. (UPDATE: I confirmed this with the article's author, Jim Giles. In an e-mail to me, he wrote, "The article appeared in the news section and is a piece of journalism, so it did not go through the normal peer review process that we use when considering academic papers.") Rather, it's a fairly short, staff-written piece based on an informal survey carried out by a group of Nature reporters."
Nature mag cooked Wikipedia study (The Register)
Wikipedia study 'fatally flawed' (BBC)

Web 2.0:
Web 2.0 Baloney (John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine)
The Web 2.0 Bullshit Generator
The Web 2.0 Company Name Generator

The Wikipedia Paradox

1. At the time that you are looking at a page how do you determine it's level of accuracy?

2. How do you determine if a page is "good editor" corrected or "bad editor" inaccurate?

3. Who decides who a "good editor" is? How are their qualifications determined?

4. What is the time frame for a "good editor" to correct a page and how is this time frame determined?

5. If more then one "good editor" wants to make completely different changes to a page who wins? Could it be the last one who edited it? But which is the truth?

6. If more then one person is "watching" a topic for changes and they both want to make completely different changes to a page who wins? Could it be the last one who edited it? But which is the truth?

7. Are there more expert or non-expert people with Internet connections on a certain subject that can edit that subject's Wikipedia page?

8. With no value assigned to level of expertise for editors per Wikipedia page how is the accuracy of the edits determined?

9. How is a "neutral point of view" determined on Wikipedia pages and who makes this decision? Could it be the person who edited it last? How is this a "neutral point of view"?

10. If Wikipedia is so accurate then why would anyone ever need to make corrections to it?

Read the rest of this entry »

Monday, November 10, 2008

FACT: Only Computer Illiterates believe in "Man-Made" Global Warming

"Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality." - Nikola Tesla, 1934

What people do not understand is that there is no proof of "Man-Made" Global Warming without using irrelevant computer models. Yes computer models have a place in engineering but are utterly useless at fortune telling, I mean "climate prediction". With engineering you can build and test in the real world to confirm the computer model's accuracy. You can do no such thing with the planet Earth and it's climate. You cannot build a planet and it's atmosphere to "test" your computer climate model.

I am a computer analyst and can program a computer model to do whatever I want. If you program a computer model so that X amount of CO2 increase "forces" X amount of temperature increase then it will happen, this does not make this true in the real world.

"...all of our models have errors which mean that they will inevitably fail to track reality within a few days irrespective of how well they are initialised." - James Annan, William Connolley, RealClimate.org

GIGO: Garbage in = Garbage out

Computers need exact information and the exact procedures to process that information to get accurate answers, without that you get useless results, period. There is no way around this. Computers cannot fill in the blanks for you like nature does when you do an experiment in the real world. With computers everything must be programmed into them from the beginning and everything that is programmed into them must be 100% understood and 100% accurate. Even the most advanced and expensive computer climate models include various approximations known as 'parameterizations'. These "guesses" include:

- Cloud Cover
- Convection
- Hydrology
- Transfer of Solar Radiation in the Atmosphere

Computer Science 101 - if a Computer Model includes merely one approximation for what latter dependent calculations or data are derived from then the output of the model is useless.

Computing incomplete, biased or flat out wrong data (guesses and assumptions) based on poorly understood climate physics in a "model" will give you useless output. But since these models have been "tuned" (guesstimated or deliberately altered to get the results they want) they get results that "seem" likely or even convincing to the average computer illiterate, yet they are absolutely meaningless for prediction. What the modelers do is they keep playing with the numbers until they think they guess right, a useless exercise. Technically they are mathematically adjusting various climate related equations based on theoretical assumptions.

Alarmist scientists presenting their "predictions" as fancy graphs or nicely colored renderings does nothing for the accuracy of their predictions. They like to use colors such as yellow, orange and red to have an emotional effect for worthless computer generated results.

Question: Would you use a mathematically broken calculator?

Nothing is emotional about computers they are pure logical machines, 1 + 1 must = 2. Imagine trying to use a mathematically broken calculator based on poorly understood arithmetic to get a correct answer but you have no way to confirm that "correct answer" except to wait 50-100 years. Sound crazy? Welcome to Global Climate Modeling. Yes the models have to be exact to give any sort of relevant results. That is like saying a calculator does not have to be based on accurate arithmetic to be a useful tool in mathematics - utter propaganda.

Weather vs. Climate

Computer models are used to predict your weather and you know how accurate they are. But Al Gore and Gavin Schmidt can certainly tell your what the climate will be 50-100 years from now. Give me a break! Don't be fooled that the basic principles of how computers work changes whether you are modeling the climate or the weather. Nor is one more accurate than the other long term. Computer code is computer code no matter what name you give it and how a computer works does not change because you change the name you call the code. You cannot simply excuse away missing data, substitute mathematically created observations, parameterize what you are unable to model and then run the model over a longer time and think your results have any remote relation to reality.

The existence of parameterizations (approximated assumptions) means that various calculations are not fully resolved to scale and thus the models are flawed by design, this is basic computer science. You have results based on estimated calculations and thus worthless results. No hand waving can change this. Any computer code that is not 100% perfect will produce meaningless results with scientific and math calculations. That is the fundamentals of how a computer works.

The Myth of Testing

Testing a model against past climate is an advanced exercise in curve fitting, nothing more and proves absolutely nothing. What this means is you are attempting to have your model's output match the existing historical output that has been recorded. For example matching the global mean temperature curve over 100 years. Even if you match this temperature curve with your model it is meaningless. Your model could be using some irrelevant calculation that simply matches the curve but does not relate to the real world. With a computer model there are an infinite number of ways to match the temperature curve but only one way that represents the real world. It is impossible for computer models to prove which combination of climate physics correctly matches the real world. Do not be fooled this logic is irrefutable by anyone who understands computer science and computer modeling.

"These codes are what they are - the result of 30 years and more effort by dozens of different scientists (note, not professional software engineers), around a dozen different software platforms and a transition from punch-cards of Fortran 66, to Fortran 95 on massively parallel systems." - Gavin Schmidt, RealClimate.org

Computer Science vs. Natural Science

To make matters worse it is not computer scientists creating these models but natural scientists coding them using Fortran. These natural scientists do not even begin to have the basic understanding of computer science or proper coding practices. Their code is not 100% available publicly and you do not have independent auditing or code validation. Sloppy and buggy code is very likely littered inside these climate model programs yet there is next to no accountability for any of this. How do you separate a programming error from a temperature anomaly? How can you replace observational data with a complex mathematical equation? You can't.

How many of the models used by the IPCC have had ANY bug fixes or code changes since the most recent IPCC report? If they have had ANY - all previous model run results become null and void based on simple logic thus easily invalidating the ridiculous conclusions of the IPCC report.

"No complex code can ever be proven 'true' (let alone demonstrated to be bug free). Thus publications reporting GCM results can only be suggestive." - Gavin Schmidt, RealClimate.org

Conclusion:

All the computer illiterates are convinced that because something is done on a "super computer" that costs "millions of dollars" it is infallible. The more complex the model, the more "mysterious" it seems to the average person. The public gives computer climate models this mystical aura because they are largely computer illiterate about how they actually work and when they hear the term "computer" they do not want to sound or feel stupid, so they nod their heads and go along with it.

Why are we not turning to models to predict the future for everything? Because they can't, not even remotely. Some of them work "sort of" for the weather in very, very short term results (1-3 days) until all the data they are processing that is wrong combined with all the data they are missing and the millions of variables they are not accounting for start to kick in and grow exponentially the farther out the model runs and wham - the model is wrong. No kidding, there are simply way too many variables that they cannot account for and the computer power necessary to even start to take these variables into account does not exist.

The sheer ignorance of the scientists creating these models is astounding. The fact that they have absolutely no scientific understanding of computer systems in any remote way is appalling. They instead rely on the computer illiteracy of the general public and their perceived standing as "intellectuals" to get away with this fraud.

You are expected to believe that they can "model" the climate 50-100 years in the future when they cannot even give you accurate weather 3 days out? Don't be fools, I do this for a living, Computer Models cannot predict the future with anything as complex as the Earth's climate.

Resources:

Dyson: Climate models are rubbish (The Register, UK)

"My first heresy says that all the fuss about global warming is grossly exaggerated. Here I am opposing the holy brotherhood of climate model experts and the crowd of deluded citizens who believe the numbers predicted by the computer models. [...] But I have studied the climate models and I know what they can do. The models solve the equations of fluid dynamics, and they do a very good job of describing the fluid motions of the atmosphere and the oceans. They do a very poor job of describing the clouds, the dust, the chemistry and the biology of fields and farms and forests. They do not begin to describe the real world that we live in. The real world is muddy and messy and full of things that we do not yet understand. It is much easier for a scientist to sit in an air-conditioned building and run computer models, than to put on winter clothes and measure what is really happening outside in the swamps and the clouds. That is why the climate model experts end up believing their own models." - Freeman Dyson, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Princeton University

Fighting climate 'fluff' (National Post, Canada)

"Prof. Dyson explains that the many components of climate models are divorced from first principles and are "parameterized" -- incorporated by reference to their measured effects.

"They are full of fudge factors that are fitted to the existing climate, so the models more or less agree with the observed data. But there is no reason to believe that the same fudge factors would give the right behaviour in a world with different chemistry, for example in a world with increased CO2 in the atmosphere," he states.

Prof. Dyson learned about the pitfalls of modelling early in his career, in 1953, and from good authority: physicist Enrico Fermi, who had built the first nuclear reactor in 1942. The young Prof. Dyson and his team of graduate students and post-docs had proudly developed what seemed like a remarkably reliable model of subatomic behaviour that corresponded with Fermi's actual measurements. To Prof. Dyson's dismay, Fermi quickly dismissed his model.

"In desperation, I asked Fermi whether he was not impressed by the agreement between our calculated numbers and his measured numbers. He replied, 'How many arbitrary parameters did you use for your calculations?' I thought for a moment about our cut-off procedures and said, 'Four.' He said, 'I remember my friend Johnny von Neumann [the co-creator of game theory] used to say, with four parameters I can fit an elephant, and with five I can make him wiggle his trunk.' With that, the conversation was over."

Prof. Dyson soon abandoned this line of inquiry. Only years later, after Fermi's death, did new developments in science confirm that the impressive agreement between Prof. Dyson's model and Fermi's measurements was bogus, and that Prof. Dyson and his students had been spared years of grief by Fermi's wise dismissal of his speculative model. Although it seemed elegant, it was no foundation upon which to base sound science." - Freeman Dyson, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Princeton University