Among the most ethically challenged of the scientists at the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia is Keith Briffa. A couple of months ago, the Bishop Hill blog retold in detail the sad story about Briffa’s own version of the Hockey Stick, which he was able to keep alive by his attempts […]
Author Archive | Jim Lindgren
Looking Back at the Hockey Stick Thesis: The JoNova Acoount
By Jim Lindgren on December 4, 2009 10:16 pm in Academia, Climate Change, Environment, Politicizing Science
Besides last year’s Bishop Hill post discussed below, another blog account of the “Hockey Stick” thesis that merits excerpting is at JoNova. I do this despite my finding its tone a bit overheated and its generalizations not being adequately qualified. Substantively, I disagree with its treatment of the evidence in favor of the Medieval Warming […]
Looking Back at the Hockey Stick Thesis: The Bishop Hill Account
By Jim Lindgren on December 4, 2009 9:39 pm in Academia, Climate Change, Environment, Politicizing Science
Because a big part of the scientific misconduct in ClimateGate involves Michael Mann’s now discredited “Hockey Stick” thesis, I thought it might be good to review a couple of the better posts outlining some of the misbehavior. The first is a long post from 16 months ago at the Bishop Hill blog (tip to Andrew […]
The Psychology of a Terrorist
There seems to be a strange subtext in some press stories hinting that the suspect in the Fort Hood shootings, Nidal Malik Hasan, had psychological problems or motivations of a kind that would somehow render his acts inconsistent with terrorism or with Islamic terrorism. Does the press realize that the psychological profile of a typical […]
Fannie Mae to rent out homes instead of foreclosing
AP reports on a new Fannie Mae program to allow homeowners who can’t pay their mortgages to rent instead: Thousands of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure will soon have the option of renting their homes from Fannie Mae, under a policy announced Thursday. The government-controlled company, through its new “Deed for Lease” program, will […]
Who is behind today’s anti-banker demonstrations? The usual suspects
(photo from stopbankgreed.org) During Tuesday’s lunch program at CNBC, anchor Bill Griffith asked who was behind the demonstrations at the American Bankers Association meetings in Chicago. The answer is clear: SEIU and a coalition of organizations, many of which are related with ACORN or that have commonly partnered with ACORN over the years. A few […]
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospitalized
MSNBC is reporting that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized after she fell out of her seat in an airplane before takeoff. “Extreme drowsiness” from a combination of a prescription sleeping pill and an OTC cold medicine was blamed. UPDATE: Reports say that Ginsburg was kept overnight and released this morning. 2D UPDATE: The statement […]
Jobs Increase in Canada, Drop in US
Unlike in the US, employment is rising in Canada (as it is in Australia). It is hard to tell whether this difference is mainly because Canada benefits disproportionately from natural resources (and from its willingness to make use of them) or because the US’s stimulus program is damaging the long-term health of the US economy […]
ACORN Scrubs Its Website to Eliminate SEIU Links
ACORN may have been trying to cover up which organizations are part of ACORN by scrubbing its website. Not only did ACORN and SEIU share board members, but until a month ago they appeared to share the same headquarters address in New Orleans: 1024 Elysian Fields Ave. This is, of course, the same address from […]
Robert Fisk: Countries Holding Secret Meetings To Replace the Dollar
In the (UK) Independent, Robert Fisk, who has wide contacts in the Middle East, reports on “secret meetings . . . by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on” an Arab scheme that “will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.” In the most […]
Obama Administration Considering Tax Credits for New Hires
On the New York Times Caucus blog, John Harwood revealed that the Obama Administration is considering “a new package of tax cuts and other job creation measures.” Privately, Mr. Obama’s economic advisers are sifting options for a new package of tax cuts and other job creation measures to be unveiled in next year’s State of […]
On the Criticism of Obama for Going to Copenhagen
I have been surprised at some of the criticism of President Obama for going to Copenhagen to lobby for the Olympics. Few commentators bother noting that, had Obama NOT gone to Copenhagen, many would have been blamed him for Chicago’s losing its bid. Most of us would have quite reasonably — though erroneously — attributed […]
Meredith Whitney: The Credit Crunch Continues
Bank Analyst Meredith Whitney in the Wall Street Journal: Anyone counting on a meaningful economic recovery will be greatly disappointed. How do I know? I follow credit, and credit is contracting. Access to credit is being denied at an accelerating pace. Large, well-capitalized companies have no problem finding credit. Small businesses, on the other hand, […]
News Flash: Presidents Work When They Travel
Though I am a Chicagoan who is rooting for Rio — not Chicago — to win the 2016 Olympic bid, I think the criticism of President Obama for flying to Copenhagen to lobby the Olympic Selection Committee is silly. A modern president is working at least 16 hours most days (Reagan being the only exception […]
Appellate court dismisses Dan Rather’s lawsuit against CBS
LA TIMES BLOG: More than two years after Dan Rather filed a $70-million lawsuit against CBS for breach of contract and fraud, a New York Supreme Court appellate division has tossed out his claim. The ruling, handed down today, dismissed Rather’s claims that CBS News broke his contract and committed fraud by sidelining him in […]