Christopher Monckton
David Gerard (Talk | contribs) m |
|||
| Line 37: | Line 37: | ||
Abraham's laconic reply makes the whole thing reminiscent of the [[Lenski affair]]. The whole of it: | Abraham's laconic reply makes the whole thing reminiscent of the [[Lenski affair]]. The whole of it: | ||
{{cquote|''I am replying to your letter of June 10, 2010, on behalf of myself and, at his request Fr. Dennis Dease, President of the University of St. Thomas. I stand by my original position. Point and counterpoint are the standard in academic discourse.''|||John Abraham<ref>http://rabett.blogspot.com/2010/07/gold-amongst-dross.html</ref>}} | {{cquote|''I am replying to your letter of June 10, 2010, on behalf of myself and, at his request Fr. Dennis Dease, President of the University of St. Thomas. I stand by my original position. Point and counterpoint are the standard in academic discourse.''|||John Abraham<ref>http://rabett.blogspot.com/2010/07/gold-amongst-dross.html</ref>}} | ||
| − | |||
==Monckton: The last refuge for the deniers== | ==Monckton: The last refuge for the deniers== | ||
With the [[Climategate]] brouhaha debunked and bogus "research" like the [[Wegman Report]] discredited, [[Republican|Republicans]] got really desperate. In 2010, Monckton was called as the ''only'' witness for the GOP at a subcommittee hearing on climate science. During Monckton's pathetic testimony, Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington issued a definitive smackdown right in front of the entire committee, saying: | With the [[Climategate]] brouhaha debunked and bogus "research" like the [[Wegman Report]] discredited, [[Republican|Republicans]] got really desperate. In 2010, Monckton was called as the ''only'' witness for the GOP at a subcommittee hearing on climate science. During Monckton's pathetic testimony, Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington issued a definitive smackdown right in front of the entire committee, saying: | ||
| − | |||
{{cquote|And I would note there is a dispute over whether we actually landed on the moon, and there is a dispute about whether the Earth is round, and there is a dispute about gravity in some places.}} | {{cquote|And I would note there is a dispute over whether we actually landed on the moon, and there is a dispute about whether the Earth is round, and there is a dispute about gravity in some places.}} | ||
| − | |||
Inslee went on later in the testimony: | Inslee went on later in the testimony: | ||
{{cquote|You come here, you call yourself a Lord to try to convince the world to ignore something that threatens our grandkids, and you're not even a Lord.<ref>The entire hearing can be seen [http://globalwarming.house.gov/pubs?id=0018#main_content here] and Inslee's remarks can be seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NtOxuHli0s here]</ref>}} | {{cquote|You come here, you call yourself a Lord to try to convince the world to ignore something that threatens our grandkids, and you're not even a Lord.<ref>The entire hearing can be seen [http://globalwarming.house.gov/pubs?id=0018#main_content here] and Inslee's remarks can be seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NtOxuHli0s here]</ref>}} | ||
| − | |||
Ouch, ice burn. | Ouch, ice burn. | ||
Revision as of 06:19, 16 February 2011
“”You won't see them flashing past, as they scuttle down to their noisome lairs—there to snivel in the darkness.
|
| —on the Climategate scientists, who were completely exonerated shortly after |
“”I always think of him as a character from Ankh Morkpork escaped into this dimension by something gone wrong at the Unseen University.
|
| —Guardian site commenter |
Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley is a British aristocrat, deputy leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) and a climate change denier. He constitutes an excellent argument in favour of revolutionary socialism.
One Guardian commenter said "If he didn't exist you really would have to invent him." It's not entirely clear the amusement gained would be worth it.
Contents |
Science
In his role as Ukip science spokesman, Monckton said that they would cut funding for climate science unless there arose sufficient evidence to change his mind. He also said that health risks associated with excessive salt consumption are merely "unjustifiable fears" and compared embryonic stem cell research to "the killing of very small children".[1]
His views on AIDS aren't much better. He wrote an article entitled The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS for a 1987 edition of American Spectator, stating quite clearly:[2]
“”there is only one way to stop AIDS. That is to screen the entire population regularly and to quarantine all carriers of the disease for life. Every member of the population should be blood-tested every month ... all those found to be infected with the virus, even if only as carriers, should be isolated compulsorily, immediately, and permanently.
|
He has since conceded that this would presently be unfeasible, but not that it would in any way have been a bad idea.
At least he considers "alternative" medicine should only be NHS-funded after it has been proven clinically.[1]
According to him, scientists "perhaps" should be required to certify that they are Christian belong to a religion before they are allowed to practice. No kidding:
“”Perhaps, therefore, no one should be allowed to practice in any of the sciences, particularly in those sciences that have become the mere political footballs of the leading pressure-groups, unless he can certify that he adheres to one of those major religions – Christianity outstanding among them – that preach the necessity of morality, and the reality of the distinction between that which is so and that which is not. For science without the morality that perhaps religion alone can give is nothing.[3]
|
I'm a Lord really, m'Lord
Monckton's father Gilbert was one of those kicked out in 1999 when the hereditary complement of the House of Lords was cut to 92, thus leaving Christopher's status as Viscount of Brenchley a matter only of interest to the aristocracy nerd contingent on Wikipedia. Since Christopher inherited the title in 2006, he has frequently represented himself as having anything to do whatsoever with the House of Lords. He has various pseudolegal theories as to why this is the case, usually revolving around the notion that a hereditary peerage can only be withdrawn by the Crown on an individual basis, as the letter patent was granted on an individual basis;[4] which may well be true (though there's not much reason to care any more), but is utterly irrelevant as to whether said hereditary peer gets an automatic seat in the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[5] The main point appears to be to represent himself in other countries as having power and status that he does not when talking up climate change denial.
The House has asked that he desist in his frequent habit of implying, or outright claiming, to be a member in any way whatsoever. They have also requested, rather stridently, that he stop using a personal insignia closely resembling the portcullis insignia of the House of Lords, and are presently "taking steps with a view to ensuring that Lord Monckton does not in future either claim to be a member of the House or use the parliamentary emblem or any variant thereof."[6] Buckingham Palace, who control use of the insignia, did not comment on the claims but did just happen to point an enquiring journalist at the relevant trademark laws and the possible penalties for their violation.[7]
Monckton vs John Abraham
John Abraham, a professor of thermal engineering at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, created and published on-line a presentation[8] debunking a talk delivered by Monckton in October 2009 at Bethel University in Minnesota. When the rebuttal gained attention, Monckton wrote a hilariously lengthy and pompous reply (466 questions!),[9][10] accusing Abraham of libel (among other things) and demanding a retraction, an apology and large donations to a charity. To top it off, in an interview with Alex Jones (yes, that one!), Monckton called the university a "half-arsed Catholic Bible college" and its president a "creep".[11]
Abraham's laconic reply makes the whole thing reminiscent of the Lenski affair. The whole of it:
“”I am replying to your letter of June 10, 2010, on behalf of myself and, at his request Fr. Dennis Dease, President of the University of St. Thomas. I stand by my original position. Point and counterpoint are the standard in academic discourse.
|
| —John Abraham[12] |
Monckton: The last refuge for the deniers
With the Climategate brouhaha debunked and bogus "research" like the Wegman Report discredited, Republicans got really desperate. In 2010, Monckton was called as the only witness for the GOP at a subcommittee hearing on climate science. During Monckton's pathetic testimony, Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington issued a definitive smackdown right in front of the entire committee, saying:
“”And I would note there is a dispute over whether we actually landed on the moon, and there is a dispute about whether the Earth is round, and there is a dispute about gravity in some places.
|
Inslee went on later in the testimony:
“”You come here, you call yourself a Lord to try to convince the world to ignore something that threatens our grandkids, and you're not even a Lord.[13]
|
Ouch, ice burn.
Web 2.0
Monckton is a keen user of the Internet, an IP address geolocating to just near him having added all manner of strange claims (e.g., that the Guardian had paid him £50,000 in settlement of a defamation claim) to the Christopher Monckton and George Monbiot articles on Wikipedia.[14] Monbiot, a long-term critic of Monckton, asked him what was up with that and got a series of nonsensical evasions in response.[15]
Oh, and a Nobel
Monckton has claimed since 2007 to be a Nobel Peace Prize winner. When cornered, he said he was merely joking, although he had claimed several hours before to be a Nobel laureate in apparent seriousness;[16] the claim is still present on the staff page of the Science and Public Policy Institute.[17]
Eternity
Apart from being a repellent bog creature with buckets of cash, Monckton is also an amateur mathematician. He does really quite good things like the Eternity Puzzle, one of the world's hardest jigsaw puzzles, that was only 209 pieces (each a polyform based on 30°-60°-90° triangles) but took sixteen months for anyone to solve.[18] "It appeals to anybody with a warped mind like mine," said Monckton. Indeed.
External links
- Climate Denial Crock of the Week (with Peter Sinclair) - Debunking Lord Monckton Part 1 and Part 2
- [1] Monckton Myths - a one-stop-shop for Monckton misinformation], SkepticalScience.com
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ukip answers questions about its science policy
- ↑ http://www.desmogblog.com/christopher-monckton
- ↑ What is science without religion?img, The SPPI Blog, attributed to "The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley"
- ↑ http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/07/12/a-detailed-rebuttal-to-abraham-from-monckton/
- ↑ "No-one shall be a member of the House of Lords by virtue of a hereditary peerage." (House of Lords Act, 1999). Assented to by the Crown. The same Crown that issues the letters patent granting hereditary peerages.
- ↑ http://friendsofginandtonic.org/files/867576d3dfe135ff8dcd26715bd86ac5-187.html
- ↑ Lords distance themselves from climate sceptic Christopher Monckton (Leo Hickman, Guardian, Wed 11 Aug 2010)
- ↑ A Scientist Replies to Christopher Monckton: Abraham v. Monckton
- ↑ http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2010/07/i_think_that_they_might_have_t.php
- ↑ The Guardian - Monckton's response to John Abraham is magnificently bonkers
- ↑ Lord Christopher Monckton: Real Data Disproves Al Gore's Global Warming Theory - Alex Jones Tv 5/6 (TheAlexJonesChannel on YouTube)
- ↑ http://rabett.blogspot.com/2010/07/gold-amongst-dross.html
- ↑ The entire hearing can be seen here and Inslee's remarks can be seen here
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/95.145.99.96
- ↑ http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/10/03/did-lord-monckton-fabricate-a-claim-on-his-wikipedia-page/
- ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-diary/nobleman-is-no-nobel-man-20100125-muky.html
- ↑ http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/personnel.html#20100812img
- ↑ The Eternity puzzle solved? (BBC News, 2000-10-02)
