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Your read for today

If you are in the mood for a slightly heftier read then a mere blog post, head on over to Brussels Journal where Roger Scruton writes about the current state of affairs with regard to the defence of Western Civilisation.

Put simply, the citizens of Western states have lost their appetite for foreign wars; they have lost the hope of scoring any but temporary victories; and they have lost confidence in their way of life. Indeed, they are no longer sure what that way of life requires of them.

Like I said, it is the kind of read you need to sit down for. But if you do you'll be rewarded with a thoughtful and, dare I say: shameless defence of the Judeo-Christian values that made our civilization what it is, even as it is nowadays considered distasteful to say such out loud. Pay particular attention to the last two paragraphs of the piece.

Climate fairy tales

Under that catchy title Hans Labohm of the Dagelijkse Standaard writes a post listing the 10 talking points around 'Climate Change' that are rehearsed and recycled over and over again on an almost daily basis by the Dutch (and wider European/Western) MSM. But what's more, Mr Labohm provides the rebuttal swiftly and brutally in the form of links proving the lie to these fairy tales. If you read Dutch, head on over to read the entire thing.

For those who do not read Dutch, and for myself as a handy future reference, this is a summary of the 10 fairy tales:

1) The Earth is warming and the rate of warming is increasing. It is not. If anything Earth is cooling at least since 2002.

2) Sea levels are rising and the increase is going faster. It is not. If anything, levels are stabilizing and even declining a little.

3) The poles are melting at an ever increasing rate. They're not. The ice caps are as big as they ever were.

4) Human CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. It is not. CO2 is but a tiny, tiny fraction of the Earth's atmosphere. And of that 0.038% only 2 - 6% is human produced. That's 0.0015% (give or take) of the Earth's atmosphere.

5) CO2 is an important factor determining temperature. Highly unlikely. Correlations between CO2 and Earth's are conflicting.

6) Global Warming is causing increased weather extremes. Highly unlikely. And not actually observed to begin with.

7) Polar bears are on the verge of extinction. Not true at all.

8) Climate sceptics deny that the climate is changing. No, the don't. The climate is changing as it always has done. Climate sceptics do not accept that humans exert a detectable influence in the climate.

9) There's only a handful of climate sceptics. No, there's not. There's a veritable army of them out there. The Oregon Petition was signed by 31,000 scientists. Not all of them climate scientists, granted. But in another initiative 700 scientists who are involved in climate science expressed their doubt about human caused climate change. And their numbers are growing.

10) Climate sceptics don't publish in peer-reviewed journals. Yes, they do. Just google-scholar some of the names in the lists linked to above.

I don't know if the above still falls under fair-use, but the list was too good to not pass on. Let's all thank Mr. Labohm for his effort. And pass the list on.

Never waste a good crisis

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Foreign Minister in the unfortunate Obama administration, today inadvertently showed the agenda of that administration. In a speech to 'young Europeans' (fledgling EUrocrats, I think they mean), she said:

Never waste a good crisis ... Don't waste it when it can have a very positive impact on climate change and energy security.

And emphasising that as far as the Obama administration is concerned, the financial crisis is a 'beneficial crisis', she added:

This is a propitious time ... we can actually begin to demonstrate our willingness to confront this.

On a very much related note, Jim Hoft points to this article on American Thinker: Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis.

One of two things must be true. Either the Democrats are unfathomable idiots, who ignorantly pursue ever more destructive policies despite decades of contrary evidence, or they understand the consequences of their actions and relentlessly carry on anyway because they somehow benefit.

I submit to you they understand the consequences. For many it is simply a practical matter of eliciting votes from a targeted constituency at taxpayer expense; we lose a little, they gain a lot, and the politician keeps his job. But for others, the goal is more malevolent - the failure is deliberate. Don't laugh. This method not only has its proponents, it has a name: the Cloward-Piven Strategy. It describes their agenda, tactics, and long-term strategy.

Loathsome, loathsome people!

[Instant update] EU Referendum has more on the Clinton visit to EUnion HQ.

Postponed...

The warmists are scrambling to safe what is left of their exalted position among mortal man.

According to a new study in Geophysical Research Letters, global warming may have hit a speed bump and could go into hiding for decades (...)

"It is possible that a fraction of the most recent rapid warming since the 1970s was due to a free variation in climate," Isaac Held of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Princeton, New Jersey wrote in an email to Discovery News. "Suggesting that the warming might possibly slow down or even stagnate for a few years before rapid warming commences again."

Swanson thinks the trend could continue for up to 30 years. But he warned that it's just a hiccup, and that humans' penchant for spewing greenhouse gases will certainly come back to haunt us.

In the words of Richard North:

It looks as if an awful lot of people are going to be in their graves before we next see any of the blessings of higher temperatures.

More at Watt's up with that.

[UPDATE001] We're all climate change creationists now. According to James Randerson in the Guardian:

Think about it. They operate in very similar ways. They have a fixed position and ignore evidence that does not fit their case. And they cherry-pick shreds of data that do appear to back them up.

I know you are, but what am I?

The unlikely hero

Finally the media in the Netherlands are coming around to the fact that the tour of the USA by Geert Wilders is something special: Wilders Now a Celebrity in US and Prime Minister in Poll.

Wilders was greeted by neo-conservatives - as by a growing portion of the Dutch population - as a martyr for freedom of speech. The contrasts with Europe are great. A conservative philosopher said of his impact in the American media: "He is more than a hero. He is a celebrity".

Wilders says his criticism of Islam is dealt with much less frenetically in America. "In the Netherlands, the elite consider that you may not speak as I do, but here (in the US) freedom is in the genes. (...) I notice that in this country, at least arguments are exchanged. The Netherlands and Europe could adopt this as an example."

According to Wilders, the Pentagon shares his fears of a 'Eurabia'. "I have spoken with Pentagon staff, and they fear for the stability of Europe if the influence of Islam grows further."

Last week, the PVV leader showed Fitna, his short film against Islam, five times in the US, including in the Lyndon B. Johnson auditorium in the Capitol building at the invitation of Republican Senator Jon Kyl. "Can you imagine: in the Netherlands, you go to prison if you show the film, and here you are welcome in the parliament." Fitna was also shown in the National Press Club.

For a good impression of Wilders'performance at the CPAC go to Pamela's place. The pics and video show there was more to it then the 'Some 40 people' the NRC reported.