Responding to a statement by insinuating the other person is a liar is very weak. If you have to start insulting the person your'e arguing with, you are on shaky ground to start with.
People who make things... do so to make a profit. Duh. People who loose money, and fail, often blame others for their mistakes. The story about the Chinese allegedly selling solar panels at a huge loss, comes from people who lost their ass in the solar business. It is the equivalent of the dog at my homework.
Your last statement defies logic so completely I am surely wasting my time trying to explain this to you, but I will try:
If I had a device that cost $1 to make, that generated $2 worth of energy, I would be rich beyond the dreams of avarice, and everyone on the planet would have these things. This would also be a device with incredible efficiency....
Years ago I worked in and around agriculture. We were at a grain elevator one day, an the owner explained to me that they sold two types of grain, "Organic" and "Regular". I asked what the difference was. He explained that the profit on Oganic was double what the regular was, and so they filled that storage bin first, then they filled the regular bin. Being young, foolish, and passionate I pressed the point.
Turned out all the grain came from the same farmers using the same methods. But there were fools in the city who would pay more for the same thing if they labeled it "Organic"
This is no different, son. Remember, nobody ever got rich claiming everything would probably work itself out over time. People get rich claiming that the end is coming, soon, and unless you act now... and send money today... Or by fooling you into thinking that by spending money with them will have some feel good impact on all of society. It's called "cause based marketing" and it works better every year, because it is easier and easier to sucker people into to these things.
Yep! So the solar power, created by solar panel companies in China using all kinds of noxious crap that they dump into the stream, generate a tiny fraction of electricity, that replaces something else, that is generated here in the U.S. in a highly regulated, environmentally monitored kind of way.
To a progressive environmentalist, this is called "forward progress toward saving the earth"
To a marketer, these people are known as suckers who is eager to part with his money for high margin crap as long as it has the word "Green" on the box.
This is proof positive that marketing has reached new pinnacles of preying on idiots.
A "green" store - filled with plastic products, synthetic cosmetics, crap from china, etc. will bring in idiots who so desperately need to feel good about themselves they will actually think they are doing the planet a favor by buying whatever. Really, have you seem most of the crap for sale in drugstore? How can any of this junk be considered good for the environment in any way?
The guys in the boardroom, marking up the same old crap 100% by slapping a "green" label on the box, are laughing their asses off while going home to their Scrooge McDuck money piles.
What has happened is that people's expectation of quality - is not at all what it used to be.
I am old enough to remember when an operating system, or a language compiler, we rock solid, never questioned, and if you actually found a bug you got special recognition at the annual "get together" which was the only chance you had to meet fellow developers.
No more. Today, crap is king. Not because of the stupid ideological bullsh*t reasons, it is because the consumer simply accepts it.
Most new cars today drive around with over-inflated tires because of the idiotic tire pressure wheel sensors.
Last new tires we bought, checked the pressure, they were all 5lbs over - called the tire place, they informed me that was the policy for any car with tire pressure sensors, if they fill them to spec, the first time the light comes on they get a complaint.
Politicians lie by pretending they can legislate the laws of physics, and pass stupid laws to satisfy their base, whom they have whipped into an emotional frenzy in order to gain loyalty. Or, in order to squeeze the maximum amount of money to put in their own pockets, they make unrealistic promises to two completely opposed special interests, with the result being that everyone is equally screwed.
Corporations, who need to sell products in order to pay the workers, who need to eat, and have a roof over their head, then lie to satisfy the unrealistic expectations set by the politicians. Marketing has always been about tapping on the buyers emotions, thus resulting in people foolishly parting with their money. More lies in the name of greed, duh.
This is news? People are shocked by this? There has to be a long drawn out discussion? You're telling me you are going to make a passionate argument about one side or the other being evil? This entire system is something we humans setup, and perpetuate. It's all our faults it has come to this.
The saddest thing about all of this is that less than 5% of the buying population actually wants a car that is safe, good for the environment, or gets great gas mileage. The other 95% think everyone else should own cars for these reasons, but not them.
If you have an abundance of self centered prima-donna's with delusions of grandeur on your payroll, the way to get rid of them is to make moves like this.
These are the employees who believe that you are honored to simply be in the same room with them, and should hang on every word they say.
These are the employees who are quick to criticize everybody else's work, management, the companies products, etc. but rarely offer workable solutions to any of the problems.
These are the employees who believe that the world revolves around their needs, that everything is all about them, and that that the whole world must change because they believe it should work the way they want it to.
These are the employees who whine and complain about a lack of a written "rules" document, but when assigned to write the document, tell you that it is not their job to write such standards, it is your failure as a manager to produce one.
There are the same employees who either grossly under estimate, or over estimate the time it takes to do something.
These are the employees who prattle on endlessly about the glorious accomplishments of a previous job, who have resume's that look like police blotters because they can't hold a job.
These are the same employees who believe that "The corporation OWES them something" or that the government "Needs to do something" or that "It should be declared illegal"
A lot of these folks are online, and give obvious clues to their delusions of self worth in every post they write.
If you force all of these folks into the same room, and force them to interact with each other, the herd will cull itself in a bloody, no holds barred political death match. These types of folks are generally extremely brave in cyberspace, and complete pussies when forced to deal with people face to face.
Don't believe me? Get a real executive to be completely honest with you about what they deal with on a daily basis, you'll see...
What happens time and time again, in state after state, is that money supposedly allocated for one thing becomes a vast gravy train for every greedy politician who needs cash to buy votes.
Case in point: Social Security. The Social Security fund has become a giant stack of I.O.U.'s and has no value.
A lot of people just don't understand that a lot of our national debt is money we owe to ourselves, because we robbed one program to pay for another. This is why it is a far worse problem that ignorant, low information voters realize.
So this new "tax" is just a way to get more money, to buy more votes, and acquire new power. IT HAS NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH THE ENVIRONMENT.
Google Docs - the MS office killer, remember? Open Office, the MS Office killer. Didn't happen.
People are still claiming this will happen, insisting that it will happen "soon". Isn't happening.
I won't be yet another poster who believes they know the future, or why this isn't happening. Call me "Master of the Obvious" if you must, but folks, it just isn't happening, nor will it happen anytime soon, because it hasn't happened in the past.
The reality is that if your job can be done cheaper elsewhere, it will be outsourced, as the cost of communications is near zero.
Not because corporations are evil, and hate people. Corporations represent an investment, and the goal of an investment is to return value to those who invested. If all of my competitors are using offshore labor, and I am using U.S. based labor, I won't have any customers because my prices will be higher. People with loudmouthed, emotional ideology, interestingly enough, want to pay the lowest price for the greatest value. If you don't believe me, take a drive by the local Wal-Mart. What people SAY and what they DO are not always in harmony. Punish these corporations, by forcing them to hire U.S. employees, and the global marketplace will simply move elsewhere.
Accept this reality or end up in the fast food or retail service industry. The case your making does not fit the numbers, and business is a numbers game.
It's a mentality, not a skill set. Either you take pride in your craft, and actually enjoy doing it, or you work hardest at being teflon, avoiding work, causing trouble, trying to manipulate people, or demonstrating the size of your precious ego to anyone who will listen. Those of us in your camp will never understand the majority in the other camp - nor will they understand us.
Your manager came from these ranks, s/he is a rare breed indeed.
My company is 100% virtual in the U.S., we only have physical offices offshore. This is the "new normal" in the Digital Interactive Space.
A lot of what you consume on the Internet is built all across the globe. It's not unusual to have the design done in the U.S., the animation in China, the Flash widgets in South America, the core logic in Eastern Europe, etc. You can't manage these projects working 8-5 -- you need to be online for a wide range of hours, and expect to have to get up at odd hours for meetings. You simply can't do this out of an office, and as a result most of the staff works from home.
It is a huge draw for new employees to be able to work from home, with zero commute costs, zero dress code costs, and the result is far less politics than you get in an office.
The rest of I.T. will catch up to this, sooner or later. With the cost of communication near zero, and a global work force, it is inevitable.
You are correct, except for the fact that the environmental nazi's have effectively prevented any new reactors being built in the last 20 years, therefore ensuring that the current reactors age, and are more prone to failure.
It is clear you need to broaden your news horizon's beyond a limited subset of websites that agree with your worldview.
I have found that arguing with person's such as yourself is a complete waste of time, because when presented with any facts that contradict your opinion, you change the subject. I have lost several friends over this process. I suspect you're young, and passionate, and I do respect your right to believe anything you want.
120 million is a medicine dropper in the Ocean of Bribery that is the new government/educational complex.
The plain truth is that climate research has been all but destroyed by greed, as is clearly evidenced by the number of so called "scientific" studies coming out of both sides that later turn out to have falsified data, omitted data that didn't fit, and drawn conclusions based on what the funding folks wanted
What we have actually learned from the last twenty years of climate "science" is that money corrupts science in ways nobody expected, and if we didn't realize this already, whenever there is a lot of money involved, the most greedy reap the largest rewards at the expense of all of us. We've also learned that when you mix emotional rhetoric with science, plenty of people forget all about science completely (witness the comments here as absolute proof).
What do you think a company does when it's costs go up?
They are accountable to their shareholders to produce an acceptable rate of return to their stockholders.
They raise prices in order to maintain the same rate of return. If they don't, the shareholders put their money elsewhere. Bye Bye Jobs
You should expect a BUSINESS to everything it possibly can to maximize the rate of return to the investors who put up their money. In fact, you should DEMAND it.
Please, please leave your emotions at the door when you are talking business. Business is about the NUMBERS not the EMOTIONS. Some folks are greedy and evil. Some of these people have jobs and do greedy and evil things. In the long run, they do not prosper - because as a whole we don't like doing business with evil greedy people.
And while I am ranting... This whole idea that a large group of people called a "corporation" are evil, whereas a large group of people called "the government" is not, is so completely and utterly at odds with common sense it is beyond my comprehension. Government, by the way, is about BUYING VOTES - That's why they can't manage a budget. They have no reason to manage a budget. Their goal, unlike a Business, is buying your vote at the lowest possible cost.
Flame away I care not. Try thinking with your BRAIN and not your HEART.
The argument you are making is based on very carefully culled statistics. You're using the income tax rate ONLY not the total tax burden.
The other popular lie is that the income tax rate in earlier years was 90%. Yes, it was, But nobody paid that rate, because there were deductions (now called loopholes) a plenty and everybody took them. Technically it's not a lie, but practically it is.
I find this to be the most annoying propaganda trick employed by politicians, it used to be called "lying with statistics".
I can cherry pick any two values and prove anything I want. And if you repeat the lie, I have won. Better still if I can enrage you to calling the other guy a liar with my lie.
Let me give you a simple example. Where I live the politicians campaigned a few years back on not raising property taxes. Once elected, they immediately set about re-appraising all the properties in the district. Big surprise, all our appraised values went up. Way up. And as a result, the property tax due went up too.
Next election cycle, they all campaigned on the fact they had kept their promise, that property tax rates had not gone up one percent. Technically, this was a LIE. They raised taxes on all of us property owners. But all the non property owners bought it, hook line and sinker.
Don't be suckered into this. Government expenditures only have ONE purpose - to buy votes and acquire power. Clearly, Danaris, with all due respect, they bought yours at the lowest possible price, and you are spreading their propaganda free of charge, saving them money on advertising.
Surely you're not defending glaciergate... As that fantasy was completely debunked. Same as sensorgate, where NASA actually placed temperature sensors on rooftops next to HVAC units spewing heat. Same as polargate, where a few pictures were used to convince people things were much worse than they were. Same as polar-bear-gate, where we were lead to believe that less ice harms polar bears (actually, it helps them, and their numbers are increasing).
The plain truth is that climate science has been so totally corrupted by governments and greed that we know LESS about the climate now than we did 20 years ago.
That is the real crisis. Not AGW. The corruption of science, in the long run, that will do more harm to the human race than climate change. And unlike climate change, this crisis is actually happening, today, and nobody is doing much about it.
Being published - is more important than doing science. LYING to get published - now acceptable. FAKING DATA to get published - acceptable. Selectively choosing what to study... Deciding in advance what the results should be... Openly suppressing dissenting opinions instead of encouraging them... This is the real crisis, that receives almost no attention, because people not trained in science don't understand it. Unless one chooses to study the "right" kind of science, to produce the "desired" results, one gets no funding and has almost no chance of getting published. The result of this is that no real science is being done - at all. This kind of junk science, on both sides of the issue, is worse than propaganda.
When the temperatures study that faked the data - the so called "hockey stick" graph is believed by more people than later studies that showed different results (as it turned out no matter what data one put into the formula you always got a hockey stick) -- and instead of having an open, honest discussion about methodology we have two sides screaming at each other that the other side is stupid, ignorant, etc. we have collectively thrown the scientific method out the window. This is a path backwards for the entire human race, a giant leap back to the stone age.
It's a pointless argument you're having with people who are delusional anyway.
Wall Street gave more money to Obama in 2008 than any campaign in history, and he appointed more Wall Street Bankers to his cabinet and other positions than any other President - EVER. All the while screaming about the evil of bankers. It is a lie. He's a politician. Enough said?
Was there really an "imminent collapse"? We'll never know. But I am certain that the greed of political class far outweighs the greed of the banking class, and that when it comes to fabricating enemies, the political class is #1 hands down.
It's never the political classes fault - they always give us someone else, or something else to blame. Every time. Republicans and Democrats.
Therefore, over the last 16 years, with increased burning, global temperatures should have risen. They did not. They stayed the same.
Try real science, not corrupted science fueled by greed. Real Science does not reach a consensus until the arguing stops. Science corrupted by greed declares that there is a consensus, please send money. BIG DIFFERENCE
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report from 2001:
"No significant acceleration in the rate of sea level rise during the 20th century has been detected."
And in 2007 the IPCC reported:
"Global average sea level rose at an average rate of 1.8 [1.3 to 2.3] mm per year over 1961 to 2003. The rate was faster over 1993 to 2003: about 3.1 [2.4 to 3.8] mm per year. Whether the faster rate for 1993 to 2003 reflects decadal variability or an increase in the longer-term trend is unclear."
Slashdot Mirror
Responding to a statement by insinuating the other person is a liar is very weak. If you have to start insulting the person your'e arguing with, you are on shaky ground to start with.
People who make things... do so to make a profit. Duh. People who loose money, and fail, often blame others for their mistakes. The story about the Chinese allegedly selling solar panels at a huge loss, comes from people who lost their ass in the solar business. It is the equivalent of the dog at my homework.
Your last statement defies logic so completely I am surely wasting my time trying to explain this to you, but I will try:
If I had a device that cost $1 to make, that generated $2 worth of energy, I would be rich beyond the dreams of avarice, and everyone on the planet would have these things. This would also be a device with incredible efficiency....
Years ago I worked in and around agriculture. We were at a grain elevator one day, an the owner explained to me that they sold two types of grain, "Organic" and "Regular". I asked what the difference was. He explained that the profit on Oganic was double what the regular was, and so they filled that storage bin first, then they filled the regular bin. Being young, foolish, and passionate I pressed the point.
Turned out all the grain came from the same farmers using the same methods. But there were fools in the city who would pay more for the same thing if they labeled it "Organic"
This is no different, son. Remember, nobody ever got rich claiming everything would probably work itself out over time. People get rich claiming that the end is coming, soon, and unless you act now... and send money today... Or by fooling you into thinking that by spending money with them will have some feel good impact on all of society. It's called "cause based marketing" and it works better every year, because it is easier and easier to sucker people into to these things.
Yep! So the solar power, created by solar panel companies in China using all kinds of noxious crap that they dump into the stream, generate a tiny fraction of electricity, that replaces something else, that is generated here in the U.S. in a highly regulated, environmentally monitored kind of way.
To a progressive environmentalist, this is called "forward progress toward saving the earth"
To a marketer, these people are known as suckers who is eager to part with his money for high margin crap as long as it has the word "Green" on the box.
This is proof positive that marketing has reached new pinnacles of preying on idiots.
A "green" store - filled with plastic products, synthetic cosmetics, crap from china, etc. will bring in idiots who so desperately need to feel good about themselves they will actually think they are doing the planet a favor by buying whatever. Really, have you seem most of the crap for sale in drugstore? How can any of this junk be considered good for the environment in any way?
The guys in the boardroom, marking up the same old crap 100% by slapping a "green" label on the box, are laughing their asses off while going home to their Scrooge McDuck money piles.
Pathetic beyond pathetic.
This comment so deserves a higher score.
You're right of course.
What has happened is that people's expectation of quality - is not at all what it used to be.
I am old enough to remember when an operating system, or a language compiler, we rock solid, never questioned, and if you actually found a bug you got special recognition at the annual "get together" which was the only chance you had to meet fellow developers.
No more. Today, crap is king. Not because of the stupid ideological bullsh*t reasons, it is because the consumer simply accepts it.
Most new cars today drive around with over-inflated tires because of the idiotic tire pressure wheel sensors.
Last new tires we bought, checked the pressure, they were all 5lbs over - called the tire place, they informed me that was the policy for any car with tire pressure sensors, if they fill them to spec, the first time the light comes on they get a complaint.
Politicians lie by pretending they can legislate the laws of physics, and pass stupid laws to satisfy their base, whom they have whipped into an emotional frenzy in order to gain loyalty. Or, in order to squeeze the maximum amount of money to put in their own pockets, they make unrealistic promises to two completely opposed special interests, with the result being that everyone is equally screwed.
Corporations, who need to sell products in order to pay the workers, who need to eat, and have a roof over their head, then lie to satisfy the unrealistic expectations set by the politicians. Marketing has always been about tapping on the buyers emotions, thus resulting in people foolishly parting with their money. More lies in the name of greed, duh.
This is news? People are shocked by this? There has to be a long drawn out discussion? You're telling me you are going to make a passionate argument about one side or the other being evil? This entire system is something we humans setup, and perpetuate. It's all our faults it has come to this.
The saddest thing about all of this is that less than 5% of the buying population actually wants a car that is safe, good for the environment, or gets great gas mileage. The other 95% think everyone else should own cars for these reasons, but not them.
If you have an abundance of self centered prima-donna's with delusions of grandeur on your payroll, the way to get rid of them is to make moves like this.
These are the employees who believe that you are honored to simply be in the same room with them, and should hang on every word they say.
These are the employees who are quick to criticize everybody else's work, management, the companies products, etc. but rarely offer workable solutions to any of the problems.
These are the employees who believe that the world revolves around their needs, that everything is all about them, and that that the whole world must change because they believe it should work the way they want it to.
These are the employees who whine and complain about a lack of a written "rules" document, but when assigned to write the document, tell you that it is not their job to write such standards, it is your failure as a manager to produce one.
There are the same employees who either grossly under estimate, or over estimate the time it takes to do something.
These are the employees who prattle on endlessly about the glorious accomplishments of a previous job, who have resume's that look like police blotters because they can't hold a job.
These are the same employees who believe that "The corporation OWES them something" or that the government "Needs to do something" or that "It should be declared illegal"
A lot of these folks are online, and give obvious clues to their delusions of self worth in every post they write.
If you force all of these folks into the same room, and force them to interact with each other, the herd will cull itself in a bloody, no holds barred political death match. These types of folks are generally extremely brave in cyberspace, and complete pussies when forced to deal with people face to face.
Don't believe me? Get a real executive to be completely honest with you about what they deal with on a daily basis, you'll see...
What happens time and time again, in state after state, is that money supposedly allocated for one thing becomes a vast gravy train for every greedy politician who needs cash to buy votes.
Case in point: Social Security. The Social Security fund has become a giant stack of I.O.U.'s and has no value.
A lot of people just don't understand that a lot of our national debt is money we owe to ourselves, because we robbed one program to pay for another. This is why it is a far worse problem that ignorant, low information voters realize.
So this new "tax" is just a way to get more money, to buy more votes, and acquire new power. IT HAS NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH THE ENVIRONMENT.
Google Docs - the MS office killer, remember? Open Office, the MS Office killer. Didn't happen.
People are still claiming this will happen, insisting that it will happen "soon". Isn't happening.
I won't be yet another poster who believes they know the future, or why this isn't happening. Call me "Master of the Obvious" if you must, but folks, it just isn't happening, nor will it happen anytime soon, because it hasn't happened in the past.
The reality is that if your job can be done cheaper elsewhere, it will be outsourced, as the cost of communications is near zero.
Not because corporations are evil, and hate people. Corporations represent an investment, and the goal of an investment is to return value to those who invested. If all of my competitors are using offshore labor, and I am using U.S. based labor, I won't have any customers because my prices will be higher. People with loudmouthed, emotional ideology, interestingly enough, want to pay the lowest price for the greatest value. If you don't believe me, take a drive by the local Wal-Mart. What people SAY and what they DO are not always in harmony. Punish these corporations, by forcing them to hire U.S. employees, and the global marketplace will simply move elsewhere.
Accept this reality or end up in the fast food or retail service industry. The case your making does not fit the numbers, and business is a numbers game.
It's a mentality, not a skill set. Either you take pride in your craft, and actually enjoy doing it, or you work hardest at being teflon, avoiding work, causing trouble, trying to manipulate people, or demonstrating the size of your precious ego to anyone who will listen. Those of us in your camp will never understand the majority in the other camp - nor will they understand us.
Your manager came from these ranks, s/he is a rare breed indeed.
My company is 100% virtual in the U.S., we only have physical offices offshore. This is the "new normal" in the Digital Interactive Space.
A lot of what you consume on the Internet is built all across the globe. It's not unusual to have the design done in the U.S., the animation in China, the Flash widgets in South America, the core logic in Eastern Europe, etc. You can't manage these projects working 8-5 -- you need to be online for a wide range of hours, and expect to have to get up at odd hours for meetings. You simply can't do this out of an office, and as a result most of the staff works from home.
It is a huge draw for new employees to be able to work from home, with zero commute costs, zero dress code costs, and the result is far less politics than you get in an office.
The rest of I.T. will catch up to this, sooner or later. With the cost of communication near zero, and a global work force, it is inevitable.
So the cooling trend over the last 20 years - is attributable to global warming.
The tree ring study released by nature - that indicates no global warming is concurring - is attributable to global warming.
Because, by golly, global warming is happening, and no amount of science to the contrary can be trusted.
Please try to understand the meaning of words like "science" before using them in sentence.
The mere fact that scientists are debating this topic is proof that it is not the same as the law of gravity...
You are correct, except for the fact that the environmental nazi's have effectively prevented any new reactors being built in the last 20 years, therefore ensuring that the current reactors age, and are more prone to failure.
It is clear you need to broaden your news horizon's beyond a limited subset of websites that agree with your worldview.
I have found that arguing with person's such as yourself is a complete waste of time, because when presented with any facts that contradict your opinion, you change the subject. I have lost several friends over this process. I suspect you're young, and passionate, and I do respect your right to believe anything you want.
Ping me in about 20 years and we'll talk.
120 million is a medicine dropper in the Ocean of Bribery that is the new government/educational complex.
The plain truth is that climate research has been all but destroyed by greed, as is clearly evidenced by the number of so called "scientific" studies coming out of both sides that later turn out to have falsified data, omitted data that didn't fit, and drawn conclusions based on what the funding folks wanted
What we have actually learned from the last twenty years of climate "science" is that money corrupts science in ways nobody expected, and if we didn't realize this already, whenever there is a lot of money involved, the most greedy reap the largest rewards at the expense of all of us. We've also learned that when you mix emotional rhetoric with science, plenty of people forget all about science completely (witness the comments here as absolute proof).
Follow the money trail...
Is Tax a Cost?
What do you think a company does when it's costs go up?
They are accountable to their shareholders to produce an acceptable rate of return to their stockholders.
They raise prices in order to maintain the same rate of return. If they don't, the shareholders put their money elsewhere. Bye Bye Jobs
You should expect a BUSINESS to everything it possibly can to maximize the rate of return to the investors who put up their money. In fact, you should DEMAND it.
Please, please leave your emotions at the door when you are talking business. Business is about the NUMBERS not the EMOTIONS. Some folks are greedy and evil. Some of these people have jobs and do greedy and evil things. In the long run, they do not prosper - because as a whole we don't like doing business with evil greedy people.
And while I am ranting... This whole idea that a large group of people called a "corporation" are evil, whereas a large group of people called "the government" is not, is so completely and utterly at odds with common sense it is beyond my comprehension. Government, by the way, is about BUYING VOTES - That's why they can't manage a budget. They have no reason to manage a budget. Their goal, unlike a Business, is buying your vote at the lowest possible cost.
Flame away I care not. Try thinking with your BRAIN and not your HEART.
The argument you are making is based on very carefully culled statistics. You're using the income tax rate ONLY not the total tax burden.
The other popular lie is that the income tax rate in earlier years was 90%. Yes, it was, But nobody paid that rate, because there were deductions (now called loopholes) a plenty and everybody took them. Technically it's not a lie, but practically it is.
I find this to be the most annoying propaganda trick employed by politicians, it used to be called "lying with statistics".
I can cherry pick any two values and prove anything I want. And if you repeat the lie, I have won. Better still if I can enrage you to calling the other guy a liar with my lie.
Let me give you a simple example. Where I live the politicians campaigned a few years back on not raising property taxes. Once elected, they immediately set about re-appraising all the properties in the district. Big surprise, all our appraised values went up. Way up. And as a result, the property tax due went up too.
Next election cycle, they all campaigned on the fact they had kept their promise, that property tax rates had not gone up one percent. Technically, this was a LIE. They raised taxes on all of us property owners. But all the non property owners bought it, hook line and sinker.
Don't be suckered into this. Government expenditures only have ONE purpose - to buy votes and acquire power. Clearly, Danaris, with all due respect, they bought yours at the lowest possible price, and you are spreading their propaganda free of charge, saving them money on advertising.
Surely you're not defending glaciergate... As that fantasy was completely debunked. Same as sensorgate, where NASA actually placed temperature sensors on rooftops next to HVAC units spewing heat. Same as polargate, where a few pictures were used to convince people things were much worse than they were. Same as polar-bear-gate, where we were lead to believe that less ice harms polar bears (actually, it helps them, and their numbers are increasing).
The plain truth is that climate science has been so totally corrupted by governments and greed that we know LESS about the climate now than we did 20 years ago.
That is the real crisis. Not AGW. The corruption of science, in the long run, that will do more harm to the human race than climate change. And unlike climate change, this crisis is actually happening, today, and nobody is doing much about it.
Being published - is more important than doing science. LYING to get published - now acceptable. FAKING DATA to get published - acceptable. Selectively choosing what to study... Deciding in advance what the results should be... Openly suppressing dissenting opinions instead of encouraging them... This is the real crisis, that receives almost no attention, because people not trained in science don't understand it. Unless one chooses to study the "right" kind of science, to produce the "desired" results, one gets no funding and has almost no chance of getting published. The result of this is that no real science is being done - at all. This kind of junk science, on both sides of the issue, is worse than propaganda.
When the temperatures study that faked the data - the so called "hockey stick" graph is believed by more people than later studies that showed different results (as it turned out no matter what data one put into the formula you always got a hockey stick) -- and instead of having an open, honest discussion about methodology we have two sides screaming at each other that the other side is stupid, ignorant, etc. we have collectively thrown the scientific method out the window. This is a path backwards for the entire human race, a giant leap back to the stone age.
Do you honestly believe that Sandy was handled better than Katrina? You must live far, far way from where Sandy hit.
It was handled worse.
The difference was the media coverage - that is the only difference.
It's a pointless argument you're having with people who are delusional anyway. Wall Street gave more money to Obama in 2008 than any campaign in history, and he appointed more Wall Street Bankers to his cabinet and other positions than any other President - EVER. All the while screaming about the evil of bankers. It is a lie. He's a politician. Enough said? Was there really an "imminent collapse"? We'll never know. But I am certain that the greed of political class far outweighs the greed of the banking class, and that when it comes to fabricating enemies, the political class is #1 hands down. It's never the political classes fault - they always give us someone else, or something else to blame. Every time. Republicans and Democrats.
Therefore, over the last 16 years, with increased burning, global temperatures should have risen. They did not. They stayed the same.
Try real science, not corrupted science fueled by greed. Real Science does not reach a consensus until the arguing stops. Science corrupted by greed declares that there is a consensus, please send money. BIG DIFFERENCE
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report from 2001:
"No significant acceleration in the rate of sea level rise during the 20th century has been detected."
And in 2007 the IPCC reported:
"Global average sea level rose at an average rate of 1.8 [1.3 to 2.3] mm per year over 1961 to 2003. The rate was faster over 1993 to 2003: about 3.1 [2.4 to 3.8] mm per year. Whether the faster rate for 1993 to 2003 reflects decadal variability or an increase in the longer-term trend is unclear."