| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Black Elk" |
| Date: |
04 Feb 2006 03:51:29 PM |
| Object: |
The filtering of scientific data by the Bush cabal. |
The 14 Points of Fascism
6.) Controlled Mass Media: Sometimes the media is directly controlled by
the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by
government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives.
Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm
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Muffled warnings on global warming
By Derrick Z. Jackson | February 4, 2006
THE BURNING issue was the thin ice encrusted on the boulders. The rocks were
half-submerged in a small stream at the foot of the White Mountains in
Maine. Ribbons of water swirled around them, propelled by two days of
nonstop rain.
That was the first problem. It was mid-January. In northern New England, the
rain usually would have been a foot of snow. The boulders would have been
smothered into giant marshmallows. This aberration was amplified by the
seductive warmth in Boston. For the first time in about a quarter century of
Januarys, I jogged around the Charles River on consecutive weekends in
shorts. The only true blast of winter I have felt this season was with my
Scouts, snowshoeing in the White Mountains to 2,700 feet.
The coup de ice came at the end of January when NASA's chief climate
scientist, James Hansen, said Bush administration minions were muffling his
warnings on global warming. Hansen said officials at the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration in recent months have canceled or
rejected interview requests for him and appointed monitors for approved
interviews. He reportedly was ordered last fall to remove preliminary
information from the Internet that said last year might be the warmest year
on record. Last week, NASA announced that 2005 was indeed the warmest on
record.
''In my three decades in government, I've never seen control of
communications to the public so constrained," Hansen said over the phone
this week. ''Communications from government scientists have never been so
constrained."
Hansen, 63, said NASA, which denies any censorship, seemed particularly
petrified by a December speech he gave in San Francisco before other earth
and space scientists. He said of the nation's stonewalling on climate
change, ''It seems to me that special interests have been a roadblock
wielding undue influence over policymakers. The special interests seek to
maintain short-term profits with little regard to either the long-term
impact on the planet that will be inherited by our children and
grandchildren or the long-term economic well-being of our country."
Hansen said ''business as usual" will lead to a ''different planet." The
temperature will rise about 5 degrees Fahrenheit over this century to a
warmth not seen for 3 million years, a time when sea levels were eight
stories higher than today. The human-induced melting of polar ice could
bring those eight stories of water back in mere centuries, not a more
natural timing of many thousands of years.
Hansen said we can beat the tipping point for runaway change if the United
States leads global efforts to limit or eliminate greenhouse gases and
pollutants. There is no margin for business as usual. ''We can't afford to
wait another 10 years," he said.
It appears we will lose more time. In his State of the Union address, Bush
said, ''America is addicted to oil," but did not mention the top first step
environmentalists and scientists say the United States must take to fight
global warming -- higher fuel efficiency for cars. He said he wanted to
support more math and science for schoolchildren and more research in the
physical sciences.
But if his minions ignore and stifle the best scientists we have today,
there is no point.
In the early days of the Bush administration, Hansen's credentials earned
him two invitations to address Vice President ***** Cheney's secretive,
industry-packed energy task force. He spoke two years ago to US auto
executives at ExxonMobil headquarters.
The White House went on to urge energy drilling at all costs. Auto execs
rebuffed Hansen on fuel efficiency by saying they only give consumers what
they want. ''After the meeting, I watched TV and saw all these ads, with
cars on top of mountain peaks and fantastic vistas of the American West,"
Hansen said. ''It's like the cigarette ads that use sex to sell. All the
average person does with an SUV is commute to work or the store. They're
creating a market they claim the public is demanding."
Listening to Hansen, it was clear he will continue to speak out for science
despite the special interests. He said the last time he checked, democracy
only works when the public is well informed. ''For instance, they're using
the economy as the reason not to consider taking action," Hansen said.
''I've been chastised for being a scientist saying we are damaging the
economy in the long run. But you need to look at the broad problem. I think
I'm free to do so and free to have my opinion."
The melting polar ice and the thin ice cap on the river boulder in Maine
wait for America to listen to the right opinion. The ice cube is the new
canary warning of doom. If we do not listen, it will melt in one place, and
drown us in another.
http://tinyurl.com/dynbn
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/02/04/muffled_warnings_on_global_warming/?page=full
--
"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the
country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag
the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a
parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can
always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have
to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for
lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
-- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials
http://www.snopes.com/quotes/goering.htm
--
The fair use of a copyrighted work:
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
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| User: "spinning" |
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| Title: Re: The filtering of scientific data by the Bush cabal. |
04 Feb 2006 07:28:42 PM |
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"...You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows" - Bob
Dylan
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| User: "spinning" |
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| Title: Re: The filtering of scientific data by the Bush cabal. |
04 Feb 2006 08:40:39 PM |
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I find it interesting that often when someone talks about global
warming, they make a point of blaming someone for causing the problem.
The issue that I think is more important is, how we should respond to
the problem? In the end, I believe the judgement on this matter will
carry much more weight. Doesn't the word "responsible" mean to do the
right thing regardless of the cause of the problem?
People drive SUV's because they feel safe and in control. It's
sometimes called "reptilianism" which I guess is derived from reptile
like behavior. The advertisers know this psychology, that's why SUV
ads have rock music and aggressive themes. When fear tactics are used
to get inside people's heads, it encourages people to act this way.
Now people buy SUVs because they're afraid that other people driving
SUVs will take advantage and run them off the road. There are now ads
for SUVs based on this power struggle theme. In one of these ads, one
woman says to another something like: 'back off, I'm older and I have
more insurance.' The themes are sometimes subtle but always rampant.
It's unfortunate that these techniques are exploited for the purpose of
pushing excessive consumer spending. Maybe if people more valued
education, wisdom and prosperity, then they could more easily read
between the lines, and make better choices, and maybe they wouldn't be
so easily duped by organized groups.
It would be nice if the public could always be well informed, but if
citizens depend on someone else to provide the facts, then this only
encourages bias and corruption. It's far too easy to spread propaganda
and misinformation, that's why we need free speech, checks and
balances, multiple branches of government amongst which to distribute
the power. Power tends to corrupt people, so the safest policy is for
everyone to watch everyone else with the authority to keep them honest.
The two party system works when it is balanced; however, when either
party gains a large majority, especially a majority across multiple
branches of government, then it's a recipe for corruption and
international disaster.
Democracy works because it gives citizens freedom of all kinds, and
thus the opportunity to search for their own truths and act in their
own best interests. As soon as one group gains more power, freedom, or
rights, over another group, then it's no longer a democracy. Churchill
said: "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the
others".
BTW, Goering's quote is particularly chilling, and eerily truthful.
Be careful of the fear you put into people, because what goes around,
comes around.
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