Wednesday, 17 June 2009

It's hard to censor the internet...

...and the outrage on the streets in Iran is testimony to the power of accessible information. The hundreds of thousands who have taken to the streets in Iran communicate via Facebook and Twitter and are energised and mobilised by today's technology. If they are successful in bringing democracy to Iran it will be due to their laptops and mobile phones, and of course a more stable Iraq next door. And if a more stable Iraq leads to democracy and stability in Iran, the G W Bush phobics may have to swallow a little of their pride, and give credit where it's due...some hope...more too, at The Pacific Gatepost here...
...and from The Resilient Earth...Earth's climate system is amazingly complex and modeling is fraught with pitfalls and danger for even the most experienced computer scientists. No climate model predicted the current downturn in global temperatures, though many are now scrambling to predict possible decades of unchanging or cooling climate “within the general warming trend.” Still, climate science remains enthralled by its computerized playthings. I have to echo Professor Pielke's question, how many years of wrong results are necessary before we reject the IPCC reports and the models they are based on? ...more here...
...and from Roy Spencer PhD...it is interesting that the modern belief that our carbon emissions have caused the climate system to rebel are not that different from ancient civilizations that made sacrifices to the gods of nature in their attempts to get nature to cooperate. Technology might have changed over time, but it seems human nature has remained the same.


2 comments:

MathewK said...

If only the Iranians could count on hussein obama for some support ey. But alas, he's too busy trying to undo the freeing of their neighbors and attacking the man who had the balls to free them.

Ayrdale said...

The genie is out of the bottle in Iran, and what happens there in the next 6 months will be a real test for Obama.