Micky's Muses...from the Antipodes: Denis Dutton 1944-2010

Thursday, 30 December 2010

Denis Dutton 1944-2010

One of this country's favourite adopted sons, Denis died aged 66, shortly after Christmas.

All those who knew, worked and rubbed shoulders with Denis knew him as a lively, entertaining and passionate man, who cared deeply for the truth. (His masthead motto on his website Arts and Letters Daily is Veritas Odit Moras - truth hates delay). Aldaily.com shot Denis to worldwide fame, and has been recognised year after year as an indispensable internet resource. According to the NY Times... "As one of the first people to recognize the power of the Web to facilitate intellectual discourse, Professor Dutton was hailed as being among “the most influential media personalities in the world,” as Time magazine described him in 2005"

Denis had a wide range on interests; philosophy, art, politics and music, with firm convictions and knowledge to defend his preferences and biases. One of his pleasures was to shine the spotlight on the hypocrisy of the green political movement - and when media sycophancy towards the greens wanes, Denis will be seen as one of the foremost torch bearers for truth. Denis and I had a hero and a reference book in common: Julian Simon "The Ultimate Resource".

I knew Denis via my membership of ACT and the Sceptics Society, and it was my very great pleasure to find appropriate articles for Climate Debate Daily (sister site to Arts and Letters Daily) and see them appear - on what has become an influential site in the pivotal battle against green leftists...

Denis will be sorely missed by truthseekers worldwide.

Kia ora, tena koe mate.

A report on Denis' funeral from The Christchurch Press here...

2 comments:

Melonie said...: Sorry to hear such a wonderful man has passed on.; 31 December 2010 at 9:30 am
Ayrdale said...: He's a great loss Melanie, but don't forget, those of us who think like Denis are extreme right wingers, flat earthers, deniers, kooks and fascists...; 1 January 2011 at 9:14 am

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"HIDE THE DECLINE..."

"I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd (sic) from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline." (From: Prof. Phil Jones, C.R.U.16 Nov. 1999) See also The Hockeyschtick...and... From a letter to the UK Economist...SIR, You proclaimed that a scientist’s effort to “hide the decline” was “not sinister”... What is it, then, when a scientist formulates a hypothesis that growth patterns follow temperature, and tests the hypothesis against data only to find that growth patterns do not follow temperature at all for 30% of the data and only partially for the rest? Do you then conclude, as would any sane person, that your hypothesis is not valid? Or do you instead take the road followed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and conclude that data which undermine your favoured hypothesis are not valid, and throw out the data? If this is “not sinister”, then it is flabbergastingly stupid. R.B. Gothenburg, Sweden

Why this blog? ...because the greens and others say the science of "global warming" is settled....

...and, as Bertrand Russell observed; "Much of what passes as idealism is disguised hatred or disguised love of power." Or, as H.L.Mencken wrote "The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it."

Prior to the collapse of communism I belonged to the NZ branch of Solidarity. I also started a local group to SAVE ANZUS from the depredations of the 1980's so called "peace movement". I have been aware since those days that fear, outright lies and overstatement always been the green/red weapons of choice. "Climatastrophe" and the economic bill that goes with it looks like another huge hoax, primarily designed to achieve global socialism. Note that so-called "green" groups are now openly acknowledging their red agenda...“A climate change response must have at its heart a redistribution of wealth and resources." Emma Brindal, “Climate Justice campaign coordinator” for Friends of the Earth

Because of the ongoing scientific uncertainty still surrounding the global warming issue, and because of the strident involvement of the discredited and hypocritical green political movement, it seems imperative to consider all dissenting opinions and get more involved in the debate.
Many, many people are now doing exactly that, and with one voice are challenging the science of dangerous and cataclysmic man made global warming and the colossal and economically crippling "repair" bill . From emeritus Professor Philip Stott :“‘Global warming’ has become the grand political narrative of the age, replacing Marxism as a dominant force for controlling liberty and human choices...See also The Oregon Petition , The Manhattan Declaration ...and see The Green Agenda here...

Keep the debate alive !

The Green Church and fear tactics...

"The common enemy of humanity is man.In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. All these dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is only through changed attitudes and behavior that they can be overcome.The real enemy then, is humanity itself." Club of Rome

"We need to get some broad based support, to capture the public imagination,we have to offer up some scary scenarios,make simplified dramatic statements and little mention of any doubts one might have.Each of us has to decide the right balance between being effective,and being honest."

Leading catastrophist, Dr Stephen Schneider ("Discover" Magagzine, Oct 1989)...

“I believe it is appropriate to have an over-representation of factual presentations on how dangerous it is.” Al Gore...

"Unless we announce disasters, no-one will listen to us..." Sir John Houghton, first chairman of the IPCC...although, for an up to date comment from the good Sir John, see this...

We hold these truths to be self evident...

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

Abraham Lincoln

The questions of the day...

"How could an increase in a minor trace gas that is a 0.00038 (380 parts per million) part of the atmosphere, to, say, 0 .00048 (480 ppm. ) part of the atmosphere, cause runaway global warming?
Given that there is no obvious correlation between atmospheric CO2 and planetary temperature over the last 600 million years. And why would such relatively tiny amounts suddenly become a critical factor now?"
note that...The carbon dioxide levels on Earth have risen from approximately 0.028% to 0.036% in the last few decades...Earth in its early history, 385 million years ago, had an atmosphere with 10 times the present carbon dioxide levels. Those elevated levels did not produce runaway global warming then, so why should we theorize that it would today?”
Take your best shots...
Having trouble making up your mind?
Tip... consult the FatBigot ...
...then have a look at WattsupWithThat...

Why this blog...cont...

The idea that human beings have changed and are changing the basic climate system of the Earth through their industrial activities and burning of fossil fuels—the essence of the Greens’ theory of global warming—has about as much basis in science as Marxism and Freudianism. Global warming, like Marxism, is a political theory of actions, demanding compliance with its rules. These are proof—of which history offers so many examples—that people can be suckers on a grand scale. To their fanatical followers they are a substitute for religion. Global warming, in particular, is a creed, a faith, a dogma that has little to do with science. If people are in need of religion, why don’t they just turn to the genuine article?
—Paul Johnson See more here...

The demise of the greens...

...when apocalyptic global warming is finally discredited, its collapse will mean the loss of professional standing for thousands of individuals and institutions.
Such discrediting will come about when fears of dangerous climate change abate. Such fears are fragile, as slight global warming if it indeed occurs, would be positive for humanity rather than negative. The collapse of the fear of climate change will also signal the final demise of the green church and its marxist underpinning. It is difficult to see how green/left wing causes could ever regain credibility and popular support within the developed world after such rebuttal.
Al Gore likes to say that mankind puts 70 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every day. What he probably doesn't know is that mother nature puts 24,000 times that amount of our main greenhouse gas -- water vapor -- into the atmosphere every day, and removes about the same amount every day. While this does not 'prove' that global warming is not manmade, it shows that weather systems have by far the greatest control over the Earth's greenhouse effect, which is dominated by water vapor and clouds... Roy Spencer...

This is a very high stakes game, and serious attempts will be made to strangle dissent, particularly within the blogosphere...cometh the hour, cometh the technology. The emergence of the internet and the subsequent empowerment of the international electorate will be seen in years to come as a significant expression of free will and a mass protest against state control...
A prediction ? much, much more hysteria, a stepped up more strident fear campaign, slogans like "the world's" (ie, socialism's) last chance" ...but... after climate change reappraisal; an unholy alliance between the marxists of the so-called peace movement of the 70's and 80's with radical Islam...

On freedom...

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
Ronald Reagan 40th president of US (1911 - 2004).
"The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed."Adolf Hitler.
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. Sir Winston Churchill.

A brief history of climate change scare stories...

“Fascism is a religion of the state... It is totalitarian in that it views everything as political and holds that any action by the state is justified to achieve the common good. It takes responsibility for all aspects of life, including our health and well-being, and seeks to impose uniformity of thought and action, whether by force or through regulation and social pressure. Everything, including the economy and religion, must be aligned with its objectives. Any rival identity is part of the ‘problem’ and therefore defined as the enemy...contemporary American liberalism embodies all of these aspects...”

...green nihilism cont...

"...The only underlying theme that makes sense of all Greenie policies is hatred of people. Hatred of other people has been a Greenie theme from way back. In a report titled "The First Global Revolution" (1991, p. 104) published by the "Club of Rome", a Greenie panic outfit, we find the following statement: "In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill.... All these dangers are caused by human intervention... The real enemy, then, is humanity itself." Greenie Watch

Lest we forget...

It is the VETERAN , not the preacher,
Who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN , not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the VETERAN , not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the VETERAN , not the campus organizer,
Who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN , not the lawyer,
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN , not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the VETERAN ,
Who salutes the Flag,
It is the VETERAN ,
Who serves under the Flag,
ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.
We can be very proud of our men and women in the armed forces, past and present...
God Bless them all.