You have indeed grasped the concept correctly Mr Tulley, this is where we have Facebook arguments from now on. Huzzah. And glad you like the site, surprisingly quick and simple to do I must say. Hats off to Blogger/Google.
Aye - the libertarian thing. Finally someone fucking noticed. It's been sat there blatantly taking the piss out of anyone who knows me/what libertarianism is for the last three years and you're the first person to comment. Initially I was just massively amused that the mad data-libertarian-freetards that created Facebook actually put it in as a default option in the setup. Couldn't resist - sorry. I can probably change it now though...
As for bow-ties, fuck 'em. Too fiddly and worn exclusively by madmen. Personally I favour the cravat, smart enough for almost any occasion and yet casual enough to allow an open neck shirt. A perfect male grooming solution for the 21st century, it should never be overlooked. Touch of the Beau Brummells about it n'aw, which I just can't fault.
I would launch into a bit of a diatribe now, but it's my birthday, and I have fun stuff to do instead of arguing with you pair. However, let me briefly sum up my point of view on this climate thing.
There seems to be a conflation in your argument Tony, of climate science itself, and the structure and implementation of climate change policy by various world bodies, which I take to be flawed logic. The two aren't causally linked by any stretch, and I find it difficult to believe that policy makers have backwards-engineered that amount of data and scientists to (moreorless) universally back up the climate change thesis. Firstly, why would they bother, they don't need the almost complete level of scientific support climate change currently has in order to do what they please, and secondly it would be extraordinarily time consuming, expensive and difficult.
I don't buy the argument that UN-related funding totally dictates scientific research throughout the world either. You just need to look at the amount of research and tech that is open sourced every day to see that money is not the only motive for the scientific/technological communities. The entire concept of the web was gifted to humanity by Tim Berners-Lee, and runs almost exclusively on servers powered by Linux, a system developed for free by millions of developers around the world over the last 20+ years. Lots of incredibly successful and talented people and organisations are intensely altruistic, and whilst you're right that major funding bodies do dictate what types of research are easy to fund/profitable, there are so many counter-vailing organisations that are willing and motivated to fund contradictory research (not least the oil companies) that it acts as a fairly complete system of checks and balances.
Which reminds me - interesting that a number of the folk at the heart of climate change denial community have previous careers in the tobacco industry, lobbying and working on opposing research. I guess there are transferable skills. (An amusing movie by the way, vaguely related: 'Thank You For Smoking')
None of which has any direct bearing on the climate-related policies of the UN and worldwide goverments. These decisions are made by politicians and civil servants, not scientists. They don't understand the science completely, and the science isn't perfect anyway. They have all sorts of other agendas, they're busy, they're confused, they make mistakes. Some of them are corrupt, inept or incompetent.
To get Weberian for a minute (and I think everyone should from time to time...) climate change is formally rational science, largely uninfluenced (thanks to the system of checks and balances mentioned above) by individual interests as it has been reached and proven collectively, to a fairly high level of significance/doubt. Climate change policy on the other hand is a substantively rational decision reached by a fairly small group of people, and structured within the existing aims/beliefs/constrictions of the UN/whoever, which sometimes uses the formal rational principles of science to inform it to a degree, and back it up where it fits/required, but certainly doesn't require it.
Basically, you can disagree with every single policy implemented to 'deal with climate change' without having to deny that man made climate change is a scientific fact.
On a side note, denying the scientific basis of climate change isn't just hard work intellectually speaking, it also puts you in a minority populated by arch neo con loons like Chris Monckton, Nigel Lawson, Martin Durkin, half of Fox News and the likes of Glen Beck fer chrissake.
But you know, I could be wrong. Show me some evidence that people aren't contributing to global climate change, and/or that climate change isn't going to be a problem, and I'll have a read. I like to keep an open mind about these things ;)
What do you know - a bit of a diatribe. I best fuck off and doing something more productive instead...
Happy Birthday Scobes !
ReplyDeleteHope you had a thoroughly pleasant day, and that the 'something more productive' you mention included hefty doses of jovial revelry.
Glad you're not a libertarian, didn't think you would be, it is the preferred philosophy of over educated Ayn Rand worshipping date rapists. Unless you were describing yourself as a libertarian socialist or libertarian communist, terms that I would have self applied back in my murky teenage past - not my current way of looking at things but at least acceptable viewpoints. I miss being an anarchist. And being a Vegan. There is something deeply comforting in the feeling that you are at war with the world.
I'm with you on cravats, in fact I'm looking to get one to get married in - never really liked ties, I've always associated them with school, job interviews and church occasions. Bow ties are officially fancy dress for upper class buffoons.
Interesting what you say about the climate change lobby being ex tobacco industry goons, here in Western Australia, the new boss of Rio Tinto the giant mining company is a former chairman of BAT. Looks like the transferable skills also include the ability to effectively convince aboriginal people that huge open cast uranium mines are what the spirits of the land would have wanted.The mining industry here are the worst kind of scum by the way, proper pigs. When they aren't cheating aboriginals out of their own land they're refusing to pay tax and funding TV adverts which characterise trade unions as evil communists.
Anyway, I need to go and (ironically) take my kid to get the flu vaccine, a miracle of modern science. If she develops any sort of horrible after effects I will consider myself telt.
efters
Cheers for the birthday greets, not sure why I didn't get any sort of notification about it, still working on that, despite now being a 'follower' of this blog.
ReplyDeleteBirthday activities were without question productive, and also highly intoxicating. My kind of evening.
Rio Tinto are without question an almighty bunch of cunts. A Great British company at its absolute finest. It was them that caused that 10 year blockade of Bougainville back in the 90s. Aye go on - bring the entire force of the Australian army and navy to bear on a bunch of coconut farmers why don't you. A sledgehammer to crack a (coco)nut which actually ended up whipping back in their faces knocking out several teeth in the process. Incompetent fucks, should have sent the SAS in: get some Weegies to sort it proper.
Hope Ariella is happy and healthy after her jabs, love to the missus n aw that.
Peas.
PS fuck Ayn Rand by the way. Right up Tony's street though I reckon ;)
"Yes, at first I was happy to be learning how to read. It seemed exciting and magical. But, then, I read this: Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. I read every last word of this garbage, and because of this piece of (expletive deleted), I will never read again!"
- Officer Barbrady, South Park PD