# A swindle of global proportions, starring IBD, George Will, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 13, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612 "2009-10-13T02:22:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/1 "2009-10-13T02:22:42Z")
Well, the detailed swindle is long to tell, but you can get the summary by watching this video showing the stinky liars in action: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/khikoh3sJg8/maxresdefault.jpg "Birth of a Climate Crock") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khikoh3sJg8) > [@](#): > > “The observation that natural climate variability exists is not a new one. > > Early in September 2009, at a gathering of experts on global climate, one of the world’s most respected and experienced climate modelers, Mojib Latif, made some observations on climate, media and human nature. > > (Mojib Latif point that variation is normal, but not enough to eliminate the decadal warming trend.) > > The message seemed clear. Natural variations in the long term warming might be misinterpreted by the media. Out of ignorance, or malice. > > Climate deniers were quick to take Latif’s remarks, and begin doing exactly that.” Even if there could be doubts with some of the global warming research, lying to discredit the most up to date science is outside any agreed standards of decency. Like the maker of the video mentions, we have to shine a light on those liars and keep telling the truth. Now, for the ones that want to read how far outfits like FOX are willing to go to distort science: [http://www.desmogblog.com/about-climate-cover](http://www.desmogblog.com/about-climate-cover) > [@](#): > > Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy. There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness. > Although all public relations professionals are bound by a duty to not knowingly mislead the public, some have executed comprehensive campaigns of misinformation on behalf of industry clients on issues ranging from tobacco and asbestos to seat belts. Lately, these fringe players have turned their efforts to creating confusion about climate change. This PR campaign could not be accomplished without the compliance of media as well as the assent and participation of leaders in government and business. **Anatomy of a lie: How Marc Morano and Lorne Gunter spun Mojib Latif’s remarks out of control.** > **[Anatomy of a lie: How Marc Morano and Lorne Gunter spun Mojib Latif’s remarks...](https://deepclimate.org/2009/10/02/anatomy-of-a-lie-how-morano-and-gunter-spun-latif-out-of-contro/)** > > The blogosphere has been atwitter over the latest supposed defection of a climate scientist to the dark side. Once again, the contrarians have been egged on by a well-timed fabrication from Marc Mo… Is this supposed to be news, opinion or entertainment? Distorting information and lying to make people to continue giving support to politicians that will continue with the distortions and the lies? Investors’ Business Daily, the same rag that injected racism into the health care discussion and has been demonstrated to be wrong in other occasions (A fool and his money are soon parted they say, and it is clear that many fans of IBD are) passed the bit to “I’ll never learn to dismiss right wing sources that lie to me” George Will. > **[Anatomy of a lie, part 2: Gunter to IBD to Will](https://deepclimate.org/2009/10/02/anatomy-of-a-lie-part-2-gunter-ibd-will/)** > > Yesterday I documented the sorry sequence of events resulting in  widespread distortion of Kiel University professor Mojib Latif’s remarks at the recent World Climate Conference. There I focu… > [@](#): > > **Anatomy of a lie, part 2: Gunter to IBD to Will** > > In the mean time, George Will, has also weighed in on the so-called predictions of global cooling, as discussed here by Joe Romm. Will, who apparently has read the same number of scientific papers as Gunter (i.e. zero), apparently got some key “information” from an editorial in Investors’ Business Daily (IBD). And guess who was the major source for IBD … > > Here, once again, are key passages from Lorne Gunter: > > ``` > “Latif is one of the leading climate modellers in the world. He is the recipient of several international climate-study prizes and a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He has contributed significantly to the IPCC’s last two five-year reports that have stated unequivocally that man-made greenhouse emissions are causing the planet to warm dangerously. > > Yet last week in Geneva, at the UN’s World Climate Conference–an annual gathering of the so-called “scientific consensus” on man-made climate change –Latif conceded the Earth has not warmed for nearly a decade and that we are likely entering “one or even two decades during which temperatures cool.”” > > ``` > > Now here’s the corresponding excerpt from the IBD editorial at [Investors.com](http://Investors.com): > > ``` > “In a speech last week at the U.N.’s World Climate Conference in Geneva, Professor Mojib Latif of Germany’s Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at Kiel University, one of the world’s foremost climate modelers and a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change acknowledged that the Earth has been cooling and is likely to continue that trend for the next couple of decades.” > > ``` > > It looks like someone’s been taking lessons from the EPA’s Alan Carlin, although they’ve made at least a desultory effort to cover their tracks! > > Note that IBD, refers to a “speech” (actually it was a presentation) held “last week”. But in fact, Latif’s presentation was on September 1, a full three weeks before the editorial appeared on September 22. So, obviously IBD just copied Gunter (either directly or via one of many reposts) without bothering to check the actual date. > > More substantially, the IBD simply parroted Gunter’s claim that Latif had “acknowledged” (”conceded”) past cooling and that this trend was “likely” to continue for up to two decades. (In fact, IBD goes even further, referring to a likely continuing trend “for the next couple of decades”). As I pointed out previously, Latif never made either assertion. > > Not that any of that matters to the likes of George Will, who said, pointing to the IBD editorial: > > ``` > “Actually, Latif has said he anticipates “maybe even two” decades in which temperatures cool.” > > ``` And from there it is passed to FOX news and liars like Hannity and Beck. [http://mediamatters.org/research/200909240021](http://mediamatters.org/research/200909240021) > [@](#): > > Beck, Hannity falsely suggested Latif’s presentation damages case for action against climate change > > Beck: “[O]ne of the leading guys for the IPCC” has "just backed out and said, ‘I was wrong.’ " On his radio show, Beck falsely asserted that “the biggest guy they had to the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] has just backed out and said, ‘I was wrong.’ … This is the leading climate modeling guy for the IPCC.” Beck further claimed that Latif "has backed out now and said, ‘We were wrong. We’re going into 30 years of cooling right now.’ " Contributing editor Pat Gray added: “[H]e says that he’s conceded that the Earth has not warmed for nearly a decade and that we are likely entering one or even two decades or more during which temperatures cool. I mean – and then you couple that with the sunspot report that you were just talking about, and it’s madness what they’re trying to shove down our throats.” Gray concluded: “And so, they know there’s very little time and they’ve got this Copenhagen thing coming up, and they thought they’d have it all wrapped up by now.” [Premiere Radio Networks’ The Glenn Beck Program, 9/22/09] > > Hannity: Ally in “global warming hysterical movement” “pulled the rug out.” On his radio program, Hannity stated that “one of Al Gore’s most prominent allies in this global warming hysterical movement has just pulled off – pulled the rug out from the former vice president and now says the world more likely faces decades of global cooling.” Citing Latif’s World Climate Conference presentation, Hannity said Latif “argued that the Earth has not warmed for nearly a decade, and that we are likely entering one or even two decades during which temperatures actually cool.” Hannity later added: “The science is not unchallenged; it is challenged. And even leading environmental extremists that have been, you know – you know, sending out these dire warnings, they’re now contradicting themselves.” [Premiere Radio Networks’ and ABC Radio Networks’ The Sean Hannity Show, 9/22/09] > Latif: There are “fluctuations” within years and decades, but clear “long-term warming trend” is “manmade” > > Presentation addressed “decadal variability,” noting “we all believe that this long-term warming trend … is manmade.” Latif opened his presentation by stating: “What you see here is just the globally averaged temperature during the 20th century. And you can clearly identify the long-term warming trend, and we all believe that this long-term warming trend is anthropogenic in nature, is manmade. However, you see also a lot of fluctuations superimposed on this trend, interannual, as Tim has pointed out, but also decadal scale variations.” Latif went on to discuss the “mechanisms” of decadal variability and the potential for predicting climate at the decadal timescale. [UN World Climate Conference – 3, 8/31/09] > > Latif chart suggests temperatures are “cooling” in the short term, but that these temperatures are still indicative of a long-term warming trend. Additionally, the chart, shows the “cooling” period as coming following the hottest decade on record last century. > > From Latif’s World Climate Conference PowerPoint presentation: > > Latif: “It may well happen that you enter a decade, or maybe even two … when the temperature cools … relative to the present level.” Latif stated that due to natural climate variability over the decade-long timescale, “it may well happen that you enter a decade, or maybe even two, you know, when the temperature cools, all right, relative to the present level.” Latif added: “And then, you know, I know what’s going to happen. You know, I will get, you know, millions of phone calls, you know – ‘What’s going on?’ ‘So is global warming disappearing, you know?’ ‘Have you lied on us, you know?’ So, and, therefore, this is the reason why we need to address this decadal prediction issue.” [UN World Climate Conference – 3, 8/31/09] > > Latif: Media mistakenly think of global warming as “a monotonic process,” in which “each year is warmer than the preceding year.” During his presentation, Latif stated: “All right, so, first point: Why decadal prediction? Now, people who know me, at least my German colleagues, know that I do a lot of media work, OK. There is almost no day in the year when I’m not called by some media person, OK. And so, they basically think about global warming as a kind of slowly evolving process and a monotonic process, OK – so each year is warmer than the preceding year.” He added: “However, we all know there is variability.” [UN World Climate Conference – 3, 8/31/09] Well, not all know, but it is becoming silly to say that those guys distorting the science are just ignorant after all this time and when corrections are available. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/2 "2009-10-13T02:44:02Z")
Well, that’s a mighty long post to get to the punch line, but all I can say is, anyone who would ever take the word of Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity as accurate reporting on a scientific subject, without doing some fact checking, is a first-rank fool. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/3 "2009-10-13T03:07:09Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Well, that’s a mighty long post to get to the punch line, but all I can say is, anyone who would ever take the word of Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity as accurate reporting on a scientific subject, without doing some fact checking, is a first-rank fool. Well, I warned you. 🙂 The sad thing is that there are dopers that have supported all of those guys in recent discussions. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/4 "2009-10-13T03:08:42Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Well, that’s a mighty long post to get to the punch line, but all I can say is, anyone who would ever take the word of Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity as accurate reporting on a scientific subject, without doing some fact checking, is a first-rank fool. As far as I can tell, George Will can be added to that list. And, while I don’t know much about the IBD, any magazine that allows the assertion that Stephen Hawking wouldn’t be alive if he grew up in the UK into print obviously has serious issues with their fact-checking. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/5 "2009-10-13T03:26:41Z")
I’m not seeing the problem – and I watched the entire video. He clearly said the things Beck/Hannity/that English guy said he did. Just because your so-called “scientist” has one interpretation doesn’t mean it’s the correct one. And wait a second … who said your guy was a “scientist”? Where are his degrees from? Who paid for them? Does _he_ have millions of fans watching him? Listening to him? Reading his books? I didn’t think so. Like I said, the _news_ commentator’s analysis was accurate. Sure, they may have paraphrased a little, and sure the words they did quote may not have been in _quite_ the same order when first spoken by Dr. Chicken Little, but that’s just journalistic license. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/6 "2009-10-13T03:36:20Z")
I’m going to bump this one over the fence from The BBQ Pit to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. **Gfactor** Pit Moderator ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/7 "2009-10-13T03:36:25Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I’m not seeing the problem – and I watched the entire video. > > He clearly said the things Beck/Hannity/that English guy said he did. Where? Where did he said that “\*\*he \*\*was wrong?” like beck said? > [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Just because your so-called “scientist” has one interpretation doesn’t mean it’s the correct one. That is only part of the point, this is to demonstrate FOX and others are stinky liars. > [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > And wait a second … who said your guy was a “scientist”? Where are his degrees from? Who paid for them? Does _he_ have millions of fans watching him? Listening to him? Reading his books? I didn’t think so. So you did skip the rest huh? It is the climate researcher who you have a beef, not the messengers telling you that FOX and others are distorting what the climate researcher said. > [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Like I said, the _news_ commentator’s analysis was accurate. No. > [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Sure, they may have paraphrased a little, and sure the words they did quote may not have been in _quite_ the same order when first spoken by Dr. Chicken Little, but that’s just journalistic license. Bullshit. You know why they use that peculiar “journalistic license” to mislead their viewers and readers. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/8 "2009-10-13T03:40:09Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > I’m going to bump this one over the fence from The BBQ Pit to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. > > **Gfactor** > Pit Moderator I have to say that I’m confused, to me people who lie and claim that they are “just reporting” is not a mundane thing, it is a pitiable thing. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/9 "2009-10-13T03:45:36Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > I have to say that I’m confused, to me people who lie and claim that they are “just reporting” is not a mundane thing, it is a pitiable thing. And a bit wooshable too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/10 "2009-10-13T03:51:03Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > And a bit wooshable too. 😃 Ah, well, sorry about that. In any case the BS line was made when I thought I was still in the pit. I guess I should had put down that in the near future the denial machine is going to kick into high gear, the BS will come fast and furious regarding the climate bills in the American congress. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/11 "2009-10-13T03:52:15Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I’m not seeing the problem – and I watched the entire video. > > He clearly said the things Beck/Hannity/that English guy said he did. > > Just because your so-called “scientist” has one interpretation doesn’t mean it’s the correct one. > > And wait a second … who said your guy was a “scientist”? Where are his degrees from? Who paid for them? Does _he_ have millions of fans watching him? Listening to him? Reading his books? I didn’t think so. > > Like I said, the _news_ commentator’s analysis was accurate. Sure, they may have paraphrased a little, and sure the words they did quote may not have been in _quite_ the same order when first spoken by Dr. Chicken Little, but that’s just journalistic license. It’s a lie by omission. They omit that the guy still thinks that temperatures are rising, which is crucial to understanding his point. The first guy was okay, in that he pointed out that it was merely his opinion that global warming was falling apart as new data was added. But the others, while still using some of the guys words, made it sound like the scientist had a completely different conclusion: that global warming had stopped. Also, word of advice: Don’t impugn a guy’s credentials just because you don’t know them. You have the ability to look them up just as much as we do, and if one of us looks it up and finds that you are wrong, it appears that you wanted another argument, couldn’t find one, and, thus made up one based on your lack of knowledge. And since when does having fans have anything to do with being a scientist? ETA: I do not understand what has been whooshed. If the guy I’m responding to isn’t serious, my responses still apply to inevitable person who will be. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/12 "2009-10-13T03:56:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > ETA: I do not understand what has been whooshed. Well, it seems \*\*Rhythmdvl \*\*was trying to be sarcastic. But deniers are so out there that whooshing attempts regarding this subject are easy (hard?) to do. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/13 "2009-10-13T04:00:00Z")
**Rhythmdvl** , that was just TOO close to a genuine climate-denier argument! You had bluster, scare quotes, an insult, and a change of subject. A very low-flying whoosh- parted my hair. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/14 "2009-10-13T04:05:51Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Well, it seems \*\*Rhythmdvl \*\*was trying to be sarcastic. But deniers are so out there that whooshing attempts regarding this subject are easy (hard?) to do. My apologies for this! I wasn’t trying to Gotcha Ya-whoosh anyone, I really thought I was going over the top enough (i.e., quoted words out of order) such that it was obvious I was mocking the average Beckhead. FTR, I’ve been academically and professionally involved in CC policy issues since the late nineties. From running an exhibit in Smithsonian Nat Hist to obscure policy briefs, I’ve faced the worst the API et al can muster, so perhaps my sensitivities have been a bit numbed. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/15 "2009-10-13T04:49:46Z")
How exactly do you pronounce Mojib? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/16 "2009-10-13T07:14:03Z")
> [@Michael\_Ellis](#): > > How exactly do you pronounce Mojib? The default for pronouncing foreign words in roman characters is that: o - Rhymes with bow i - Rhymes with flee u - Rhymes with you a - Rhymes with paw e - Rhymes with bay ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-swindle-of-global-proportions-starring-ibd-george-will-sean-hannity-and-glenn-beck/513612/17 "2009-10-14T18:09:41Z")
He’s Pakistani, so it would be _moh-jeeb._ ETA: Which fits in perfectly with \*\*Sage Rat’s \*\*charty thing.