tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post115510170159426780..comments2023-12-17T19:35:07.459-08:00Comments on Bouphonia: Creative VisualizationPhilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1156357068710123262006-08-23T11:17:00.000-07:002006-08-23T11:17:00.000-07:00hey that's liberals for ya. BTW, I wouldn't descri...<I>hey that's liberals for ya. </I><BR/><BR/>BTW, I wouldn't describe myself as a political liberal in the classical or any of the modern senses of the word. My politics are more or less in the vicinity of Walter Benjamin and Simone Weil, for whatever that's worth.Philahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1156325432859968472006-08-23T02:30:00.000-07:002006-08-23T02:30:00.000-07:00What's more painful than your collective skull ach...<I>What's more painful than your collective skull ache is the insistence that we're all going to roast (or is it drown?) to death.</I><BR/><BR/>This is a post about specific misrepresentations of issues relating to the debate over climate change. Whether or not you believe in climate change is beside the point; Robbins remains an idiot, and his arguments remain specious. <BR/><BR/><I>And before you shreek about 'denialists' you might want to check out both the canadian and new zealand associations of 'climatologists' </I><BR/><BR/>That'd be easier to do if you provided a link, or the name of an organization. As regards the Canadians, I do hope you're not referring to <A HREF="http://bouphonia.blogspot.com/2006/05/lethal-coalition_08.html" REL="nofollow">this lie</A>, which I already took some trouble to debunk.<BR/><BR/>And that's an interesting point, really: granted that there's some uncertainty about climate change, why are most, if not all, of the conservative talking points about it so unbelievably lame?<BR/><BR/>If you have a good case, all you have to do is let the facts speak for themselves. But in column after column, conservative denialists grossly misrepresent the basic facts, and indulge in all sorts of weird, illogical flights of fancy (e.g., rising water levels means more habitat for whales). Why is this necessary, if they truly have the facts on their side? Why do they have to resort to harebrained prattle like Robbins', and insipid hippie-baiting like yours? Why do they not know - or pretend not to know - that a warming earth can result in cooler temperatures in certain regions? (Note that I'm not even arguing that that's what's going on...I'm just pointing out that there's nothing inherently silly about the idea, which is something virtually no conservative seems able to grasp.) <BR/><BR/>Bush's own handpicked climate-change panel backed up the majority view on global warming...why would I prefer to listen to people like you, who don't even understand the basic issues? Can you give me a single good reason that doesn't involve some diversionary hyperventilation over your cartoonish mental image of "tree huggers"?<BR/><BR/><I>the idea that africans, indians, the chinese should stall their development (by cutting down on burning fossil fuels and investing in 'renewable' energy) </I><BR/><BR/>Heh. Yes indeed, let's encourage the Chinese to use as much fossil fuels as they possibly can. Speaking as an American, I'm especially delighted with this idea given the amount of our debt the Chinese hold.<BR/><BR/>I could waste some time explaining how energy markets work, and what well-informed people on the right and left think about the likely effects on the West of uncontrolled, oil-intensive growth in Asia. <BR/><BR/>But I think I'd rather point out that while you cling gamely to your comfortable ideological flotsam, the world is steaming beyond you at the rate of knots. You and your views are largely irrelevant, partially because the world's changing in ways that you don't understand, and partially because your grasp of modern realities is based largely on caricature (go hug a tree, dude!). <BR/><BR/>It's a shame, but such is life.Philahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1155221892216351532006-08-10T07:58:00.000-07:002006-08-10T07:58:00.000-07:00There is no challenge posed by a slow-rolling phen...<I>There is no challenge posed by a slow-rolling phenomenon like global warming that cannot be overcome; and when deserts start blooming, blizzards stop hitting, and you are enjoying the surfing at your beach house in upper Newfoundland, you won’t care what caused global warming, you’ll just thank goodness it happened.</I><BR/><BR/>comments like these quite literally bring tears to my eyes, as this one here has just done (*sniffsniff*). i can't understand it, but i keep trying, because i believe that the best way to discuss a topic with someone who disagrees with you is to approach it with an understanding of why he or she is disagreeing with you. and all the time, when this is the topic, i have this dreadful sensation of a not-so-sharp implement being slowly pressed through my skull and then twisted, because it's one of the things i want most to change people's minds about . . . but when this is what they're thinking, i just have no idea where to begin.juniper pearlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09940950405860078123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1155161481636091822006-08-09T15:11:00.000-07:002006-08-09T15:11:00.000-07:00Did I get it all?2:57 PMEverything but the sexual ...<I>Did I get it all?<BR/><BR/>2:57 PM</I><BR/><BR/>Everything but the sexual insecurity!Philahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1155160665709815822006-08-09T14:57:00.000-07:002006-08-09T14:57:00.000-07:00This is what really gets to me about these people....<I>This is what really gets to me about these people...the willingness to make silly-assed fucking fools of themselves. Is it for money? Do they have that little shame or pride? Or are they truly as clueless and nihilistic as they seem to be?</I><BR/><BR/>I would add zero critical thinking skills, marginal knowledge of the sciences, a reckless disregard for anyone but themselves (ME ME ME), and a complete lack of compassion.<BR/><BR/>Did I get it all?Aquariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07578444793424041263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1155134594914923122006-08-09T07:43:00.000-07:002006-08-09T07:43:00.000-07:00I'm not even marine biologist, or any kind of scie...<I>I'm not even marine biologist, or any kind of scientist, and I understand that rising oceans can sorta change the saline content of our oceans, which could be destructive to various lifeforms dependent on salt water, which would create a chain reaction that would end up wiping out the whales--not increasing their numbers! DUH!</I><BR/><BR/>It really doesn't seem like that big of a stretch, does it? <BR/><BR/>This is what really gets to me about these people...the willingness to make silly-assed fucking fools of themselves. Is it for money? Do they have that little shame or pride? Or are they truly as clueless and nihilistic as they seem to be?<BR/><BR/>Ugh. My head's starting to hurt too.Philahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1155131671695385772006-08-09T06:54:00.000-07:002006-08-09T06:54:00.000-07:00These denialists are wrong, on so many levels that...These denialists are wrong, on so many levels that it makes my head hurt.<BR/><BR/>Ow ow ow ow ow!<BR/><BR/>I'm not even marine biologist, or any kind of scientist, and I understand that rising oceans can sorta change the saline content of our oceans, which could be destructive to various lifeforms dependent on salt water, which would create a chain reaction that would end up wiping out the whales--not increasing their numbers! DUH!<BR/><BR/>My head is hurting at the kind of person who just cannot get that! OW OW OW OW OW OW!Aquariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07578444793424041263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1155128716778768912006-08-09T06:05:00.000-07:002006-08-09T06:05:00.000-07:00Oy, I just didn't have the heart to go through tha...Oy, I just didn't have the heart to go through that article in detail. It's one of the most repellent things I've ever read. "Vulgar" is the right word for it, though I could also come up with some words that are less nice.Thershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14072224569922847217noreply@blogger.com