The pathological hierarchy of humbug

AY

Hierarchy my fuss. For every shaman and every religious cretin, there should be an hierarchy.

And BTW why is it so "Judeo-Christian" all the time when talking about reasonable moral? What, the ancient Greeks were all pagan filthy monsters? Ever heard about Aeschylus?

watttyler

The Global Warming was what the Marxism-Internationale was hoping to finally replace Judeo-Christianity (the foundation of English liberty) with. It would appeal to the devotional in people in a way that their other high-religion Equality cannot.

Indeed, you will have noticed that some Anglican bishops, as part of their retreat into pointlessness, extended the 10 Commandments to include "thou shalt not produce CO2";

In the meantime, the bankers and the politicians can tax us for the sin that we cannot help, and pay off the corrupt media who have been shaping our perceptions. All of these people will pay the piper.

11B40

Greetings:

I noticed the photo of the good Dr. Freud's couch and chair. I think that , back in his day (and mine) this would have been referred to simply as "mass hysteria".

Richard

Why should an atheist not appreciate the human rights that came from Judeo-Christian ethics? Just because we realise that the god is a myth does not mean that the ethics are wrong.

Modern Christians, who after all practise a religion completely different from that of the middle ages, or of St Peter and St Paul, let alone the completely different religion before they got hold of it, have no greater claim to the ethics than anyone who can understand the implications and make an informed decision to act in an ethical manner and be fair and honest. In fact the greatest claim for modern ethics is more about political and economic freedom than Christian religion, which was often used to suppress both.

Jerry

Regarding AY July 26th, 2010 10:36: Greek society was built upon slave labor, as were most ancient societies. Modern society, powered by stored sources of energy does not have to dehumanize others to express its humanity. Gourmet taste for young boys probably did not add to the longevity of halcyon Greek society either.

Dixon

The problem is, that a belief system be both unfounded in reality and a burden to its adherents seems, judging by history, to result in proportionately harsher or more extreme demands for such adherence and its enforcement: the inquisition, the French revolution, communism, Islam, the cases are plenty. Theres really little hope to be found in reasoned critiques of the unreasoning belief systems of those who rule over us and would have us believe.

maddy1

One thing has not been a made up from the collective imagination is the wholesale transfer of the wealth of the first world poor to the rich and wealthy of the third world. What a waste of resources!

maddy1

If we run out of fool we will just hve to do what we did in the old days, that is, re-colonize, indulge in long wars and generally exploit the natives. Remember Rorke's Drift, Professor Stott? Are the good people going to give up their standard of living, and Apple 4G's for a world view based on your universal brotherhood, that is the question, you little gnat on Darwin's eyebrow.

Simon

Don't worry! The mighty Chris Huhne will save us all by building more windfarms!!

I truly despair with the current bunch of loons in charge, and with Dave's ridiculous comments on Turkey I'll be doing a David Selbourne and will be moving on in the next few years before the power cuts start and we become a muslim state

Dixon

Maddy, Prof Stott is providing the analysis, not its subject.

Merlyn

Global warming aside, is it not patently obvious that our world is being destroyed, both physically and morally by the use of fossil fuels?

There is an equally powerful elite that would like to keep us in this obsolete toxic trap while people like Tesler have shown us the way long ago.

I side with the Shamans, they brought us medicines from the Amazon, and knowledge of the stars before Hubble...just maybe those indigenous persecuted people know something we don't... or is that not possible?

John.

Jerry: Actually, in Classical Greece the relationships to which you refer were largely tutelary and between youths, (not young boys), and youngish men very often not involving sexual congress and in cases where they did, inter cruris and not otherwise.
Jerry: it is not at all obvious that fossil fuels are ruining the world. On the contrary they are keeping civilised societies going and, until a really efficient and workable alternative is found they will contunue to be our mainstay as a source of energy.

Gerry

Cameron goes to Turkey and slams Israel.

That didn't take long, did it?

Merlyn

John, you say fossil fuels are keeping civilized societies going, but are they keeping them 'civilized' or constantly watching their backs from the oil producing nations.
What about the non-'civilized' societies? Are they just here to provide us with what we need or do they have the right to free energy as we are.
Time to wake up from this greed producing dream ... the technologies are out there , they just don't make any money for those in control.

Janina

It does not seem to occur to anyone here that if we were not so dependent on oil, Israel would be seen in a very different way by the ruling elite.
Right now, the oil producers have us all by the short and curlies.

Linda Smith

I'm not sure that Maslow and Freud's couch go together, unless you want to get Maslow on the couch.

Maslow and Rogers were the fathers of Humanist psychology which runs counter to a Freudian/Kleinian argument that would propose that we are greedy babies, suffering from guilt at insatiable greedy attacks on Mother Earth. greed.

Linda Smith

An atheist can appreciate the validity of Judeo-Christian ethics as human constructs, based on reason and emotion and lived experience. No need to posit a divine origin.

Wil

Perhaps some of you across the pond need to be reminded Global Warming is more than alive and well. Headlines over here goes something like this: It's the hottest year in recorded history (globe and Mail - Toronto July 17,2010)

Similar headlines are all over North America which in turn drive the AGW fanatics to fanatical heights unmatched on this side of the pond. Crazy cannot begin to describe the idiocy over here - even as the Southern Hemisphere suffers through the coldest winter in decades. 400 frozen to death in Peru - Australia experience coldest temperatures in 100 years. Snow in South Africa, World Cup!!!

I could go on and on and on - however, I do disagree that it is the comfortable middle class that is at fault here - in my opinion it is the fault of sloppy scientists, sloppy scientific review process that has been compromised, a UN political body in the guise of a scientific body that has caused alarm.

That then is the power of modern day "science" operating as activists which speaks the absolute power of science and of a modern media with NO scientific knowledge and of a world community of uneducated citizens who despite being educated lack any scientific knowledge - which makes one wonder what in the h*ll are they teaching in schools these days to graduate so uneducated a class of citizens who MUST live and function in a science based world?

Here science as a religion, and it is a religion to AGW believers, finds the fertile ground it needs to grow in the darkness of the scientific illiterate of the general public. THis is the New Dark Ages.

William Boyd

Judeo-Christian ethics bestowed human rights on Western society?

Well not really. Certainly Judeo-Christian morality informed the social movements that led to the 18th century American and French declarations but note those movements were in major part the result of religious oppression.

DougS

"...a Grand Narrative that has now spectacularly collapsed before our eyes, even though certain politicians are as ever well behind the curve and are currently stranded alongside the professionally compromised activists who will never admit their epic error..."

I wish it had collapsed but I fear it hasn't - too many vested interests.

I’m afraid it’s going to be a long slog.

If you see AGW as a ‘project’, there are five well-known (if a little cynical) stages to it, viz.

1. Enthusiasm – all parties
2. Disillusionment – all parties
3. Witch hunt
4. Punish the innocent, and finally...
5. Medals for non-participants

On this scale I think we’re only at the beginning of the ‘disillusionment’ phase.
It’s going to take a while before Lord (call me ‘Jezza’) Clarkson of Silverstone picks up his George Cross at Buckingham Palace!

Some back peddling is evident from eco-zealots but only to the degree that new phrases are creeping into the narrative, such as ‘finite resources’ and even ‘energy security’- something that never seems to worry them when they champion costly, unreliable proposals like photo-voltaics and wind turbine generators.

Josh

A question to be asked is does Stott's theory that Maslow's hierarchy of needs explain the need for the global warming catastrophe also explain the concern about the Islamification of the west, starting with its outpost in Israel? If not what is the distinguishing factor?

Trefor Jones

Could someone give a copy of the esteemed Prof Stott's article to that Lib Dem humbug, Chris Huhne. The man is a liability and despite his dodgy morals, seven houses and strange hair style still thinks he's right on CO2 and wind power.

John Holland

Doug S.- You're so right.
Today I see even the usually honest Telegraph has stooped to repeating lies about "all-time record temperatures" in Russia and increases in ocean temperatures leading to a supposed 20% fall in "plankton" stocks. All, as we both know, LIES. As anyone who knows any science realises, there's loads of so-called "plankton" everywhere, especially in the sea, if anything there's too much of it, clogging up fish and stuff.
And Russia's not hot either, that's why they wear those furry hats. Everyone knows it's cold there, but THEY put their so-called "thermometers" inside strategically located jet engine after-burners.
LIES LIES LIES. But then trying to argue rationally with these irrational zealots is pointless.
There's only one language they understand, and it's not statistics, if you get my drift.

The Luddite

Man made climate change was always a gigantic scam. Embraced enthusiastically by the political-left, after all, with the total failure of Marxism the left needed another cause to believe in. Why not man-made climate change it offered a great opportunity to have another go at the wicked decadent West.

PhilP

John Holland: it's rare to find quality humour on this blog, thanks for that

johnadavison

I read these comments with sadness. To deny global warming and climate change is unacceptable when we see it taking place all around us. For a more objective view -

jadavison.wordpress.com

John Holland

PhilP; Humour? How dare you. Marxist.
Unfortunately, I read something by Monkton soon after I sent that rubbish- really, exactly the same, just with added crassly offensive Nazi jibes.
That sad thing is, I fully expect to see solemn references in the blogosphere soon to plankton-stuffed fish and fur hats. Any group that takes Monkton seriously cannot be parodied.

David Vinter

Warming or not, the world has far too many people for available resources. Population control must be top of our critical list! Already a million humans go to bed hungry every night.

gareth

As usual in this world - for every guy doing a useful job there are many more standing and pointing.

At work I make a point of telling my uber-class superiors/HSE jobsworths/auditors/coordinators etc...... that their wives are ugly (except when they aren't of course) and they don't have all their faculties, have never experienced much of life from ancient literature to big wave surfing, from rugby to romance etc.... and then just keep on doing a good job and being a human being at the same time.

They don't like it but if its the truth then its funny and they can't do much except keep on being ineffective and dull, in their own ways.

You should all try it - I was brought up to have how I treat other people as my religion (how quaint to actually follow the second commandment in this day and age) and always help out if I can so when you take a pee in the corridors of power and scatter a line of impotent suckers - it's great payback for all the drudgery of working with PC humourless buffoons.

Jim Richardson

My father, bless him, must have been a far greater visionary than I ever gave him credit for as he taught me from the outset to, "always eat my greens."
Wise words indeed as it transpires.

J D Bryan

I cannot but conclude this has been exploited by the Hard Left as part of their ideological war against capitalism and the west. Anti-capitalism in its modern guise.

Michael Klein

Sorry, but this entire article from beginning to end is hogwash. Almost every assertion made here is just plain wrong.