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Thursday, July 15, 2010

Hate-speech promoter Lord Monckton tries to censor John Abraham

Hate-speech promoter Lord Monckton tries to censor John Abraham


What you can do to help

by Joseph Romm, Climate Progress, July 15, 2010

At the end are some suggestions for how you can show your support for Abraham.

Back in May, engineering professor John Abraham eviscerated The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley (TVMOB) in a must-see video.

twit3.gifTVMOB is, of course, a shameless purveyor of hate speech and anti-science disinformation (see Lord Monckton repeats and expands on his charge that those who embrace climate science are “Hitler youth” and fascists and links below).  [Please note that the picture on the right is not TVMOB nor do I think he would ever participate in this.]

TVMOB then tried to incite an academic hearing against Abraham. Now TVMOB has written a more detailed and more laughable response, which
Deltoid debunks here:  “I think that they might have to rename it the Monckton gallop” and Eli Rabbett here and here.  DeSmogBlog explains why “most people will conclude that John Abraham is a careful scientist and that the Lord Monckton is a belligerent and unapologetic polemicist”.
Monbiot calls it “magnificently bonkers,” pointing out “how frequently climate change deniers resort to demands for censorship or threats of litigation to try to shut down criticism of their views.”

But, as Skeptical Science notes, what’s not funny is that
Now Monckton is trying to censor Abraham — urging Watts Up With That readers to pressure St. Thomas University to take down Abraham’s presentation.

What can you do to show your support?  There are three things.  Here’s Deltoid again from “Why is Monckton afraid of a debate with Abraham?
Monckton, supported by Anthony Watts, is trying to suppress Abraham’s presentation. Over at Watts Up with That? Monckton defames Abraham and asks for help in suppressing Abraham’s speech:
Please contact Father Dennis J. Dease, President of St. Thomas University, djdease@stthomas.edu, and invite him – even at this eleventh hour – to take down Abraham’s talk altogether from the University’s servers, and to instigate a disciplinary inquiry into the Professor’s unprofessional conduct, particularly in the matter of his lies to third parties about what I had said in my talk at Bethel University eight months ago? That would be a real help.
Rather than flood St Thomas with supporting emails, Gareth Renowden is collecting signatures for this statementh:
“We the undersigned offer unreserved support for John Abraham and St. Thomas University in the matter of complaints made to them by Christopher Monckton. Professor Abraham provided an important public service by showing in detail Monckton’s misrepresentation of the science of climate, and we applaud him for that effort, and St. Thomas University for making his presentation available to the world.”
If you agree, go there and sign.
In his post Monckton claims that Abraham admitted “that his talk is libelous” by producing a revised version. This doesn’t make any kind of sense — people revise presentations all the time for many different reasons. In any case, the original version is still available.
You can make your own decision as to whether to go to Hot Topic (click here) or send an email to Dease.  Actually, I was sent an email indicating Dr Susan Alexander in the office of  President Dease is heading the university response (slalexander@stthomas.edu).

If you do send an email, I’d urge you to keep it short and respectful to differentiate yourself from the anti-science cyber-bullies.

Related posts:
Link:  http://climateprogress.org/2010/07/15/lord-monckton-censor-john-abraham/#more-29814

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