Professor Philip Stott / Clamour Of The Times | Wednesday, December 16, 2009

First, it was the Mail on Sunday, and the brilliant exposé by David Rose about the alleged manipulation of climate data.

Today, the critique of ‘global warming’ hits the front page of the mainstream media with the Daily Express in full flight: ‘100 REASONS WHY GLOBAL WARMING IS NATURAL’:

“CAMPAIGNERS yesterday attempted to pour scorn on ‘tenuous’ global warming theories by issuing a dossier detailing 100 reasons why climate change is natural and not man-made.”

Now, this piece may well be a tad tabloid and florid, but that is to miss the key point. What we have here is a second major newspaper willing to challenge the political grand narrative, which politicians and some scientists, much to their discredit, have attempted to defend by employing all manner of inflammatory language, subterfuge, and trickery in their vain attempt to close down debate.

I am thus delighted that journalists are once again willing to be critical journalists, and to challenge the narrative. That should be their job. Yet, too many have been supine, or, worse, complicit.

Paradoxically, Is Copenhagen The Beginning Of The End?

Equally, there are welcome signs of change in even the most PC of papers and media outlets. Unquestionably, the over-hyping of ‘global warming’ has backfired badly, a point painfully illustrated by one of the worst TV programmes I have ever witnessed, namely Hot Planet, broadcast on BBC1 last Sunday at 20:00. Unsurprisingly, there were some pretty bad reviews. This was an embarrassment to Aunty. Indeed, it was so dreadful that I really do hope people watched it, because it is precisely the type of output that is generating a backlash. It was laugh out loud stuff.

And, of course, the developing world is currently really telling the developed what is what at Copenhagen.

I have long predicted that the Copenhagen Conference might prove to be both the apex and the beginning of the end for the ‘global warming’ grand narrative.

But the skittles are going down faster than even I expected.

Daily Express front page, 15th Dec 2009

The Daily Express is a British newspaper. It is a particularly rubbish one. Its front pages are either about Diana Princess of Wales (and how she was murdered, or something similar), something about cancer or the weather. Today’s headline is “100 reasons why Global Warming is natural” and it comes after a front page about “The Big Climate Change ‘Fraud’”, which had the Association of British Drivers as the source.

You can view the article online here. Here is reason number one:

There is “no real scientific proof” that the current warming is caused by the rise of greenhouse gases from man’s activity.

Wait, what? Another was:

Leaked e-mails from British climate scientists – in a scandal known as “Climate-gate” – suggest that that has been manipulated to exaggerate global warming

Now actually this ’scandal’ wasn’t really based on much. The Guardian Science Podcast dealt with this best. The issue was related to merging two bits of data together. Indeed, when I read it I completely failed to realise people may read ‘trick’ in anything other than the mathematical sense (which is like a technique. “What trick can I use to evaluate this integral?”). Others still say:

Man-made carbon dioxide emissions throughout human history constitute less than 0.00022 percent of the total naturally emitted from the mantle of the earth during geological history.

In geological terms, man hasn’t really been around that long though. So this is irrelevant. It’s like saying “Animals killed by man throughout human history constitute just a tiny percentage of the total killed during the entire history of life” and so it is fine to make Tigers extinct or something. The fact is true (well, I cannot say about the figure, but it is fairly irrelevant) but it doesn’t tell us anything.

In pursuit of the global warming rhetoric, wind farms will do very little to nothing to reduce CO2 emissions

Actually I think it is true that wind warms will do very little to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. (I favour nuclear power, unpopular I know.) However, I’m not quite sure how you can thus conclude that Global Warming is hence natural. What the hell?

I can’t really be bothered to go through the look at the others, as there is obviously no credibility there. How the hell did this make it to the front page, or indeed why was it reported at all? And why exactly do they want this to be true so much. You can sort of understand with the cancer or Diana things.

Edit: This has since been covered by Daily Mail Watch and New Scientist.

Daily Express has launched an online archive charging users GBP 5.95 for 48 hours’ access to past editions of the paper. More than 1.7 million papges have been made available as every edition of the Express published since it first rolled into print in 1900 has been uploaded to ukpressonline. Users are able to view thumbnail previews of pages relating to their search but will have to pay for more details and higher quality photos. The archive, which is emblazoned with the tag: “The best british newspaper archive on the web” faces stiff competition from already established content providers. The Times and The Guardian already have comprehensive digital archives, with the Times costing less, at GBP 4.95 for a days access. Ukpressonline is also offering access to the archives of the Daily and Sunday Star.

http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/5887

In a brand new to55er’s Blog feature rather interestingly called Boring Story of the Day, with official records showing that there are only two people in Britain named Geraint Woolford, last week both Geraint Woolford’s ended up in neighbouring beds in Abergele Hospital in North Wales! If that’s not enough to have you peeing your pants with excitement, it transpires that both Geraint Woolfords were former police officers!!

Obviously not bothering to send a reporter, the Daily Express newspaper accompanies the story with the following photograph of a hospital ward:

More interestingly, news reports give the odds of this chance meeting as 15 million to one. Where do they get this figure from? With around 60 million people, 1000 hospitals, a great deal more hospital wards and an even greater number of hospital beds in Britain the chances of both Geraint Woolfords being on the same ward in the same hospital on the same day are… Then we have to factor in both being police officers…

I shall file this under the Department for Duff Statistics.

If I asked you who Rudy Guede was, you might struggle to give me an answer.  If I asked you who Raffaele Sollecito was, you might begin to remember what I’m talking about.  But if I asked you who Amanda Knox was, I have no doubt that you’d be able to link all three names to the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. 

Although I suspect that if you were only given the name Meredith Kercher you might struggle to remember that she was the 21-year-old student who was murdered in Perugia in November, 2007. 

For the past 11 months, Knox and Guede have been on trial for murder, and related charges.  They were finally convicted late last night. 

If this trial had taken place in Britain the media coverage would have been very different.  There would have been calls for Sollecito’s lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno, to stand down.  Bongiorno is an Italian MP and busy in Parliament Monday to Thursday; so the trial took place only on Friday and Saturdays.  This left the judge, Giancarlo Massei and prosecutor Giuliano Mignini free to take other cases during the week. 

The jury have therefore heard evidence over the best part of a year, but only at weekends.  Which, when you consider the seriousness of their deliberations; is not the best way of ensuring justice. 

But my main criticism isn’t the verdicts (I didn’t hear the evidence so I don’t have an opinion on the verdicts); nor the sentences; but the media coverage. 

Three people have been convicted of murder, one last year and two last night, but the bulk of the media coverage has been focused on Amanda Knox.   Take these assorted headlines from today: 

• Daily Telegraph: Amanda Knox found guilty of murdering Meredith Kercher
• BBC News: ‘She-devil’ Knox and lover guilty of Kercher murder
• The Scotsman: Meredith Kercher verdict: Knox found guilty of murder
• Daily Mail: “Amanda Knox is guilty: Student gets 26 years in jail for drug-fuelled sex murder of British student Meredith Kercher”
• Daily Express: AMANDA KNOX FOUND GUILTY OF MEREDITH KERCHER’S MURDER
• Daily Mirror: WAILING & SCREAMING: Knox breaks down as she gets 26yrs 

This approach isn’t restricted to the British press.  I’ve ignored the US press, where such an approach can be justified as Knox is an American citizen and therefore the most relevant part of the story to a US audience; but even the Sydney Morning Herald leads with: “Knox jailed 26 yrs for sex murder of British housemate”; and the Irish Times goes with “Knox and boyfriend guilty of murdering flatmate”. 

These examples are not unrepresentative samples.  The Daily Telegraph makes it very clear who they believe this trial is about.  They headline a profile of Rudy Guede with the words: “Amanda Knox trial: Rudy Guede profile“. 

Why is it, that when a young British student is murdered overseas; three people have been convicted of murder, but only one is singled out for star-treatment by the media? 

Could it be that Amanda Knox is a young attractive female?  

Could the press have been hoping for a not-guilty verdict so they could turn Knox into the kind of modern-day celebrity where people are famous simply because some people in the media have decided they ought to be?  

If Knox had been cleared would we have been subjected to years of wall-to-wall coverage of her going in and out of nightclubs? Having affairs with famous footballers?  And taking part in Celebrity Big Brother or I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here? 

Knox had already been dubbed “Foxy Knoxy” by some media outlets – the build-up to celebrity status had begun. 

But this all ignores one thing – a family are today grieving for their daughter. 

Meredith Kercher

Meredith’s Dad, John Kercher, is a freelance journalist and he wrote an extremely moving account of his last conversation with his daughter; and how he heard the news of her death.  The Daily Mirror article provides a powerful rare testimony of the initial trauma a family goes through when they learn that a member of that family has been murdered. 

Any anybody who  thinks this trial is about Amanda Knox,  Rudy Guede or Raffaele Sollecito should read it and remember that this trial is about a young girl who has been taken from her family. 

As John Kercher says of his daughter in the Daily Mirror article: “She was always good company and her sense of humour always had us and others laughing. The sense of the ridiculous stayed with her. She had such life and vitality and made friends wherever she went. Meredith really enjoyed Halloween. 

“As a youngster she would make a costume from bin liners, put candles in the pumpkins with faces, tie them to sticks and then we would visit neighbours.  It is ironic and tragic that she would die so terribly only one day after Halloween.”

The Daily Express, which apparently doesn’t pay a good enough wage to attract a capable proofreader for its headlines, launches one of its typical attacks on people on incapacity benefits with Leo McKinstry’s offensive and insulting claim that:

It is telling that more than1.1million incapacity claimants are not suffering from any physical disability at all, but get their handouts by moaning about problems like “stress” and “depression”.

Suicide is the second most common cause of death in young people after accidental death. The Mental Health Foundation estimates that 70 per cent of recorded suicides are by people experiencing depression. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 90% who those who die by suicide have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time of their death, most often depression or bipolar disorder. A Samaritans survey found that jobs are the single biggest cause of stress – and that the link between work and suicide is likely to be underestimated.

It’s almost comical to see papers like the Express accuse people of “moaning” about stress, because their health pages are nearly always full of reports about the terrible stress of the workplace. They’re right there – the British Medical Journal has reported that people with stressful jobs are twice as likely to die from heart disease, and a government report found people who work over 48 hours per week have double the risk of heart disease.

So perhaps they’re just jealous, and wish they could live on seventy quid a week instead of being paid whatever they get to write columns for the press. Leo McKinstry thinks we have an “easy lifetime on the dole”, which just shows what an ignorant bigot he is.

No one suffering from mental illness has an “easy lifetime”. We face constant struggle in a way that Mr McKinstry is incapable of imagining. It is not a matter of “moral fibre”, it is a matter of brain chemistry (and social prejudice and stigma). Everyone gets stressed at times, but for someone with PTSD for instance that can mean being unable to leave your home, unable to walk down the street, unable to do basic tasks without having flashbacks. The chemistry of PTSD is well researched and people cannot control a dramatically increased cortisol response by having a stiff upper lip.

As the Secret Life of a Manic Depressive puts it, “I am sick of this bullshit being published. Swap places with someone incapacitated by schizophrenia for a week, you fucking idiots.”

Later today I’ll be adding a new contributer to the blog, who’ll be writing more about life with depression. For now I’ll leave you with the tidbit that the NHS watchdog has warned that “stress, anxiety and depression in the workplace is costing employers billions of pounds”. So apparently even if we had jobs, we’d be costing the economy money. If the economy is all you care about, I guess that’s more important than our personal suffering.

“X FACTOR stunner Cheryl Cole has the most wanted smile in Britain” says the Daily Express.

The 26-year-old has the “most-requested teeth” say many of the leading UK cosmetic dentists, who are seeing an increasing number of young women especially in Preston desperate for Cheryl’s pearl-white look, no matter what the cost.

The chart-topping singer has admitted she spent years wearing invisible braces which are an alternative to Invisalign.

But it seems the star may also have had up to £10,000 of porcelain veneers fitted too. Yes her smile has dramatically improved since she appeared on Popstars – The Rivals in 2002.

“Clear invisible braces could have straightened Cheryl’s teeth but it was the Inman Aligner product that made the difference,” said Dr Nadim Majid, from cosmetic dentistry Preston.

“This revolutionary process can straighten teeth from six to sixteen weeks,” added Dr Majid, whose Preston Life Style Dental helps women with crooked, twisted teeth..

Dr Majid, one of the world’s top cosmetic dentists, says that porcelain veneers could easily cost £10,000.

HOW CHERYL COLE GOT A WINNING SMILE

Invisible Braces Preston: After winning Pop Stars: The Rivals, Cheryl, aged 20, admits she work invisible braces called Inman Aligners for almost two years at around £1,500.

If you’re considering using clear, “invisible” braces you may end up with disappointing results, longer treatment times and public embarrassment.

Do You Make These Same Mistakes

Don’t make a £2,000 pound MISTAKE you’ll regret for a lifetime. Dr. Nadim, author of “How To Have A Smile Like Cheryl Cole For As Little As £5 Day”, has treated dozens of patients with “invisible” braces only to discover a long list of common problems and complaints. 

In response, Dr. Nadim has written a free consumer guide which is Britain’s first truly independent expert guide available in the U.K. It exposes shocking information you need to know BEFORE you make an investment in your smile. Get yours now by calling our FREE RECORDED MESSAGE HOTLINE anytime 24hrs a day, 7 days a week including Sundays at 0800 3811371 and enter the code 2345 # when asked to do so. Or for FREE BOOKLET AND VIDEOS visit http://preston.freestraightteethguide.com

Source

Reports are suggesting that Cheryl Cole has the most wanted smile in the UK.

According to Daily Express, the X Factor judge is an inspiration to thousands of Brits embarking on cosmetic dentistry.

Cheryl, 26, has the most sort-after smile say many cosmetic dentists, whose trade has increased as many people are now seeking a perfect smile which is comparable to that of the Girls Aloud beauty.

Winning smiles don’t come chrap however and it seems that the star wore invisible braces, had porcelain veneers fitted, and had her teeth whitened, costing her a serious amount of money.

Dr Mervyn Druian, whose London Centre for Cosmetic Dentistry recently whitened the smiles of all 12 X Factor finalists, estimates that Cole’s perfect teeth cost in the region of £12,000.

Source

“The world’s most beautiful news reporter” … Daily Express

“TV’s sexiest news anchor” … Poll conducted by the U.S. edition of Maxim

“Most beautiful woman in the world” … Poll conducted by the French edition of FHM

“La bombe cathodique” or “The television bombshell” … Paris Match

Thats Mélissa Theuriau for you! Born on 18th July, 1978 in Échirolles, Isère in France, Mélissa Theuriau is a journalist and news reporter who has been active on French television since 2002 and is currently working for the French television channel M6.

She started her career as a reporter for Match TV in 2002. Later she worked with La Chaîne Info and TF1 and finally moved to M6 in 2006 as editor-in-chief and presenter of a weekly magazine show called Zone Interdite. She is also a presenter of many shows on a channel called Paris Première in partnership with Paris Match.

Mélissa founded an organization called “La Rose” along with 5 of her journalist colegues Marie Drucker, Claire Chazal, Béatrice Schönberg, Laurence Ferrari and Tina Kieffer. “La Rose” works with the U.N.I.C.E.F. to educate girls.

In 2005-2006, Mélissa Theuriau became an internet rage when her pics and youtube videos became immensly popular and started receiving millions of hits. In 2006, a French entertainment newspaper called Voici even published photographs of Mélissa Theuriau topless and relaxing on a beach which spread on the internet like wild fire. Mélissa’s lawyers have been trying to purge these images from the internet since then.

She got married to Jamel Debbouze who is an actor of French and Moroccan descent on 7th May, 2008. They now have a son named Léon.

In a lecture we had last week by the rather fantastic and insanely enthusiastic Claire Wardle, I was introduced to the phenomenon of Wordle.

It basically allows you to make pretty pictures by analysing text to see which words come up most frequently. The words which crop up the most are given greater prominence in the word “cloud” produced. Not that you do any of the analysing yourself, of course; that’s part of the wonder of technology.

It’s a fun way of comparing various stories or websites while essentially playing around with nice colours and words.

Here’s a Wordle picture based on the Daily Mail homepage:

And here’s one based on the Guardian homepage:

As you can see, the Mail has been focussing lately on controversy, abuse, arrests, students and sex, whereas the Guardian has been lending much more attention to the postal strikes, as words like “Royal” and “Mail” are coming up larger than the rest.

I’m a bit disappointed that the Daily Mail isn’t showing anything in larger letters, really. I wish the Express had an RSS feed, so that I could analyse it and see how much bigger “Diana” was than any other word.

I can, however, just use this from David Wulff’s Flickr to show the main basic areas of interest for the Express in a far more amusing fashion:

I’m not really sure about the practical journalistic uses for Wordle, but it’s definitely a lot of fun, and it does make really, really pretty pictures.

And you can use it for useless but funny things; like everyone else, I’ve been getting a fair amount of enjoyment from Wordling (is that a verb?) song lyrics. For example, the lyrics to ‘There is a Light That Never Goes Out’ by The Smiths yield this:

I think that speaks for itself, really.

Formula 1 would suffer huge damage if the British Grand Prix is lost from next year’s calendar, claims McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh.

Amid continued uncertainty about the future of the race, with no official news from Donington Park about the state of its plans for next year, there are now concerns that the race may not be a feature of the 2010 schedule.

The situation is far from clear after a report in the Daily Express on Wednesday suggested that Donington Park leaseholder Simon Gillett had paid outstanding money to Bernie Ecclestone – although it was not clear whether or not this had been completed before close of business on deadline day.

Furthermore, Silverstone sources have indicated that the track will only commit to a deal with Bernie Ecclestone if the commercial terms make sense – and the two parties remain some distance apart on the finances so far.

AUTOSPORT understands that Silverstone’s managing director Richard Phillips will be present at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to try and make progress on a deal with Ecclestone to secure the British GP’s future.

However, until that deal is done, question marks remain over the event – something that has left Whitmarsh worried about the state of play.

“It’s not just McLaren, but everyone in F1 knows the importance of the British Grand Prix,” said Whitmarsh in a phone-in call with media on Wednesday.

“You couldn’t say [of the races] any are absolutely vital, but losing the British GP would be massively damaging to the sport. It’s the kind of support from the fans there. It’s different to other places.

“You just have to walk through the campsites and the area around the circuit and see how committed the fans are. We’d be very sorry to see it lost.”

Hill said about the state of negotiations over a new contract: “The BRDC [which owns Silverstone] have to sign a contract which makes sense and can’t sign up to a contract which could get them into the same dangers as Donington.

“Silverstone is not responsible to provide a grand prix, and it’s not Bernie Ecclestone’s job to give a discounted race to Britain.”

Reference: Autosport

Tart Cherry

Things haven’t been too bad of late. My work load has been somewhat reduced due to the rundown of the hospital where I work. Because of this things are going at a much gentler pace at the moment meaning that my muscles are not suffering the way they have  done when things have been hectic in the past.

Tomorrow I’m off for an eye test at Specsavers due to a metabolic change in my eyes, for which I attend the eye clinic in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, so that they can keep an eye on them in case there may be deterioration in them. The doctor checked to see if there was any relationship between my eye problem and McArdle’s disease, but he could only find one other recorded case so he has an open verdict at present about the two being related – Retinitis pigmentosa – though it is in a stagnant stage with no change at present. I go to the hospital once a year to have my eyes photographed.

Today whilst I was reading the Daily Express I came across a very interesting article about muscle pain in exercise and tart cherry juice which seems to reduce the pain, the article can be read HERE