Fresh from her drubbing the entire science of computer climate modeling Miranda Devine is at it again - this time complaining about the dumbing down of society on the one hand, and all the while sewing distrust of science and scientists on the other. In her ominously titled Geeks in white coats shall inherit the earth.

The same goes for all the high-tech gadgets we use to erase boredom and make our daily lives work so smoothly. Never before in the history of the world have so many people known so little about how stuff works.

There is a consequence of this ignorance. Somebody does know how stuff works, and knowledge is power. Thus, as we become enslaved by our ever-more sophisticated technology, we are at the mercy of those with The Knowledge, and their arrogance is growing. Beware geeks bearing gifts.

Poor geeks. Persecuted just because they know stuff. Just when they were becoming cool too.

At the same time as we become more gullible, we also become more cynical about government, corporations and Big Media.

Every time I write an article pointing out there is no scientific consensus on the extent of man-made - as opposed to natural - climate change, or that attacks on genetically modified food are flawed, I am accused, quite seriously, of being on the payroll of Monsanto or Western Mining.

Maybe if her proclamations didn't sound like fossil-fuel industry media talking points? Among the 76 listings for "scientific consensus" "global warming" "Miranda Devine" I googled up is a litany of rehashed and debunked pr initiatives by the fossil-fuel industry that Devine seems to have adopted as causes. She has been challenged on scientific accuracy before;Tim Lambert dissects an earlier article of Devine attacking Mann's hocky stick graph: Miranda Devine vs The Hockey Stick

The violent, incoherent, mouth-frothing fury from greenies to such columns puts me in mind of the insane reaction in the Islamic world to the Danish Muhammad cartoons.

So greenies are incapable of non-violent, coherent and rational constructs? OK, show them how it is done Miranda:

Environmentalism is the powerful new secular religion and politically correct scientists are its high priests, rescuing the planet from the apocalypse of climate change, as the Doomsday clock ticks down. Kyoto is the Promised Land and Bush/Howard/capitalism /industry/farmers are Satan.

Yes, well. Moving along. Devine makes a reference to Louis Hissick. He is a regular commenter on Tim Lambert's Deltoid. His commenters are rough if you don't know your stuff. But here is a curious connection, last week Devine gave the Lavosier Group a plug, this week Hissick. It seems Tim Lamburt believes he is a Lavosier group member.

Deltoid » Worst argument against global warming, ever.Louis Hissink Says: December 18th, 2004 at 1:19 am. Tim, one other problem for you - ?Lavoisier group member Louis Hissink has a response to my post and ...
timlambert.org/2004/12/hissink/ - 63k - Cached - Similar pages

Could mean nothing about being on any industry "payroll" though. She could just likes hanging out with the Lavosier crowd.


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