American Thinker: Climategate: Is It Criminal?From my readings on con men and grifters, there's always a temptation when a successful con is going to push things just a bit further. When you've got a VERY gullible and cooperative mark (or group of marks...) willing to believe the line, who's got essentially control of the entire world economy - a WHOLE lot of money - then the temptation must have been irresistable to push for as much of what they thought 'good' as possible.The potential criminality of the Climategate scandal is exactly the issue that is being investigated by authorities in Britain. The British Parliament has convened hearings to investigate East Anglia University and the Climate Research Unit to uncover unethical and illegal activities. As more information is revealed, the whole Climategate affair begins to take on the makings of a good mystery novel. Like any good mystery or crime plot, the web of involvement is widespread.
But in order for a reader to be drawn in, the author must establish the motive and opportunity for the crime to be believable. To understand Climategate, we must start at the center of the web. At the center is the now-discredited Dr. Phil Jones of East Anglia University and the work he orchestrated at the Climate Research Unit (CRU). This is exactly where the British Parliament has started its investigation for possible criminal wrongdoing.
Carbon taxes, hobbling the economies of the world to the whims of the 'knowledgeable' environmentalists. Attempting to instill a near-pathological avoidance of energy use, pushes to force blatantly unacceptable substitute energy sources that were 'eco-friendly' - yet were both not ready for prime time AND actually bad for the poor. (It's hard to escape the effect on the world corn market when we diverted much of the output to ethanol.)
And now, with Climategate, it looks like the scam's blown. But where can you run to when you've been running a scam on the entire world? India's rejected the IPCC And sometimes, even the folks who've been scammed will try to keep the scam going...
It was difficult to believe it was an actual CRISIS because the folks who've been pushing AGW as a 'crisis' weren't actiling like it was one. They were telling us how we had to cut back, save energy, save the planet or we'd all be boiling in our own juices if we weren't careful. Then they'd take their private jets off to the next speaking gig, or retire to palatial estates or very large houseboats - but it was okay because they bought Carbon Credits or owned a company that SOLD Carbon Credits...
The scam's blown. What's going to happen next?
J.