What'sUpWithThatWatts, et al.

This is both my personal learning project and my contribution in the struggle to confront the ongoing Republican/ libertarian assault on rational science and constructive learning, as manifested in their malicious strategic Attacks on Science ~ A collection of articles, scientific resources, plus my own essays and indepth critique of various presentations from unidirectional-skeptics ~ Hopefully a resource for the busy, yet discerning, student who's concerned about the health of our Earth

Showing posts with label dismantling Canada's scientific heritage. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Documenting Stephen Harper's Administration's Attack on Science

Folks that don't like me call me a troll, which is nonsense. If anything I'm a trawler, always on the lookout for interesting information and new lessons to learn and share. That's why when I make a claim based on memory, as I did in my earlier post regarding the attack being leveled against the climate research unit of Australian's CSIRO, I like backing it up, as I did sharing John Dupuis' thorough collection that shines the light on the Stephen Harper shenanigans. While trawling for that information, I found much more worth sharing.

http://tomduck.ca/posts/2015-10-07_lost-science-libraries.html

Such contempt for hard won knowledge and information.

It's the same contempt they show towards the

planet that made all we have possible in the first place.

How do we help them figure that out?

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In this post I share a link to The Harper Watch who have been documenting Stephen Harper's Administration since the man's election. Then excerpts along with links to the Royal Society of Canada expert panel on the future of libraries and archives. A well written summation by Erika Thorkelson at Huffington Post, and another thoughtful piece by Penny Pepperell examining implication of the National Energy Board gobbling up a portion of Canada's Oceans and Fisheries. Then the Canada Center for Policy Alternatives' review of the Harper Administration's 2008-2013 impacts on the full spectrum of the Canadian government and its people. I finish up with Charles Mandel reporting at the aftermath.

It's too late to stop this damage, now Canada is left with mop-up and half-hearted rebuilding. CSIRO's damage can still be prevented. Can you help?

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For a complete documenting of the Harper Adminstration's destructive actions, visit the website HarperWatch.wordpress

Compiling the Harper Government's Assault on Democracy

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COMMENTS FOR ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA EXPERT PANEL ON THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES IN CANADA

December 15, 2013
Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT)

https://www.caut.ca/docs/default-source/briefs/rsc-panel-presentation---brief165331f1c6ef6d389810ff00005eecd3.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Documenting The Canadian War on Science - John Dupuis

In my previous post I commented on the latest substantial right-wing conservative attack aimed at climate research efforts, this time it's the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) of Australia who are in the bullseye. In my introduction to that post I mentioned the carnage inflicted by Canada's faith-based Harper Administration.

This post is intended to support my claim with facts. Towards that end I'm sharing the following collection put together by John Dupuis of 'Confessions of a Science Librarian" fame. There's nothing else to add, except for: read it and weep. Of course, for Australia it's not too late, yet. Can you help?

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The Canadian War on Science: A long, unexaggerated, devastating chronological indictment

By John Dupuis | May 20, 2013 - last update - October 24, 2014 | http://scienceblogs.com

This is a brief chronology of the current Conservative Canadian government’s long campaign to undermine evidence-based scientific, environmental and technical decision-making. It is a government that is beholden to big business, particularly big oil, and that makes every attempt to shape public policy to that end. It is a government that fundamentally doesn’t believe in science. It is a government that is more interested in keeping its corporate masters happy than in protecting the environment.

As is occasionally my habit, I have pulled together a chronology of sorts. It is a chronology of all the various cuts, insults, muzzlings and cancellations that I’ve been able to dig up. Each of them represents a single shot in the Canadian Conservative war on science. It should be noted that not every item in this chronology, if taken in isolation, is necessarily the end of the world. It’s the accumulated evidence that is so damning.

Most of the items come from various links I’ve saved over the years as well as various other media articles I’ve dug up over the last week or so. This series at The Huffington Post has been particularly useful as has this article at the Wastershed Sentinal.

A long list of various environmental programs that the Harper government has discontinued or slashed funding to is here. I haven’t found individual media stories about all of them, so they aren’t in the list below. If you can help me find stories about some of those programs, etc, please let me know. As well, some stories are treated multiple times, with perhaps an initial story telling the big picture or introducing a large series of cuts and later stories fleshing out details.

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RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

{edited 12/11/2014}

I know there are too many typos, what can I say, eyes aren't what they were, I get rushed, and always did have a thing with transposing…{well, I also hated high school "english" classes... bad call that one.}. Doing the best I can with what I got. Embarrassing though it is, it's better than doing nothing. Besides, it's the issues and reasoning that we should be worrying about.

Though I'm in my own little world here, I'm also constantly learning and evolving and do get occasional feedback and when I reread stuff and find errors or omissions or garbage, I fix it. If it's major I'll acknowledge it with an 'edited' note, minor stuff I don't bother.

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I hardly keep track of Anthony's latest antics (besides, with Sou on the job why bother - can't beat her insights). It's just me over here and I have more important things to do with my precious hours - still now that Anthony's luster has been wearing thin he's put his energy into discovering and honing new fresh faces to carry on the public show of the Republican/Libertarian strategic attack on science.

He seems to have transitioned into a ring-leader, perhaps mentor/coach would be better, producer? At least that's how Mr. Steele and his antics of the past year has gotten me to think about it. So in that regard this blog remains about WUWT's brand of thinking and logic and my struggle to understand the anatomy of the fraud they've perpetrated against mankind. {December 2014}

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ok, now some recommended websites:

This blog was started in April 2013 and is written by an actual scientist so it has a refreshingly serious objective air to it, plus he does a good clear job of explaining complex issues.

And Then There's Physics.
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Sou has some of the best {readability and detailed} examinations of Watt's antics I've seen - and she does have fun with certain characters.

She continues be the best at keeping up with Mr. Watts' and pals and their many deceptions.

The recent dirty tricks and attacks she is enduring are acknowledgment of how good she is at it.

http://blog.hotwhopper.com

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Ben has been documenting Anthony's misdeeds longer than the rest of us.

http://wottsupwiththat.com

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Tamino, an acknowledged statistical/mathematical expert of the highest order, at Open Mind also does an excellent job of holding Anthony’s feet to the fire with clearly explained facts and math. Check it out:
http://tamino.wordpress.com
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And of course, there is the excellent, most up to date internet depository of climate studies and information for the non-expert public.

http://SkepticalScience.com

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Then there's RealClimate.org the scientist's commentary site. Run by working climate scientists intended to help the interested public and journalists sort through the complexities of the climatology. They provide "quick response to developing stories and provide the context" that is too often missing from public media's depiction. {But, you better be serious and have some real science education/understanding under your belt if you want to keep up.}

http://realclimate.org

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I remember back in da day, good websites/blogs were few and far between. But over the past years that's been changing to the point that it's impossible to keep up with them all. Here's an incomplete, and long overdue addition to my above list: