As IF Times

link Ferguson Decision Protesters Target Black Friday Sales.

One of the most useful techniques employed in the influencing of public perception is the shrewd use of language.  As we all know by now, nobody ever calls a spade, a spade.  It’s called a personal dirt removal apparatus, or a suit other than hearts, clubs or diamonds as the case may be. When you go to rent a car these days, the “mid size sedan” is actually a Mini Cooper.  It’s hard to buy a plain hamburger anymore, the entry level is always the “deluxe” burger. The Rolling Stones go on their farewell tour…number 4.

In politics, the labelling of policies with Orwellian gibberish is standard operating procedure.  Take for example, the “Affordable Care Act”; “Global Warming”; “man caused disaster” and of course, “Democratic Party”.

The recent violence in Ferguson, Missouri erupted after a grand jury verdict found no fault with the police officer involved in a deadly shooting of a black man.  This provided the news starved media with 24 hour coverage that has been shamelessly portrayed through their prism.  Despite overwhelming testimony by eye witnesses that Mr. Brown was shot dead because of his criminal actions and not because of his race, the narrative has morphed into a case of institutionalized racial oppression.  What’s amusing is that the perpetrators of burning buildings and police cars and destroyers of businesses are benignly labeled as “protesters”.  This is akin to calling the thugs who went on the riotous tear through Vancouver after a loss in a Stanley cup game years ago, hockey fans.  In labelling the thugs who are destroying their community, “protesters”, they dignify the jerks who happen to enjoy a good wilding under pretext of a legitimate cause.

I’m not so sure that the public would be so accepting of their actions if they were labeled as what they actually are: criminal activities.  What if the headlines read “Missouri town invaded by looters and hooligans”?  Or how about “All you can smash day declared for Ferguson”.  Or they could simply rename the town of Ferguson; call it Mad Maxville.

What if people had a bad meal at PF Chang’s and decided to ransack the town— and towns all over the country? What about annoying people who are only doing their Christmas shopping? People have cut these “protesters” lots of slack because the media has portrayed them as exponents of a festering racial issue.  But they’re not; they’re simply criminals being allowed to run amok. I wonder if the media can be sued for aiding and abetting?  It’s also going to be curious to see how long the thugs can go on creating havoc under cover of their cause.  We’re  not sure what the statute of limitations is on legitimate protest versus garden variety breaking and entering.  I wonder if people can still run around causing havoc in “protest” over the O.J. Simpson verdict.

link Climate envoys seek stronger warning on warming dangers in key UN report.

Anyone who’s had children is familiar with this scenario: The child whines in a monotone drone about wanting something as if stuck on grooves of a record player until either the parent relents or the kid stops out of fatigue and moves on the next thing which amuses them.

These children have grown up to become global warming bleaters.  While the notion was novel and fashionable  when first trotted out decades ago, the passage of time and evidence have shown that the dire predictions breathlessly tossed out by its exponents are, well, just so much hot air.   Not the very least is that fact that the ‘imminent’ and ‘irreversible’ damage that allowed only another few years remaining for the world’s existence hasn’t quite materialized.  Even the labeling has had to evolve as the credibility factor gets iffier.  First Global Warming, then Climate Change, now Climate Disruption.  This of course implies that without man’s influence (and that means western man’s influence ) the weather would be the same and predictable all the time.  Meanwhile, the theory’s most public proponents keep buying bigger homes on more exclusive beachfront properties which would  presumably be at risk when the oceans rise.  As well, the penguin and polar bear populations keeps increasing.

But the Global warming crowd, long used to getting acquiescence from the gullible public still haven’t tired of their monotone bleats.  Even as more and more qualified people come forth to squelch the hare brained notion, the warming crowd’s bleating gets more and more insistent.   One of the most amusing arguments offered in support of the AGW crowd is that “97%” of scientists subscribe to it; as if science were a democratic process.  Long time readers will recall that back in the day, 98% of court Wisemen agreed that the world was flat.   Fully 100% of these Wisemen agreed that the earth was the center of the universe.   And up until recently, it was widely held that if you did “that” to yourself too often,  you’d most certainly go blind.  Obviously, if this were the case, no teenager would make it into adulthood with any sight.

In the 70’s. the Hare Krishna cultists were common fixtures at all North American airports.  For some reason, they were tolerated until eventually people grew tired of them and they eventually disappeared.  Can’t wait for that to happen to the climate nuts.