Roger Pielke on Michael Mann’s Victory
February 11, 2024
By Paul Homewood
From Roger Pielke:
Yesterday, a jury in Washington, DC awarded renowned climate scientist Michael E. Mann more than $1,000,000 in damages in a defamation lawsuit he brought against two bloggers. I was a witness in the case and testified on Tuesday. Here, I’ll offer my thoughts on the case and some personal reflections on my experience.
Mann’s case alleged that he was defamed by statements made the bloggers more than a decade ago, which harmed his reputation and career (I won’t rehash the details here, but you can get a full accounting of the trial at this comprehensive podcast).
The defense built their case around making three points to the jury.
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
My ghast has seldom been so flabbered! Where did they find that jury? …. No, don’t answer that!
We should check back in a year’s time and see whether the jury members are buying new houses and new cars and taking expensive holidays.
Where did they buy that jury is more the question.
OK. Why has this post been doctored? Surely not collar-feeling by the Climate Police?
link to Pielke’s post https://rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/false-equivalence
Interesting part
there were two absolutely pivotal moments in the trial.
One occurred when Mann was testifying and he explained that he felt that the bloggers were not just criticizing him, but they were attacking all of climate science, and he could not let that stand. As the world’s most accomplished and famous climate scientist, Mann intimated that he was simply the embodiment of all of climate science.
For the jury, this set up the notion that this trial was not really about Mann,
but about attacks on all of climate science from climate deniers.
The second pivotal moment occurred when in closing arguments Mann’s lawyer asked the jury to send a message to right-wing science deniers and Trump supporters with a large punitive damage award.
Sounds like they did! Pretty hard to argue.
Greens run from free and fair debate
When you do pin them down and demolish their arguments
they feel very angry , because their religion is being destroyed ie Cognitive Dissonance
So rather than accept that they are inclined to lash out.
Steyn thought he might win a jury over
but if they were true believers then cognitive dissonance would have cause them to lash out at him.
In most of the West the majority of the population regard Climate Change as a problem. (Why wouldn’t they it’s been shoved down their throats at every available opportunity for a couple of decades). A very small minority have the ability and inclinationation to question the message.
The only question is how much are they prepared to pay or change their way of life. Not a great deal it seems.
It is the job of the judge, if he is certain of a fact, to TELL the jury they must accept it as true. For instance, he could have told the jury that it was NOT OPEN TO THEM, on the evidence allowed into Court, to make a finding that Steyn was morally culpable to such an extent that punitive damages were appropriate.
However, perhaps the judge thought Steyn WAS bad. Or perhaps the judge simply did not want to be “controversial,” and preferred to pass the buck to the Appeals Court with nothing on the file where he could be “reversed.”
Dave, think you’ve nailed it there!
Or a Jury of mainly Democrats!
The jury awarded Michael Mann $2 in actual damages and $1,001,000 in punitive damages.
Like Giuliani (election rigging) and Alex Jones (false flag shooter), if you present irrefutable evidence that wholly punctures a narrative, they absolutely batter you with punitive damages to deter others. Now Steyn joins the list (manipulation of climate data). And it would be no surprise if they find some twisted premise on which to charge Tucker Carlson (Ukraine.) If one plate stops spinning they may all collapse.
Because of policies resulting from Mann and his ilk, we are currently importing 22% of of our electricity supply.
Much as that is, and way off t, here’s a blockbustin recent presentation from St. Andrews geol prof, Tony Prave – warning# contains lots of overturning stuff re Scottish highlands
https://www.youtube.com/embed/tnsw0mQu0zI
I followed the excellent podcasts day by day. Ep. 12 | Mann at War by Climate Change on Trial (spotify.com)
I was astounded by the Jury’s findings.
As far as I can understand there was:
No loss of reputation or income was demonstrated.
No proof that Steyn was being duplicitous when he described the hockey stick graph as a fraud. The exact opposite is true when you follow how he thinks.
No proof of ‘actual malice’—that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.
“I was astounded by the Jury’s findings.”
Why?
WE know that Steyn is the equivalent of a Chihuahua in a dog-fight, but the Jury was drawn from a pool of ignoramuses who think “people like him” are illegal Pit-bulls. They voted for an immediate lethal injection.
“Yesterday, a jury in Washington, DC …”
That is the explanation.
As far as I am aware*, the USA Court did not have what is called personal jurisdiction over the Canadian citizen, and resident, Steyn. Therefore, he seems to have appeared voluntarily. If he did this in the interests of Free Speech that has not turned out well. The inevitable MSM spin would always be, “Climate nuts slapped down” or “Climate nuts given green light to attack science” depending on the verdict.
*It depends on questions such as whether Steyn has assets and personal connections in the USA.
Paul, Lyle Hancock is a very humble intelligent person who wrote an important critique of Mannn’s proxies, I believe Lyle’s work was used in the British house of parliament as evidence against any sort of “unprecedented” up-tick in global temps.
If you would like to get more info from him or this link doesn’t work (he sent it to me privately) he is on FB under the name Lyle Hancock Sr.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/24oqome16423k23/Pass%202%20Marcott%202013.pdf?e=1&fbclid=IwAR21kGOdfDk3rnAc1AOuVFsYxPVo4tzUPqOf8q550a5B099uApVnIA85UbY&dl=0
Thanks Graeme
The link has come through OK
I’ll follow up tomorrow