Methuselah

Irrespective of how sick 'it' makes us all feel...Is 'it' actually true??? http://www.jonathonporritt.com/pages/2009/01/dont_always_trust_the_guardian.html As an aside, over the years I've 'mutated' from a dyed-in-wool anti-abortion person to an 'it's a woman's choice, as it's her body' person...

IMO, any suspicion of deliberate misrepresentation of data should be thoroughly investigated... Which is the very thing that has yet to be proved...And, would this be the same 'general public' that once took to stoning the house of a paediatrician???

Well, it's has certainly been claimed...Personally, I don't like cherry-picking much, either. Which is why I find the climate deniers to be every bit as bad...'Tis why I'm a sceptic, and neither a believer nor a denier...

In other words: probably not, then: as even the largest list of ad homs doesn't sum-up to the smallest amount of evidence...

Is any of that substantiated, Solar - or is it simply yet more hearsay??

Wish I could see a forecast like that (barring the wind chill ) for around here!

If anything's ever really 'nailed on' surely it's almost the case with the disorganized PV??? And, IMO, it's the state of the PV (and the resulting distribution of cold air 'oop north') that's the greatest cause for optimism: For years, we've had occassional 'good' synoptics, but without any substantial sources of cold air? This time though, if things stay as they are, when the right synoptics arise, there will be some proper cold...Has there ever been a winter (with PVs in their present state) during which there has been no cold weather at all??? That said, I agree with Steve Prudence...FI is FI because it's so very highly unlikely to materialize; and 'plausibiliy' doesn't really mean much, either, IMO. And, in answer to Dave - it could well be the case that none of the runs or ensemble members is right? :o True enough... :o

Dry and clear, -2C...

IMO, it's a stick-and-carrot approach that's needed: neither over-centralization nor a free-market free-for-all will solve anything...I mean, the 'right' still hasn't grasped the fact that throwing money at those who already have more than enough, does nothing to keep the economy ticking over - does the Roller really need another cupholder? - whilst the 'left' sometimes still seems to think that money grows on trees??? So, how can anyone trust either of them with something essentially apolitical - i.e. scientific - like AGW??

Strange you should bring-up the Soviet Union??? IMO, Stalin's acceptance of Lysenko's anti-scientism bears an uncanny resemblence to the current Right Wing's dismissal of AGW science... Perhaps, it's more to do with powerful individuals' fear of personal loss, than with whatever political faction said individuals like to associate themselves with?? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism

The issue I have with the 'free market' (IMO) is that those concerned would be more likely to run-off to some Greek island or luxury yacht, than stay and sort-out any long-term problems...Their main interest is, afterall, the accumulation of personal wealth? Personally, I wouldn't trust the free market as as far as I could throw it!

That could be because too many governments give handouts to those unaffected by recession, i.e, those who are rich??? Are we wandering O-T???

Hi CC...I think it was 2000-2001 when I last saw temps that low in Calgary, on a regular basis...

Thanks for the info, Shunter...

Thanks for that, Cookie. Interesting stuff!

I ain't THAT old, Gilly...

Has there ever been a proper cold spell that hasn't been preceeded by a splitting of the PV?

Nae bad, WM...How about an 'extra' point for being old???

Good post, PC; that's exactly how I'm seeing (or, perhaps, not seeing them?) things just now. It's also why I'm not about the over-criticize the MetO's winter forecast; sometimes (IMO), uncertainty can be more revealing than, sometimes foolish, attempts at precision?

Please can we try and stay on-topic?

The first question I always ask myself whenever one of these 'scandals' arises is: who benefits?

Hi Ian, In most of those situations (Jan '79 had a few nippers too) there was also fairly deep snow covering quite wide areas...

It looks (to me) as if that was the whole idea behind the hack...Until the investigation has taken place, there can be a media-frenzy in the run-up to the Copenhagen Conference; and a free-for-all concerning pre-emptive unsubstantiated claims/chatter??? Anyhow, interesting times lay ahead!

Dry and partly cloudy, 6C...

Really? One of many, methinks: http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/archive/ra/1963/Rrea00119630217.gif