Fighting Trump by the Poolside in Old Marrakesh
This is part of our occasional series of articles borrowed from the Conversation, with added footnotes.
‘Shocking and scary’: how Trump’s victory was received at the UN climate talks in Marrakech—November 10, 2016
by Tony Ryan, Pro-vice Chancellor for Science and Director of the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures, University of Sheffield and Duncan Cameron, Professor of Plant and Soil Biology, University of Sheffield.
Tony Ryan receives funding from the Grantham Foundation and Tony Ryan receives funding from the Grantham Foundation.
[I expect that means that Duncan Cameron also receives funding from the Grantham Foundation but someone copied and pasted and forgot to change the names.]
Over breakfast at our riad in old town Marrakech, conversation was dominated by Donald Trump’s election victory and what kind of world we had woken up to.
[Isn’t there some law in Britain against taking your sustainability professors out of school during term time for holidays in exotic locations?]
← Cool, calm, green and air-conditioned: a Riad in the Marrakesh medina
We’re here in Morocco for COP22, the latest round of UN climate change talks. Climate experts from across the world have gathered here to decide on the actual detail of the Paris Agreement which was signed last year at the previous conference, COP21.
[Really? So there’s no “actual detail” in the agreement signed last year in Paris?]
Our group from the University of Sheffield is very diverse—delegates come from India and Zimbabwe as well as Britain—yet we were all in agreement: Trump’s election is shocking and scary news for the world.
[I can see how the idea of a leader getting elected might shock and scare someone from Zimbabwe.]
We arrived at the COP22 “blue zone” for delegates and were quickly approached by a French TV crew, wanting to hear our thoughts on Trump. Unsurprisingly, we said this was a disaster for the climate and a disaster for global equality.
[And unsurprisingly, that was just what the French TV crew wanted to hear. See IPCC AR6 WGII: chap. ‘Disastrous Effects of Elections.’]
It then began to dawn on us that there was something very different about the atmosphere at COP22. When we visited Paris last year, the sense of excitement in the air was palpable. But today, things feel altogether more sombre.
[Yes, I notice this in Paris too. It’s to do with having rumbustious politics, a (relatively) unshackled press, and freedom of speech. Not so much in Marrakesh.]
Trump’s assertion that climate change was a hoax “created by the Chinese” was never far from any of our minds.
[Trump is exaggerating here. He may have got the idea from newspaper reports about the insistence of the Chinese delegation at Paris COP21 on changing a “will” to a “would”. He won’t have got it from reading articles in the Conversation that’s for sure, since efforts by the indefatigable Robin Guenier and others to point out the importance of this change have been ignored.]
Swedish and American delegates discussed with us their concerns that Trump would now seek to renege on the US’s ratification of the Paris climate treaty. The Americans hoped “the system” would not let him.
[It’s not a treaty of course, but simply an agreement. Otherwise President Obama would have to get it ratified by Congress, which he can’t.]
An American artist we spoke to couldn’t even express her shock. She lived in Marrakech, she told us, and her work asked questions about human nature and our existence. Now, she questioned what had happened to her home country.
[An artist who can’t express her feelings is in a pickle, for sure. Questions about human nature and our existence are hard. Better to start with an easy one, like: “What has happened to my country?” (Answer: an election.)]
A Norwegian delegate and negotiator said the world needed to unite to contain right wing populism. And a member of the Libyan negotiation team, who had lived in the UK for five years, said, pessimistically, that this was just a game of democracy. For us, it feels like the endgame of neoliberal democracy.
[Not sure how you contain rightwing populism except by banning people from voting for it. Or crushing it with armed force of course. We’re not told which of Libya’s two or three governments the delegate represented, or what it was he thought to be a “game of democracy,” but since our soil and sustainability professors seem to think democracy is coming to an end anyway, I suppose it doesn’t much matter.]
We’ve seen big anti-establishment movements before—after the 1929 Wall Street crash in the US, for instance, during the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany, or in response to various more recent recessions.
[Among other big anti-establishment movements the authors forgot to mention were the English Civil War, the French and Russian Revolutions, the American War of Independence, and the anti-colonialist independence movements which freed half the world’s population from imperialism. Still, you can’t cover all the bases in one article. The important thing to get over is how jolly wrong it is to oppose the establishment.]
But, as scientists, we feel that the impact of these historic events on the environment was buffered by the planet’s natural resources, which allowed economic growth to continue. In the UK, for example, the economy was rescued by the exploitation of North Sea oil. Those resources—or at least those resources we could use remotely sustainably—are now all but exhausted.
[All but exhausted? Known recoverable resources of fossil fuels now are estimated to be enough for centuries, and these estimates double every what?—few decades? As the word “recoverable” changes its meaning, so does the word “sustainable.”]
Americans have elected an anti-sustainability president, a man unwilling to face up to environmental degradation. The US people have voted for a dream based on a time past—when America was “great”, oil prices were low, and the white working class felt secure. Whether the planet has the capacity to support a new round of unsustainable consumption is highly in doubt.
[Ah yes! Those far off days when America was the world’s most powerful nation and oil prices were low. And what right do the white working class have to feel secure anyway? How dare they vote for such a dream!]
However, it was brought starkly home to us that the rest of the world feels that Brexit paved the way for Trump’s victory. As a Moroccan scientist candidly said to us: “Well, you started it.”
[Yup. A British butterfly flapping itself free of a dysfunctional undemocratic European Union is bound to lead to the election of a property millionaire as President of the United States. Any climate scientist could predict that.]
To get a broader perspective, we moved from the UN delegate area to the “green zone,” where companies showcase their sustainable technologies and civil society organisations explore their role in climate change mitigation.
[We at Cliscep are pretty well acquainted with civil society organisations (or NGOs as they’re known—short for Nether Government Orifices). Exploring their own roles is what they do best, especially in Marrakesh.]
Our conversations here made it apparent that this diverse community has the appetite to effect change, but will need to demand sustainability and reject economic models dependent on growth.
[“Appetite,” “demand,” “reject.” A perfect definition of the role of the orifice.]
We, as a planet, now have to choose between the path of self-destruction by overconsumption or a more equitable and sustainable future.
[“We, the planet…” has a nice ring to it. It could serve as the preamble to the constitution of the World Unity government that Norwegian bloke was proposing in order to combat populism. Since there’s only one planet it would win any election with a majority of one.]
Climate Scepticism 
Interpolator:
That’s just mean.
I’ve now read the rest of it. Gruntled.
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Geoff, you are a very naughty boy,
It is unkind and not polite to mock the afflicted. Or in this case, the affected!
It does seem relevant, however, to ask what a pair of university dons are doing swanning around North Africa on a climate jolly while there are, one assumes, students seeking the knowledge they are paid to impart. Or is that just a sideline, these days? Perhaps the Seer of Blackford Hill has a view on the subject!
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Richard
You’re right. Should I remove it, or leave it in with this apology? Maybe I should apologise to the guy from Libya too. I imagine that practically the only immigrants let into the UK from the countries we’re bombing are academics who are offered university posts. A good reason for supporting the continuation of the university system.
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Leave it all in.
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Richard
OK.
Would some kind soul link this article at the Conversation? (first link in article above) I’m not allowed there. They’ve got no comments so far, so they’ll be glad of the publicity.
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Geoff, just posted the link a moment ago.
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Well fisked, sir.
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It seems to me, as someone who’s had less than half a dozen foreign holidays in the last fifteen years (how virtuously small is that carbon footprint?) that the COP set up is a form of travel agency requiring no more payment than a slap-dash essay and the promise of being sucked off by various whores on the internet. The Conversation? The Concubation more like. Sucking Satan’s cock, as Bill Hicks would say.
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“But, as scientists, we feel that the impact of these historic events on the environment was buffered…”
Because that’s what we pay scientists to do: feel things and then report the results of their feelings, with a particular focus on historicity, impactfulness and bufferedness.
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“[“Appetite,” “demand”, “reject.” A perfect definition of the role of the orifice]”
Yes, the article has the distinct odor of the bitter impotence of one who yearns for high orifice, perhaps even the orifice of the Chairman one day, but must be content with speaking from a much lower orifice.
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Meta-scientist:
Nailed it.
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“report the results of their feelings, with a particular focus on historicity, impactfulness and bufferedness.”
Indeed! Meanwhile the very same ivy league meteorological academics have no Idea how much atmosphere the Earth has, or why it has that much! The bufferedness however is certainly getting warmer from earthlings allowing coal to produce atmospheric CO2! How nasty!
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Will,
good point. I’m often perplexed by statements about such and such an anthropic deed having a “negative impact” on “the Earth/environment/climate”… is there less planet than before? How much has the environment decreased by? How much climate do we still have left after all these downward alterations? (I was banned from The Concubation [h/t Ian] within a suspiciously short time of making fun of one of the female regulars for her use of such language. Or I should say: I triggered my own banning.)
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Brad Keyes says: 11 Nov 16 at 6:26 am
“I’m often perplexed by statements about such and such an anthropic deed having a “negative impact” on “the Earth/environment/climate”… is there less planet than before?”
Only more questions! The academics have the mass of the ‘Earth’s atmosphere’ at 5.2 x 10^18kg! this is through the use of such silly math\geometry that no seventh grader would make such a mistreak! The whole atmosphere has mass about 1/3 of that! Hard to tell. Does that include the mass of all flying bugs, birds, clouds, and aircraft; or not? The atmosphere resists any empirical evidence as it refuses to stay in one place. Perhaps if there was some idea of “Earth has this much atmosphere so as to balance this gain and this other loss of atmosphere? Your academics have not ever even tried to ask such basic questions!
“How much has the environment decreased by? How much climate do we still have left after all these downward alterations?”
What is “environment”? What is “climate”? Does the average surface temperature of the whole planet have any possible meaning whatsoever? Just what might that be?
“(I was banned from The Concubation [h/t Ian] within a suspiciously short time of making fun of one of the female regulars for her use of such language. Or I should say: I triggered my own banning.)”
[snipped – offensive]
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“Our group from the University of Sheffield is very diverse – … – yet we were all in agreement:”
That’s a Conversation Classic!
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IAN WOOLLEY
”It seems to me … the COP set up is a form of travel agency…
Truer than you think. Paul and I used to frequent one of those Climate ‘n Energy blogs – all posh layout and no comments. It was financed by Kuwaiti Airways and a chain of Middle Eastern hotels. 30,000 delegates can fill an awful lot of hotel rooms.
By the way, Dr Physics has replied to you over at our mirror site.
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Confession: I thought Will’s pun was hilarious… but was overcome with a strange feeling of guilt for thinking so. That’s as close to an offensiveness detector or “offen-dar” as I’m equipped with—being largely a stranger to the emotion of offendedness myself—so I reluctantly agree the snippage was necessary. Naughty naughty, Will!
A quick note to readers outside the Climate Anglosphere: we in the Climate English-speaking world, hailing from broadly Climate-Anglican or at least Climate-Protestant traditions as we do, are not always comfortable with humor involving that kind of… er… thing. Reactions can be tricky for non-native Climate-English (Climate-English as a Second Language) speakers to predict, so the best advice is not to risk telling those kinds of joke.
Leave it to experienced gaffers, repeat offenders and award-winning appallers like me.
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Brad Keyes says: 11 Nov 16 at 9:54 am
“That’s as close to an offensiveness detector or “offen-dar” as I’m equipped with—being largely a stranger to the emotion of offendedness myself—so I reluctantly agree the snippage was necessary. Naughty naughty, Will!”
Congratulations! You are so very good at obtuse satire; I was not sure you would recognize obtuse\deliberate sarcasm! What is a ‘female regular’ or “regular female’? Have you some code-book grammar for concatenated adjectives with no noun, not even ‘writer’ or ‘poster’??? Snippage is fine! Sarcasm got to the only intended! What about the rest of the actual technical sarcasm, directed only at arrogant academics?
“Best to leave it to experienced gaffers, offenders and appallers like me.”
Hokay! Please ask if you need your satire to twist a bit more!!
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WILL JANOSCHKA
It was a very small snip. I hope it didn’t hurt. I thought it was funny too, though it sounded like the kind of gag that’s been around longer than me but that I just haven’t come across. It just happened to be at the wrong time and the wrong place.
I’m not going to add to the billions of comments on Trump, except to say that there are no doubt millions of people like me who would desperately like to celebrate his victory – if only, if only…
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Geoff Chambers says: 11 Nov 16 at 9:27 am
“By the way, Dr Physics has replied to you over at our mirror site.”
Does Ken Rice actually claim any intelligence whatsoever? I am worrying more and more over the many Sentient Bagels proposed by Brad!
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I can’t add anything on the sentient bagels question, but a couple of years ago a scientifically-literate donut wanted to debate ATTP. His friends talked him out of it, saying Anders would eat him for breakfast. (A pretzel had made that mistake just a few weeks earlier, and had wound up totally baffled by Anders’ logic.)
By the way it’s Professor Physics, not Dr Physics. As I always say: WFS.
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Brad Keyes says:11 Nov 16 at 2:22 pm
“I can’t add anything on the sentient bagels question, but a couple of years ago a scientifically-literate donut wanted to debate ATTP. His friends talked him out of it, saying Anders would eat him for breakfast. (A pretzel had made that mistake just a few weeks earlier, and had wound up totally baffled by Anders’ logic.)”
But but but! Between the remaining, ‘shteyngebers’,und Rabbis, in the NE corridor. With some effort, the Bagels could take over in 2 years! Bagels do not have that long 9 month gestation period! Go Bagels!!
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Marrakesh is the place for Greenies. Baksheesh, anybody???
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As the representative of the planet’s sedimentary rocks I want to point out that guy doesn’t represent us. He’s an ursurper who denies our right to represent our own ideas and opinions.
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How can you presume to speak for the entire sedimentary-rock community? It’s not monolithic, you know.
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Brad Keyes says: 11 Nov 16 at 5:17 pm
“How can you presume to speak for the entire sedimentary-rock community? It’s not monolithic, you know.”
Good GOD, I thought Bagels were weird enough!! How about semi-sedimentary-rocks, non-sedimentary rocks, Plain left over goo, and of course Bagels!
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Reminds me of 2 ivory tower engineers pondering endlessly (and from their suite) the best source of weld for a broken item while a working man does the job with a metal stick and some current. They will inevitably be angered that their discussion is bothered by news the job is done.
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Ian Woolley: ‘…the COP set up is a form of travel agency’
Not a very good one. For some reason, one woman’s ticket said she was a man. Whoever’s fault that was, you’d think a reputable travel agency would help her sort it out. But no. COP Holidays just stood twiddling its thumbs while the poor woman (a 60-year-old diabetic) was held at the airport for two or three days (she says without food or water) and then booted out.
In fairness to COP Holidays, a separate problem complicated matters somewhat. The woman (Souielma Beirouk, AKA Suelma Beiruk, Suilma Hay Emhamed Saleh) is from a territory that Morocco doesn’t recognize, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Morocco says it’s actually a Moroccan wind farm and that, coming from an imaginary place, the woman can’t really exist – and wouldn’t exist even if she were a man.
A bit embarrassing for COP Holidays, no? I mean, what were they supposed to do? Should they have cancelled everyone’s holiday because one of their customers turned out to be a trouble maker? Should 25,902 other people have been robbed of their fun in the sun to make a principled stand on behalf of a woman who might have been passing herself off as a man and probably didn’t exist?
Here’s a partial list of the tour party:
Click to access misc02p03.pdf
The trouble maker is listed as ‘H.E. Mr. H.E HON Suilma Hay Emhamed Elkaid 3RD VICE-PRESIDENT Bureau Pan African Parliament’.
The Parliament is an African Union effort. Some reports say that other AU delegates have withdrawn from COP22 in solidarity with Ms Beirouk/Beiruk/Saleh/Elkaid, but there’s been no official statement.
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Amused that the Norwegian guy wished to “contain right wing populism”.
Has he not noticed that the Norwegian coalition government includes right wing populists from the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet).
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Duke Silver,
Forgive me for being a bit dense but what would ivory-tower engineers know about welding in the first place?! Aren’t they carpenters, by definition and training?
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VINNY BURGOO
A thousand thanks for the link to the Marrakesh guest list. It’s pure gold. I’ve got to page 147 and here are the names of the delegates from Sheffield University
Mr. Jonathan Price Director Energy Innovation Vice Chancellor
Mr. Tony Ryan Pro-Vice-Chancellor Faculty of Science
Mr. Duncan Cameron Professor of Plant and Soil Biology Animal and Plant Sciences
Mr. Matthew Billson co-Programme Director Energy2050
Ms. Kirsty Bowen Communications Officer Energy2050
Mr. Robert Hardie Research Student Geography
Ms. Kaisa Johanna Pietilä Grantham Scholar Politics Youth Crime Watch of Nigeria
The article clearly says: “Our group from the University of Sheffield is very diverse – delegates come from India and Zimbabwe as well as Britain..”
Now call me a silly old white male, but I can’t see any names that look Indian or Zimbabwean. Perhaps a couple of delegates popped in to Marrakesh on their way back from some other conference in a warm climate?
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Someone should ask Tony Ryan about his magic trousers.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/oct/21/bright-idea-jeans-clean-cities
Clearly, they haven’t absorbed all of his noxious emissions in Marrakech. Perhaps being surrounded by 25,902 like-minded people for a few days will enable their wearer to make greater strides on the way home.
http://www.catalytic-clothing.org/home.html
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Geoff, that PDF isn’t wholly reliable. For example, it says that one of the six-strong Sheffield Uni team is a young Finnish woman from a Nigerian NGO called Youth Crime Watch of Nigeria. Hmmm.
Look at the official listing for delegates from Youth Crime Watch in Nigeria towards the end of the PDF and things become a bit clearer by becoming even muddier: five delegates, one from Nigeria and four from New Zealand.
If nothing else, the PDF proves that it’s very hard to keep track of 25,903 (or even 25,902) people holidaying in the same resort at the same time.
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Seven-strong, which you’d already spotted; and ‘surrounded by 25,901 like-minded people for a few days’.
Time for bed.
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VINNY BURGOO
Yes I had noticed some odd entries, though I didn’t notice that the Nigerian woman had a Finnish name. For example, the Association Of Bladi Women for Development and Tourism sent 6 delegates, five of them men.
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Great sarky comments Geoff in the face of green histrionics.
Give it up you green parasites. Trump will have no truck with you. May won’t have the time for you. Merkel won’t have the mandate for you. And nobody else will have the cash.
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One thing has become clear and that’s how that troublesome passage should have read, seeking to explain probability to the denser Guardian reader, discussed in a previous thread:
“Donald Trump had a 15% chance of winning based on polling predictions – roughly the same chance as that of being a woman if you are lucky enough to be a delegate of the Association Of Bladi Women for Development and Tourism at a major conference.”
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Mepresumes the editors of The Conversation, in their pursuit of ‘Academic Excellence, Verbal Ineptitude,’ have simply made a typo. Readers, please read “anything but exhausted.”
Oh come on Geoff, this is simply another case of Academic Excellence, Bullshit Demagoguery, Editorial Half-Arsery and you know it. If you’re really going to be that pedantic, why not point out that they forgot the mandatory formula:
“The authors do not work for, or receive funding from, any institution or company whose credibility benefits from the publication of this article.”
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Richard, ¡chapeau bas!
I believe your comment above qualifies as the last word on Communicating Uncertainty, a subject upon which the climate community has wasted multiple millions of non-last words.
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Much though I wish to take your encouragement at face value, Mr Keyes, the presence at the start of a French phrase of an inverted exclamation mark only really applicable to espanish (assuming you’re not speaking old Galician or Waray) rang warning bells. A quick check of Wikipedia and the Ethiopian roots of your irony became crystal clear. Nice try.
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“assuming you’re not speaking old Galician or Waray”
Ha! That was your first mistake: when you presume, you make a PRES out of U and ME both!
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“But where’s Rochdale?”
As a Rochdale lad myself, they would probably not notice the difference, except it isn’t as warm.
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I’ve just scrolled down that list of COP participants given here earlier by Vinny Burgoo (https://cliscep.com/2016/11/10/fighting-trump-by-the-poolside-in-old-marrakesh/#comment-8412 ).
I felt a sadness from this glimpse at the ginormity of the CO2 Bandwagon. I recalled occasions when I have had this feeling before. Have you ever watched a really dire film (movie) right to the end, and watched slack-jawed as screen after screen of credits rolled up before your jaded eyes? So many people’s time had been taken up with something so tawdry/rubbishy/insulting-to-the-spirit/intelligence/senses? What a waste. How come we have so much spare cash swilling around that they can all find a chunk of it? How hard would it be to find something more useful to do?
I don’t feel quite ready yet to speak for the planet, but on behalf of me and my vegetable patch, I would like to emit a considerable wail.
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JOHN SHADE
Talking of vegetable patches, did you spot the four delegates from the International Potato Center?
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Besides the Potato Men, there was also Bianca Jagger of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, Adam Corner of Climate Outreach, and Ms Lulu Niu of the Hangzhou Low Carbon Science & Technology Museum. Trust the Chinese to be one step ahead. They’ve already consigned Low Carbon Science to the Museum.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute sent six delegates, including Mr. Myron Ebell, Mr. Rupert Darwall and Mr. Marc Morano.
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Geoff,
“did you spot the four delegates from the International Potato Center?”
Don’t be so naive. Those goons are a well-known secret front group for the Intervegetable Panel on Complex Carbohydrates, formerly IPECAC. Read up on it. It’ll make you sick.
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Please, please, please: the COP21 agreement has NOT been ratified by the USA. President Obama has given his personal assent which will become moot on January 20/ 2017. Only the US Senate can ratify treaties and that “august body” has declined to do so.
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Chris,
Not trying to correct you here, but every single man and woman in America has the legal right to give “personal assent” to the COP21 agreement.
But of course, where would be the the fun in that, if they can’t force their non-assenting neighbor to suffer the rigors of carbon austerity with them?
Meh, no rush. Please, please, please, let’s not do anything hasty (like take personal responsibility for the alleged problem). Better to wait for the Federal Government to do something about climate change. And even if the incoming administration has zero point zero zero zero intention of addressing the ticking time-bomb that is global warming, maybe the next one will? Another few years (or 12) won’t make much difference. I mean [chuckles], it’s not like delay = the end of the world, is it?
PS: August bodies are so three months ago, dude.
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International Potato Center? Was Lineker one of them?
“Gary Lineker And Lilly Allen Applaud Lego’s Decision To Stop Advertising In Daily Mail”
“Lego has ended its relationship with the Daily Mail following a campaign to stop brands from buying ad space in tabloid newspapers.”
He’s a real brick.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lego-stop-advertising-in-daily-mail_uk_5826f182e4b0e18d11a53ea3?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D1582476173_uk
Also: “Walkers Crisps frontman Gary Lineker has had talks with the brand about its advertising in The Sun after a row over the portrayal of child refugees.”
Liberals are so liberal………..
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Brad Keyes says: 12 Nov 16 at 4:23 pm
“PS: August bodies are so three months ago, dude.”
There has not been a US Senate August body for the past 30 years!
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But whatever else anyone might criticise, they showed their credentials as a legitimate international conference. Israeli flags were combusted, excess carbon extracted of course by the surrounding crowd indulging in the local inbreathing customs.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4877268,00.html
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Can’t you try to see things the Senate’s way for once, Will?
Much like academics, Senators need several months’ holiday a year, just to replenish their neuropeptide packages. See: refractory period.
Otherwise the excellence of their work might suffer… which doesn’t bear imagining!
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Gary@erko,
Thanks for that link. I’d never have expected anti-Israelism to rear its ugly head at a climate pissup of all places—not when global warming famously knows no political bias, endangering the donkey and the elephant alike. They’re probably going stripbark up the wrong tree; next time I suggest they try picketing more of a liberal-left-wing-type convention.
BTW, I think I recognize one of the Bar-al-Amrika, Bar-al-Quds crooners in that mugshot of vexillo-pyrotechnicians. He once penned a very thoughtful article bemoaning the Climate of Hate, if I recall.
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Brad, I miss your raves on The [comment removed due to whateverism] Partial Conversation, whatever name you used. I’m still there in a reincarnation after multiple excommunications . Hint – use an ordinary looking name.
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Thanks Gary.
Alas, however, my account was also suspended indefinitely (hanged, I guess, is the word) by the moderators at Monolog Macht Frei, and I respect their judgement far too much to attempt to sneak back in under a lame pun on the Arabic for “house of war.”
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A little late to the conversation (oh, what a mis-nomer!), but I had to offer my own contribution. As it is most likely to be “moderated” into oblivion, I shall repeat it here, open to your own ripping:
“Perhaps part of this article should have read: “… Trump’s election is shocking and scary news for
theour world.” That would be understandable, as the end of the line for this gravy train might be in sight.And a Libyan’s knowledge of democracy should be called into question, however long they may have resided in the UK; mind you, you own idea of “neoliberal democracy” might be causing him/her (oh, sorry, him, as it was already stated he was Libyan, for whom women are merely half-persons) some confusion.”
As an aside, whoever suspected the Norwegian Blue could exist?
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Radical Rodent,
it’s like I tell my friends when they’ve been dumped / fired / hospitalized: “Now now, let’s have no more crying. It’s not the end of the end of the world. It’s just the end of *your* world.”
Some people are so f_______ self-absorbed.
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Paul Homewood has reposted this at his blog.
He also has two more nice Marrakesh posts:
All Aboard The Marrakesh Express
and
Saving The World And An Imperial Cities Tour!
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Niggle point: it’s Marrakech guys.
How the circle turns. Marrakech was once the in-place for hippies and anti-establishment, peace-loving, flower power types to hang out. Now it’s hosting COP22 after somebody years ago fed a hippie after midnight and they spawned an entire hellish host of Green Gremlins.
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In the same style at The Conflagration we have
The view from Marrakech: climate talks are battling through a Trump tsunami
(“Stunned. Shocked. Speechless. … Climate denier…” ending up with the absurd claim that China is now a “climate leader”, Robin are you reading this?)
But then there’s a more sensible and thoughtful article by Mike Hulme,
Anglophone political populism and the cultural rejection of climate change
in which he points out that climate scepticism can’t just be explained by the usual story of well-funded think tanks and oil lobbyists, and goes on to discuss how climate change has itself become ideological.
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