Scientist Uses UN Security To Stop Questions About ClimateGate

A Stanford professor with ties to Nobel Laureate Al Gore and the growing ClimateGate scandal used United Nations security officials at the climate conference in Copenhagen to halt questions about e-mail messages obtained from Britain's Climatic Research Unit.

Dr. Stephen Schneider was speaking at the Bella Centre Thursday when Irish journalist Phelim McAleer began asking about ClimateGate.

McAleer is known for his documentary "Not Evil, Just Wrong," which challenged the content of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," as well as for confronting the former Vice President during a lecture in October only to have his microphone turned off.

According to a video just posted at Big Government, UN security officials stepped in when McAleer tried to ask the Professor inconvenient questions (video embedded below the fold):

Professor Stephen Schneider's assistant requested armed UN security officers who held film maker Phelim McAleer, ordered him to stop filming and prevented further questioning after the press conference where the Stanford academic was launching a book. [...]

He asked Professor Schneider about his opinions on Climategate - where leaked emails have revealed that a senior British professor deleted data and encouraged colleagues to do likewise if it contradicted their belief in Global Warming. [...]

During some testy exchanges with McAleer, UN officials and Professor Schneider's assistants twice tried to cut short McAleer's question.

However as the press conference drew to a close Professor Schneider's assistant called armed UN security guards to the room. They held McAleer and aggressively ordered cameraman Ian Foster to stop filming. The guard threatened to take away the camera and expel the film crew from the conference if they did not obey his instructions to stop filming Professor Schneider. [...]

Two officers corralled the film crew and one officer can be seen on tape threatening the cameraman. The Guard can also be heard warning that if the crew did not stop filming their would seize the equipment and the journalists expelled from the conference.

McAleer apparently has lodged an official complaint about his treatment:

"I have met Mr Christopher Ankerson the UN's head of security for the conference and he has confirmed it was Professor Schneider's staff who asked the security guards to come corral us at the press conference. Mr Ankerson could not say what grounds the security guard had for ordering us to stop filming."

"This is a blatant attempt to stop journalists doing journalism and asking hard questions. It is not the job of armed UN security officers to stop legitimate journalists asking legitimate questions of senior members of the UN's IPCC."

Professor Schneider was interviewed for McAleer's "Not Evil Just Wrong" documentary but lawyers later wrote to McAleer saying he was withdrawing permission for the interview to be used.

Schneider has been a controversial global warming alarmist for quite some time. As NewsBusters reported in October, he appeared in a 1978 television program warning Americans of a coming Ice Age (relevant section at 6:04):

Since then, Schneider has been a close confidant to Gore. In fact, as McAleer demonstrated in the following video, Schneider was with the Global Warmingist-in-Chief when he acknowledged winning the Nobel Peace Prize:

According to a Google News search, only Edie.net and a blog at the Stanford Review have reported this incident. 

Color me extremely unsurprised.