If the president or prime minister of a former Soviet bloc European nation told Congress that global warming skeptics were like communists inhibiting human freedom, do you think this would be headline news?
Well, as amazing as it might seem, Czech President Vaclav Klaus made some rather astonishing comments in a letter to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee about how “climate change and especially man-made climate change has become one of the most dangerous arguments aimed at distorting human efforts and public policies in the whole world.”
He went so far as to claim that “we are not witnessing a clash of views about the environment but a clash of views about human freedom,” and that communism has been “replaced by the threat of ambitious environmentalism.”
Yet, apart from World Net Daily, a Google and LexisNexis search indicated that no major American media outlets covered this development. Regardless, here are some of the more compelling comments by Klaus (emphasis added throughout):
The – so called – climate change and especially man-made climate change has become one of the most dangerous arguments aimed at distorting human efforts and public policies in the whole world…I am convinced, however, that up to now this scientific debate has not been deep and serious enough and has not provided sufficient basis for the policymakers’ reaction. What I am really concerned about is the way the environmental topics have been misused by certain political pressure groups to attack fundamental principles underlying free society. It becomes evident that while discussing climate we are not witnessing a clash of views about the environment but a clash of views about human freedom.
As someone who lived under communism for most of my life I feel obliged to say that the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity at the beginning of the 21st century is not communism or its various softer variants. Communism was replaced by the threat of ambitious environmentalism. This ideology preaches earth and nature and under the slogans of their protection – similarly to the old Marxists – wants to replace the free and spontaneous evolution of mankind by a sort of central (now global) planning of the whole world.
Shocking stuff, yes? Now, imagine his assertion was that those scientists and politicians currently denying the existence of manmade global warming were guilty of what he claimed in this letter. Do you think this would have been headline news this morning, and covered by all the television news outlets yesterday?
If the answer is "Yes," why the difference?
With that in mind, I highly recommend taking a few minutes to read his entire statement, for it is unlikely you are going to see it anywhere else.
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters.
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Even the vaunted FOX NEWS doe
March 20, 2007 - 12:16 ET by balboaEven the vaunted FOX NEWS doesn't have it anywhere up front. You have to search for Vaclav Klaus.
Mr. Klaus doesn't want eith
March 20, 2007 - 12:26 ET by sarcasmoMr. Klaus doesn't want either a tax and spend welfare state OR a borrow and spend warfare state. He instead represents a kind of third, hopeful choice neither Fox News nor the vaunted leftstream media want people to see on TV. As I've said before about others in politics with views like mine, having any kind of "actual small government" viewpoint effectively puts Klaus out of sight on both Fox News and the leftynetworks. All this means is that I'm still-right, and that I'm right about media bias against libertarian ideas, not just Dr. Ron Paul.
JMR
sarc, have you ever (ever!)
March 20, 2007 - 13:51 ET by DontFeedTheTrollssarc, have you ever (ever!) seen on any news broadcast anything about Breatharianism, the single most efficient lifestyle and form of government (and the biggest victim of media bias)? I thought not!
D
A day without NewsBusters is like a day without sunshine.
Hey, it's fun when I can ge
March 21, 2007 - 04:47 ET by sarcasmoHey, it's fun when I can get Balboa to unwittingly make my points for me, most of the time it's only conservatives unwittingly doing that job...
JMR
balboa, why should they? Va
March 20, 2007 - 21:33 ET by Unsanebalboa, why should they? Vaclav Klaus is the President of the Czech Republic. It is outside of the United States, so who cares? Let's talk about more important things, like Anna Nicole Smith (or the latest local sensational crime story to go nationwide, fill in the blank...).
(The Left cannot understand that there are some Rightists like me who minimize their exposure to Fox News just because as a U.S. media outlet, you will NEVER EVER hear them discuss events outside the United States, unless they occur in Iraq or Afghanistan.)
"HAV3 TH3 BRIDG3S OF INSANITY B33N CROSS3D AND FOR3V3R R3TRACT3D???." - Meshuggah, "3ntrapm3nt", from Catch Thirty Thr33 (2005)
Trojan Horse
March 20, 2007 - 12:17 ET by ondskapI've been saying to people for years that global warming / climate change is socialism's trojan horse. Bravo to President Klaus for stating the truth! Climate change is normal and natural, unrelated to carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere as everyone knows that increases in temperature drive the increase in carbon dioxide levels due to the heating of the oceans over time which release more carbon dioxide when warmer, like a bottle of coca-cola. And, everyone already also knows that the increases in temperature over time are directly related to solar activity variations. It's a no-brainer to me.
Noel,I saw the WND article th
March 20, 2007 - 12:40 ET by Dave RNoel,
I saw the WND article this morning and hoped you were aware of it. I started to shoot you a PM but figured you probably had at least a couple of hundred (thousand?) by then. Let's face it, you left-coasters sleep later 'n we right-coasters. :-^)
Nice catch.
This Klaus guy is telling it like it is. Too bad the majority of the dumb masses will never hear it.
This republic will not survive the continued neglect of its people.- Neal Boortz.
Plantation
March 20, 2007 - 12:46 ET by allanfIt takes someone with an understanding of Stalinism to understand the new liberalism.
Not that Rush needs any promo
March 20, 2007 - 12:47 ET by mattmNot that Rush needs any promotion, he's been saying this for 18 years.
The Global Warming Swindle video mentions this too. (In fact it's former member and co-founder of Greenpeace who made the point).
communism has been “repla
March 20, 2007 - 12:53 ET by Dave in Texascommunism has been “replaced by the threat of ambitious environmentalism."
Hah! Great! I have no doubt that ambitious envionmentalism will be every bit as successful as communism was.
Gore admitted that he lied about Kyoto
March 20, 2007 - 13:10 ET by RJHis following statement needs to be trumpeted, too:
"This ideology ...similarly to the old Marxists, wants to replace the free and spontaneous evolution of mankind by a sort of central (now global) planning of the whole world."
I've posted it before, but it's important enough to be worth repeating again and again:
AL GORE RECENTLY ADMITTED THAT HE KNEW KYOTO WOULDN'T WORK. He admitted that it's real purpose was to demonstrate that international support could be mustered for action on environmental issues.
In other words, he LIED in order to demonstrate the ability to control the world's economies.
RJ - do you have a link for t
March 20, 2007 - 13:14 ET by florida_chadRJ - do you have a link for this? Thanks
Chad, here's the link about Gore
March 20, 2007 - 13:27 ET by RJSorry, Chad. I did include it last time I posted it, but forgot this time. It's buried at the bottom (scroll down to the next to last paragraph) of a recent WSJ column about the media's newly discovered skepticism about Gore. (Gore actually said "Hell no" when asked if he believed that Kyoto would reduce global warming)
I think it's huge, and don't know why it hasn't received more coverage.....oh, wait....nevermind....I'm sure they have it scheduled right after writing about Dr. Claude Allegre's reversal. ;^>
http://opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110009804
Thanks RJ. This definately ne
March 20, 2007 - 13:31 ET by florida_chadThanks RJ. This definately needs more airtime. Of course the lefties won't believe it because if comes from the WSJ and Steven Milloy.
Commie groupies up the yazoo
March 20, 2007 - 12:57 ET by Jack BauerUnfortunately Czech President Vaclav Klaus really has an image proble..
#1 being that he's not a communist dictator, so he doesn't have a devoted cabal of groupies and ass-lickers in BIG MEDIA, Big Hollywood, and Big Academia
Now if he'd been a Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, or Fidel Castro, he'd have Barbra Walters blowing his trumpet live on air, on The View.
A copy of Klaus' response jus
March 20, 2007 - 13:00 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveA copy of Klaus' response just went into my 'My Documents' folder and I'll link it on my personal blog.
I like the way he plainly discussed his views and the reasons behind them without discussing the scientific details or the scientific debate. This is simple and easy to read, high schoolers should have no problem comprehending his letter.
"There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear." --General George S. Patton, Jr.
I watched Waxman's hearing la
March 20, 2007 - 13:35 ET by bigtimerI watched Waxman's hearing last night until one in the morning just about and could not help but scream at the TV...it was absolutely horrendous...and I mean every person should of been required to watch it that believes in GWing and the Marxists that are propagating this...Hansen has for thirty years or more.
He gets all sorts of money besides being on the tax-payer fed pay roll from NASA, he also got 250,000 from the Heinz foundation, he also worked for Kerry...
Issa and Souter did a great job, an absolutely great job! Chris Shay's was pathetic, as usual, Yarmouth from Kentucky is a real arse.
There is no way to describe all of this maddening hearing...but it proves every word that Klaus said here is true...and then some!
Talk about a pure total leftist....marxist...communist...whatever word fits...he wears it well!
I tried to find a link to the hearing...if anyone wants to see it it may be repeated this week-end or late at night this week...or is in the C-Span archives....if you want to watch a total mad-man watch Hansen
Here are a couple links that have to do with his work...there are a lot of links in them if interested...
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/science/earth/29climate.html?ex=1296190800&en=28e236da0977ee7f&ei=5088
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2005/
As an aside...I looked a lot of different places earlier today to see if I could find one article in any news media that reported the truth about what all took place at that hearing...couldn't find it except for headlines saying Hansen was silenced and such...which is absolutely not true, he spoke over 1400 hundred different times and places in the media including the wonderful tax-payer funded PBS.
I am still furious.
He has been at this for thirty years....and a regular Bush basher...and a huge fraud.
BTW...I do not think I can handle the media circus and the hearing with Gore on Wed. on this topic....I hope he is questioned by the same likes of Issa... oh say Inhofe!
"I know Global Warming is happening."
March 20, 2007 - 14:15 ET by misterbill"I know Global Warming is happening. I can tell when I go to the different American cities and see the smog and the air conditions."
This from my neighbor, who , in spite of that statement is not a GW freak. He hasn't followed any of this in the press or internet. He simply calls it as he sees it. I made no effort to dispute his statement because he is uninvolved and his "evidence" speaks for itself as far as he is concerned.
Do not think that I have become a GW believer again. I am just sharing what someone told me from his observations. I imagine there are a goodly number of people out there who hold the same opinion based on the same observations.
An ugly American is one who does not support his country.
misterbill I'm only willing
March 20, 2007 - 15:02 ET by radiofitz34misterbill I'm only willing to call it Climate Change. Also air pollution as an obvious reality. But all these GW wackos want to do is go past the obvious and into a fiction world. I'm all for better alternate fuel vehicles that don't pollute.
As for President Klaus's statements. He's right on the money!
I'm for people having the cho
March 20, 2007 - 21:35 ET by UnsaneI'm for people having the choice of buying whatever vehicle they choose. I want a new, V-8 Dodge Ram, half ton quad cab with a long bed, just because, even if it is just for me. Freewill is a wonderful thing.
"HAV3 TH3 BRIDG3S OF INSANITY B33N CROSS3D AND FOR3V3R R3TRACT3D???." - Meshuggah, "3ntrapm3nt", from Catch Thirty Thr33 (2005)
The communist mentality nev
March 20, 2007 - 16:53 ET by Tim the EnchanterThe communist mentality never gives up. It just morphs into something different. Reminds me of the old Exxon ad slogan: "We're changing our name, but not our stripes".