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The continued embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM combined with a broad decline in academic standards is producing a generation of scientists who are less capable than their predecessors, warned some scientists in recent interviews with The College Fix. From easier math classes in high school to the elimination of standardized tests to extreme grade-inflation to DEI tropes that elevate lived experiences and ways of knowing over facts and data, the trend represents a pressing problem for science professors working to protect STEM and preserve its standards and meritocracy. Alex Small, chair of the physics and astronomy department...

A panel of four early childhood health experts discussed the effect of climate change on childhood development at a Harvard Graduate School of Education forum featuring former First Daughter Chelsea V. Clinton on Wednesday. The event, hosted by HGSE’s Askwith Education Forum, was titled “A Healthy Childhood in a Changing Climate” and sought to outline viable solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change on children’s health and development. Clinton, the vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, moderated the discussion. HGSE Dean Bridget Terry Long opened the forum by highlighting the urgency of responding to a changing climate, noting that...

The action of making something obscure, unclear, or unintelligible. The Plaintiff's case hinges on making you, or rather the jury, believe — nay, they have to prove — that Mark and Rand knowingly falsified information and had an intent to ruin Mann's reputation. How are Mann's lawyers trying to do that? By making data falsification, fabrication, and every other journalistic standard, such as plagerism (which has been in the news of late, if we recall correctly), the exclusive domain of academia. These really smart people are the only ones who are educated enough to say what is right and what...

Today, the Plaintiff (finally) rested their case — after 10 days, including jury selection, and four witnesses, to include Mann himself. The Plaintiff's last witness, Dr. John Abraham of the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), was called as an expert witness. After a rigorous voir dire, Abraham was allowed to testify, but only as a fact witness. Which is really legal jargon for being Mann's BFF. And how did putting Dr. Abraham on the stand work out for the Plaintiff? The below excerpts from the cross-examination (by the Defense and Mark), pretty much sum up Mann's entire case. Excerpt One...

The Mann v. Steyn trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia is now in the middle of its third week. For more background on the case, see my post from a few days ago here. I have been watching some substantial chunks of the trial on the court’s livestream, although unfortunately several other matters have prevented me from watching the entirety. Today at the lunch break, the plaintiff Michael Mann concluded the presentation of his case. The technical term is that the plaintiff “rested.” So I thought a short update would be timely. Because I haven’t seen...

Dr. Wyner is a professor, statistician, and, oh, chair of the undergraduate program in statistics and data science. His specialty is probability models. He has worked with ESPN (Money Ball anyone?) and has received grants from the National Science Foundation, the very same NSF of which we've heard so much about the two last weeks. Dr. Wyner knows numbers.

It is true that I have been in Washington, mostly to attend the Michael Mann v. Mark Steyn trial. I will write up my thoughts on the trial (or at least, those portions I have seen) when I have time. But something else has been distracting me: leftists firebombed my office last Saturday night. At around 2 am, they broke into the building that houses Center of the American Experiment and two other conservative organizations with which we often collaborate, along with many other businesses. The arsonists set two fires: one was in the first floor corridor between American Experiment’s...

Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer are back with their dramatised reconstruction of Mann vs Simberg and Steyn, now installed in a far grander courtroom - 132 - at the District of Columbia Superior Court. Day Eight began with Steyn's continuing cross-examination of the plaintiff. Michael E Mann's misogyny regarding Judith Curry audibly shocked the courtroom, but he recovered sufficiently to assert that the best proof that he really is a Nobel Laureate was that he was one of only two people to receive a standing ovation at some climate beano in Hawaii. Then, at the end of the day, the...

On Day Ten of the Mann vs Simberg and Steyn trial in the District of Columbia Superior Court, the Plaintiff finally closed his case - after a fortnight of repetitive testimony about the joys of "peer-review" from witnesses the judge himself said he failed to see the need for. If you've missed the first three weeks of this trial, Kerry Wakefield in this week's edition of The Spectator Down Under provides an excellent primer. Here's the first sentence: No single artefact did more to launch the climate change scare than Professor Michael E Mann's famous – or should that be...

ROME — Long before the industrial revolution and fossil fuels, “climate change” was wreaking havoc on the health of ancient Romans, Smithsonian magazine contends. Citing a study published in the journal Science Advances, Smithsonian underscores a correlation between cold, dry periods in ancient Rome and “devastating bouts of fatal illness” between 200 BC and 600 AD. Whereas Rome enjoyed stable weather from 200 to 100 BC, it later suffered “three very cold periods,” all of which “line up with documented plagues,” states Smithsonian writer Sarah Kuta. The first cold spell, which struck the Roman Empire between 160 and 180 AD,...

Once an EV darling thought to revolutionize EV production with its concept of micro-factories that crank out delivery vans for the likes of Uber and UPS, UK startup Arrival is in a desperate search for funding after being delisted from Nasdaq this week. Nasdaq suspended trading of Arrival shares this week, followed by a formal delisting, Reuters reports. The action is the result of Arrival being late in posting financial results and failing to file a remediation plan and hold an annual shareholder meeting. After announcing it was slashing its workforce by 50% last year, Arrival said it had received...

ROME — Long before the industrial revolution and fossil fuels, “climate change” was wreaking havoc on the health of ancient Romans, Smithsonian magazine contends. Citing a study published in the journal Science Advances, Smithsonian underscores a correlation between cold, dry periods in ancient Rome and “devastating bouts of fatal illness” between 200 BC and 600 AD. Whereas Rome enjoyed stable weather from 200 to 100 BC, it later suffered “three very cold periods,” all of which “line up with documented plagues,” states Smithsonian writer Sarah Kuta.

With many major airlines now committed to sustainability and ‘green’ fuels, a protest at one of the UK’s airports focused on private jets. On Saturday, January 27, Greta Thunberg, the 21-year-old Swedish environmental activist, took a stand against the increasing use of private jets, joining forces with Extinction Rebellion at Farnborough Airport. The demonstration took place in the morning with the airport brimming with protesters, objecting to the proposed 40 per cent rise in annual flight numbers. Most Read on Euro Weekly News Spain to pioneer mobile national ID H&M announces major store closures in Spain Finance Roundup for Spain...

Taylor Swift’s performative activism is getting tiresome — and transparently hypocritical. Now that she is the Democrats’ official cultural vector for promoting their left-wing agenda, the mega pop star has become more than ubiquitous. She is being forcibly crammed down everyone’s throats. Her media saturation level is somewhere near Hurricane Katrina. Even NFL fans who just want to enjoy the game have no choice but to watch Clockwork Orange-style as she cheers on her Kansas City Chiefs boyfriend in cringeworthy style. The good news is that the more overexposed Swift gets, the greater her political hypocrisy shines through her media-crafted...

Programming Note: As you may have heard at the end of Day 7 of the trial, Room 518 in the DC Superior Court has been experiencing some hot air. Literally. Apparently the temperature control in the room is out of control. So the trial beginning tomorrow has been moved to Room 132 (new link here). Mark's cross-examination of Mann continues tomorrow, so be sure to tune in! Week 2: Trial of the Century Let's start our recap of the week with the First Amendment. As the bipartisan Project Democracy puts its, the First Amendment was designed to equally protect not...

Climate activists hurled soup on the Mona Lisa on Sunday morning at the Louvre museum in Paris

French farmers are using their tractors to set up road blockades and slow traffic across France to seek better remuneration for their produce, less red tape and protection against cheap importsTwo climate activists hurled soup Sunday at the glass protecting the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris and shouted slogans advocating for a sustainable food system. This came amid protests by French farmers against several issues, including low wages. In a video posted on social media, two women with the words “FOOD RIPOSTE” written on their t-shirts could be seen passing under a security barrier to get closer...

It’s enough to wipe the smile off her face. A pair of climate-change activists hurled pumpkin soup at the Mona Lisa on Sunday at the Louvre Museum in Paris as onlookers gasped, shocking new video shows. “What is more important?” the crazed activists shouted in French. “Art or the right to have a healthy and sustainable food system?” The two nuts are members of the activist group called “Riposte Alimetaire,” or Food Response, which issued a statement saying the stunt was meant to highlight the need to protect the environment.

Size comparison of Venus and Earth. Credit: NASA/JPL/Magellan Venus is only slightly smaller than the Earth, and so has enjoyed billions of years of a warm heart. But for this planet, sometimes called Earth's sister, that heat has betrayed it. That planet is now wrapped in suffocating layers of a poisonous atmosphere made of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid. The pressures on the surface reach almost 100 times the air pressure at Earth's sea level. The average temperatures are more than 700°F, more than hot enough to melt lead, while the deepest valleys see records of more than 900°. If...

In November, Orsted nixed two major wind farm projects planned off the coast of New Jersey, citing the same problems that the company cited for the Skipjack Wind project.. Danish wind developer Orsted has canceled another contract on a planned offshore wind farm in the Atlantic Ocean. The company said the 966-megawatt Skipjack Wind project, planned to be constructed off the coasts of Delaware and Maryland, would no longer be commercially viable at the contract prices due to inflation, high interest rates and supply chain issues. “Today’s announcement affirms our commitment to developing value creating projects and represents an opportunity...