Bishop Hill More on policing and sceptics
May 3, 2010 Climate: CRU Climate: McIntyre Some interesting developments on the involvement of various high-powered police units in the UEA investigation.
First up, Steve McIntyre reports in the comments to the earlier thread that he has been approached by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police:
Last week, I was contacted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the Canadian federal police) who had been asked by UK police to locate a Stephen McIntyre. The Canadian policeman, who didn't seem to know much about the case, said that the UK police wanted to talk to me about whether there had been any misrepresentations of my articles. !!!! They also wanted to locate Andrew Weaver. I confirmed that I was the Stephen McIntyre in question and that I was prepared to talk to the UK authorities - expressing very clearly to the Canadian policeman my total disdain for the idea that this was police business. The inquiry in question presumably did not come from the Norfolk anti-terrorism detachment, as I'd already talked to them at considerable length and they knew how to contact me. I haven't heard anything further yet.
I don't know what to make of this. It may well be that there is a second investigation, although to what end I can hardly imagine. There has only been one complaint, one "crime" if you like. So it's hard to imagine how a second investigation would have got started. It may well be that someone in another police unit was looking for something to do and decided to fill their time by starting their own investigation. But who might this be? Well, one possibility has been suggested by another reader, TerryS, who was questioned by a unit called "Protective Services". The Home Office has a page about Protective Services here.
Protective services include counter-terrorism and extremism, serious organised and cross-border crime, civil contingencies and emergency planning, police use of firearms, critical incident management, major crime (requiring the appointment of a senior investigating officer), public order, strategic roads policing and protecting vulnerable people.
And climate sceptics too, it would seem.
Reader Comments (18)
Surely, we have prima facie evidence that a thought crime has been committed. It would be very odd if all possible organs of state control were not wheeled out to ensure that we are 'protected'. Ed the Red will, I am sure, be well aware of the dangers of anti-windmill thought experiments!
It is TerryS not TonyS!
[BH adds: Sorry! Fixed now.]
"First up, Steve McIntyre reports in the comments to the earlier thread that he has been approached by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police:"
That would surely be a site to see, never been to Canada (only in the movies) i assume a male and female officer on horseback knocked on Mr. McIntyre's wooden log house?
If you think a thought crime has been committed, does that make you an accessory?
Chuckles,
I would have thought so :))
> And climate sceptics too, it would seem.
Not necessarily. Maybe they are considering adding AGW proponents to the list instead. :-)
Hmmm, I wonder if this has put me on any form of watch or no fly list? I haven't been to the USA for a few years so it will be interesting to see what happens next time I try to fly there.
But we must remember that the ever awful Margaret Beckett said that AWG deniers should be treated as terrorists.
"There has only been one complaint, one "crime" if you like. So it's hard to imagine how a second investigation would have got started."
The joy of police investigations. They may initially have been investigating the intial crime report, but once the doors are opened the police can and should follow any other leads or investigations they find. Of course the way some of the ACPO's specialist crime units are funded encourages this given they're paid by the hour or day for investigation work or consultancy.
Most of the time NDET and Protection are probably more used to investigating the other side, who are more often threatening researchers doing animal experiments or trustafarians trying to shut down CNI like power stations. Or in Russia, ripping up rail lines to stop trains carrying nuclear waste, which is generally considered sabotage. There have also been threats reportedly made against sceptics and also Jones, which is probably more Protective Service's turf.
I'm curious about Steve's report though "the UK police wanted to talk to me about whether there had been any misrepresentations of my articles" which makes him sound more like the victim than a suspect. Given the economic implications of climate change promotion on our economic security, may be they're starting to look at the fraud angle. Alternatively if they were also asking about Weaver, they may just have been confused given Weaver's action claims he was misrepresented.
I wish the police would hurry up and give us a decent update though as I'm running out of popcorn.
@ Peter Stroud
"But we must remember that the ever awful Margaret Beckett said that AWG deniers should be treated as terrorists."
Thats a classic example of what happen when you spend too much time sitting in your caravan doing knitting. Poor dear. Never mind, she'll be gone forever by Friday morning.
Surely it would take about 20 seconds to find Steve McIntyre on the internet and to send him an email. It seems to me that instructing a local force to 'track him down' sounds rather intimidating. Perhaps that was the intention.
@Chuck: It is a sight to see when the RCMP calling. However, they use dog sleds (their Mascot is a Husky by name of Cuddles)
One of our more famous igloos can be seen in the photo on this page -- however small it is.
http://www.toronto.ca/residents/index.htm
Cheers, gotta go shovel some snow.
I'm glad to hear the Mounties are on the case. They always get their Mann.
@May 3, 2010 | Dreadnought
Nice one !
In the interest of historical accuracy, Sergeant Renfrew of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (created by comedian Dave Broadfoot) lives with his loyal dog "Cuddles" in a log cabin located on the fourteenth floor of Mountie headquarters.
Recounting of his many exploits invariably included the phrase...."When I regained consciousness..."
May be a little hard to believe, but the shoe seems to be on the other foot in Virgina and the proprietors of tAV, CA, and WUWT are coming out in defense of Michael Mann. whodathunkit?
+1 Dreadnought!
Margaret Becketts below: (and the Guardian speaking some sense -4 years ago)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/nov/22/aclimateofcensorship
A climate of censorship
By branding anyone who disagrees with them a 'denier', climate-change activists have become enemies of free speech and honest debate.