The American Dream 250


Here am I spreaking at the Oxford Union, in entertaining mode.

You can see the other speeches in the debate. The Motion “This house still dreams the American Dream” was defeated.

The following week the motion “This house believes that Israel is a force for good in the Middle East” was also defeated. I hear Peter Tatchell was excellent.

I don not think the format of such debates is antiquated and irrelevant. It helps get students thinking, and you get a range of opinion denied an airing elsewhere. I can never get to say those things on the mainstream media.


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250 thoughts on “The American Dream

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  • doug scorgie

    guano
    5 Mar, 2013 – 1:07 am

    “If an institution vomits snippets of truth out of the quicksand, it is breaking all of the rules of physics. The only thing you will find in the quicksand is a crafted lie that has been dipped into the quicksand of an institution to make it look as if it came out from the vortex by itself.”

    What are you on Guano?

    I thought Muslims didn’t do drugs.

  • guano

    Herbie

    Thanks for the link. No TV at home so new to me.
    It’s easy to take the mick out of DIY solar panelists and would-be jihadis. But if your green outfit ( of the hot water or Islamic kind ) costs #15K to install or co-operating with British army rooftop snipers funded by Saudi to start, I for 1 would rather stay away. The alternative may look half-baked and unprofessional, I agree.

    OK. Lets do it the professional way. Call in snipers to Syria, reinforce Assad militarily and politically, block diplomacy, terrify the population away, ostracise all sympathisers by accusing them of being spies, import daily market place bombings of civilians, involve the Islamic scholars and the Cambridge dons in your war games.

    I wouldn’t run a business that way. I need customers for my Islam, not egotists who want to keep up with the Joneses. Our battle for freedom was bloodier and scarier and more costly in human lives than your battle. And I also find it hugely distasteful to see the gilded robes of Saudi rulers cosily chatting with Zionist neo-cons about how to mangle my Muslim brothers and sisters. Give me 4 lions any day.

  • Bob

    crab..The BBC decided that the ‘science was settled’ and that global warming was real rather than a scam after a secret meeting with 28 green activists. This only became apparent after some careful digging and lots of legal expenses by the tv taxpayer…

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/13/climate28_named_wtf/

    All BBC programmes promote the green agenda and anyone who disagrees is quickly dropped. Any green report on the BBC from the EU etc is repeated without an alternative view allowed…

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19868580

    This is despite the fact that there is no global warming ….

    http://opinion.financialpost.com/2013/02/28/lawrence-solomon-not-easy-being-green/

    Although any recent floods or droughts are still blamed on global warming 😉

    Attenboroughs programmes are repeatedly debunked ( 3 degrees rise in temp in Africa in the last decade etc) or rejected by sane people ( dumping of his frozen planet episode rambling about global warming…. by overseas buyers).

    The science is never settled. The East Anglia CRU / IPCC can try and corrupt the science and delete their fake data records and ‘hide the decline’ etc but they have been found out and should desist.
    The scam needs to be stopped. Our pensioners and poor folk can’t afford higher energy bills to allow the scammers a luxury lifestyle.

  • Bob

    crab…

    This is the list of ‘experts’ that decided that the ‘science was settled ‘ on global warming and no skeptics should be allowed to be heard…..

    BBC Television Centre, London
    Specialists:
    Robert May, Oxford University and Imperial College London
    Mike Hulme, Director, Tyndall Centre, UEA
    Blake Lee-Harwood, Head of Campaigns, Greenpeace
    Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen
    Michael Bravo, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge
    Andrew Dlugolecki, Insurance industry consultant
    Trevor Evans, US Embassy
    Colin Challen MP, Chair, All Party Group on Climate Change
    Anuradha Vittachi, Director, Oneworld.net
    Andrew Simms, Policy Director, New Economics Foundation
    Claire Foster, Church of England
    Saleemul Huq, IIED
    Poshendra Satyal Pravat, Open University
    Li Moxuan, Climate campaigner, Greenpeace China
    Tadesse Dadi, Tearfund Ethiopia
    Iain Wright, CO2 Project Manager, BP International
    Ashok Sinha, Stop Climate Chaos
    Andy Atkins, Advocacy Director, Tearfund
    Matthew Farrow, CBI
    Rafael Hidalgo, TV/multimedia producer
    Cheryl Campbell, Executive Director, Television for the Environment
    Kevin McCullough, Director, Npower Renewables
    Richard D North, Institute of Economic Affairs
    Steve Widdicombe, Plymouth Marine Labs
    Joe Smith, The Open University
    Mark Galloway, Director, IBT
    Anita Neville, E3G
    Eleni Andreadis, Harvard University
    Jos Wheatley, Global Environment Assets Team, DFID
    Tessa Tennant, Chair, AsRia
    BBC attendees:
    Jana Bennett, Director of Television
    Sacha Baveystock, Executive Producer, Science
    Helen Boaden, Director of News
    Andrew Lane, Manager, Weather, TV News
    Anne Gilchrist, Executive Editor Indies & Events, CBBC
    Dominic Vallely, Executive Editor, Entertainment
    Eleanor Moran, Development Executive, Drama Commissioning
    Elizabeth McKay, Project Executive, Education
    Emma Swain, Commissioning Editor, Specialist Factual
    Fergal Keane, (Chair), Foreign Affairs Correspondent
    Fran Unsworth, Head of Newsgathering
    George Entwistle, Head of TV Current Affairs
    Glenwyn Benson, Controller, Factual TV
    John Lynch, Creative Director, Specialist Factual
    Jon Plowman, Head of Comedy………………………..!!!!
    Jon Williams, TV Editor Newsgathering
    Karen O’Connor, Editor, This World, Current Affairs
    Catriona McKenzie, Tightrope Pictures [email protected]

    BBC Television Centre, London (cont)
    Liz Molyneux, Editorial Executive, Factual Commissioning
    Matt Morris, Head of News, Radio Five Live
    Neil Nightingale, Head of Natural History Unit
    Paul Brannan, Deputy Head of News Interactive
    Peter Horrocks, Head of Television News
    Peter Rippon, Duty Editor, World at One/PM/The World this Weekend
    Phil Harding, Director, English Networks & Nations
    Steve Mitchell, Head Of Radio News
    Sue Inglish, Head Of Political Programmes
    Frances Weil, Editor of News Special Events

  • Komodo

    So the BBC are not “pro green”. Few people really are because “green” is marginalised as a dumb hippy astral flying stupid windmill fantasy club by cleverer than thou types who will quote transient controversy over recent 20 years records to deny an understanding of global warming which depends on a century of research and centuries of detectable variation, an understanding which was calling for urgent action over 20 years ago.

    That. Absolutely that.
    We can cheer ourselves with the idea that as far as evidence-based alternative hypotheses go, the deniers are strangely reluctant to produce one, despite the best efforts of the oil companies (which can surely afford some reputable research, no?). Assertions are apparently enough. Make them loud and often enough and the bogey will go away.

    But it’s nice of them to allow the sole scientifically-based hypothesis to be tested to the limits by continuing to promote fossil fuels – they, and their puppetmasters. I am confident the criterion of successful prediction will be met. I shan’t be around to see the full extent of the damage, but I hope they live in coastal cities, and will be…

  • Dave Lawton

    @Bob 5:05pm The science is never settled. The East Anglia CRU / IPCC can try and corrupt the science and delete their fake data records and ‘hide the decline’ etc but they have been found out and should desist.
    The scam needs to be stopped. Our pensioners and poor folk can’t afford higher energy bills to allow the scammers a luxury lifestyle.

    As a pensioner I totaly agree also as a retired engineer who worked in High energy particle physics ,the so called climate scientist`s I find they are a joke there measuring methods I find pathetic if fact they are clueless.Patrick Moore who founded Greenpeace left in disgust as it had been taken over by dipsticks.With regards to energy saving light bulbs they are just another scam,and dangerous to your health.This information is kept quiet.Greenpeace commissioned engineers to research these lamps and their
    conclusion was they are energy wasting.Greenpeace ignored the research paper they commissioned.I even sent them a copy of their own paper ,they wont even discuss it with me.Sadly they are not equipped.

  • Komodo

    Say it loudly and often, “Dave”. And keep watching the blogosphere for dissenters. Trouble is, Nature disagrees with you. If you worked at any level in particle physics, you’d probably know about apostrophes, too.

  • Chris Jones

    @komodo

    Cutting out the ‘denier’shtick would help your argument. By that kind of argument, everyone else should be called global warming admitters.I think people are allowed to not agree with areas of scientific opinion and not be labelled ‘deniers’ by now.

    Maybe you’re not aware of Agenda 21 and how man made climate change is mostly a cruel hoax which has conveniently led to global sustainable development – a lovely cuddly green excuse for tyranny and mass collectivism. That fairly nice house you’re probably living in – i’m afraid the state will need to take that from you – i’m sure you can understand – its for the good of the environment you see. Oh, and that CO2 you’re breathing out and which plants need to live – i’m afraid you’re going to have to stop that too, after we’ve taxed it of course

  • Dave Lawton

    @ Komodo
    Say it loudly and often, “Dave”. And keep watching the blogosphere for dissenters. Trouble is, Nature disagrees with you. If you worked at any level in particle physics, you’d probably know about apostrophes, too.

    Is that the best you can do?Most people know that the climate changes, no one is denying that.The issue is what is driving it.I think we have to look to the
    Sun.I suggest you look to Piers Corbyn on that subject.
    Also what is your real name? Why do you have to hide behind a dragon ?

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