CLIMATEGATE: DISGRACED PROFESSOR CRIES UNCLE

This one is really big. In light of last week's news that Phil Jones, climate scientist at the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit (CRU) who had to step down a few months ago for his prominent role in the scandal, contemplated suicide, he may be going through a real catharsis here. If he truly is having an epiphany, he needs support and not derision.

Did he do wrong? Absolutely, but when a human being puts this amount of pride and intellectual / emotional investment aside and truly humbles himself, it is a victory for that individual to be celebrated. It is liberating, whatever the consequences to himself. I don't know if that's happened with Jones but signs are that he's close to doing so if he considered taking his own life and is making these stunning admissions.

Courtesy of the Daily Mail:

Professor Jones told the BBC yesterday there was truth in the observations of colleagues that he lacked organisational skills, that his office was swamped with piles of paper and that his record keeping is ‘not as good as it should be’.

The data is crucial to the famous ‘hockey stick graph’ used by climate change advocates to support the theory.

Professor Jones also conceded the possibility that the world was warmer in medieval times than now – suggesting global warming may not be a man-made phenomenon.

While Jones' admissions were somewhat stunning, they didn't go all the way.

But he denied he had cheated over the data or unfairly influenced the scientific process, and said he still believed recent temperature rises were predominantly man-made.

Asked about whether he lost track of data, Professor Jones said: ‘There is some truth in that. We do have a trail of where the weather stations have come from but it’s probably not as good as it should be.

‘There’s a continual updating of the dataset. Keeping track of everything is difficult. Some countries will do lots of checking on their data then issue improved data, so it can be very difficult. We have improved but we have to improve more.’

Maybe I have a different take on this than most but if any of us were in a similar position, we'd be broken human beings in desperate need of support. Jones needs people around him that are going to help him go all the way through this admission. If he does, he will come out the other side as potentially one of the strongest allies in the fight against this despicable fraud. He's on the brink of admitting the entire truth and confessing the whole thing.

I am not saying that Jones shouldn't be held accountable for his complicity but I am saying it's time to start showing a little mercy and compassion.

Michael Mann on the other hand, still appears to be digging in his heels, displaying the raw arrogance and pride that only serves to anger those of us who know this entire charade is criminal. After all, now that his hockey stick chart has been proven to be completely fraudulent, he comes across as an arrogant boob, denying his hand is the one at the other end of his arm, inside the cookie jar.

'fess up, Mann.