Mann should put his Tweet to the legal test.
The OC Weekly reports:
A climate scientist has fired back at an Orange County Register columnist who suggested he could be at the center of another ClimateGate.
Michael Mann, director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center, Tweeted that a March 2 Orange Punch blog post by Mark Landsbaum–in which the columnist wrote about the Virginia Supreme Court upholding the Albemarle Circuit Court’s ruling that set aside Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s requests under the state’s Fraud Against Taxpayers Act for documents related to grants Mann received to study global warming while at the University of Virginia — was “libelous”, and asked out loud if it breached the legal standard of “actual malice”…
I read the article, there is no libel. Just another case of blatant self-promotion to sell more books.
………. Support the Tim Ball defense fund………..
We could only be so lucky that Mann is actually that stupid. Please, just this once, let’s all pray that he’s a dumb as he is corrupt.
Lets not forget what Mann says about the “corruption” of skeptic climate scientists. And who he ultimately relies on for his source. If the OC fights back, methinks Mann will severely regret opening up this Pandora’s Box………
Note to Orange County Register:
I suggest you say to Mann, in the Register, “Bring it on. We’re waiting.”
Penrose is right about libel and public figures. That’s why Mann mentions “actual malice”. He’s gone to a lawyer on that issue.
Mann will not sue. He knows that if he does Mark Landsbaum will gain access to the documents that Cuccinelli requested. Would Landsbaum send copies to Cuccinelli?
“Plitdown” Mann can never afford to sue anyone for fear of the discovery rules and exposure of his emails and the other skeletons in his closet.
He already tried it with Tim Ball in Canada. I want an FOIA to find out where this mild-mannered college professor gets the funds to run about suing everybody that insults him mildly. What with all the legal intimidation over normal give and take, you’d think they were out of intellectual ammo and had no hope of winning on the scientific merits.
This is no time to go wobbly, George.
The standards for libel are quite high in this country, especially for public figures which Mann may well be due to his own self promotion over the years.