The Truth-O-Meter Says: Britches on Fire

[Why Syzygy]

If President Obama signs the Copenhagen climate change treaty, he "will sign your freedom, your democracy, and your prosperity away forever -- and neither you nor any subsequent government you may elect would have any power whatsoever to take it back again."

Christopher Monckton on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 in in a speech in St. Paul, Minn

Christopher Monckton -- a British hereditary peer and high-profile skeptic of both global warming and international agreements -- caused a stir on Oct. 14, 2009, with a forceful denunciation of the upcoming international talks on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark, scheduled for Dec. 7-18, 2009.

In a speech in St. Paul, Minn., Monckton called the pending agreement a "dreadful treaty" and said, among other things, that the parties "are about to impose a communist world government on the world. You have a president who has very strong sympathies with that point of view. He's going to sign. He'll sign anything."

Monckton continued, "So, thank you, America. You were the beacon of freedom to the world. It is a privilege merely to stand on this soil of freedom while it is still free. But in the next few weeks, unless you stop it, your president will sign your freedom, your democracy, and your prosperity away forever -- and neither you nor any subsequent government you may elect would have any power whatsoever to take it back again. That is how serious it is."

For this item, we'll put aside the debate on whether it is wise to institute policies, such as emissions cuts, to curb climate change -- the "prosperity" portion of Monckton's comment. Instead, we'll stick to analyzing Monckton's claim that an agreement coming out of the Copenhagen talks would, one, sign away American sovereignty and, two, be irreversible.

Let's start with some background. The Copenhagen meeting, which President Barack Obama is expected to attend, is part of an ongoing process sponsored by a United Nations body called the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Its goal is to secure international cooperation to curb the emission of gases that scientists blame for raising global temperatures, a development that could harm the environment.

The first -- and crucially important -- point to make is that there is no "treaty" yet. The most recent iteration is a 180-page document, posted publicly in September, called the "reordering and consolidation of text in the revised negotiating text." If you think that title sounds clunky, just check out the document itself: Rendered in impenetrable diplo-speak, the document offers an almost stream-of-consciousness array of alternate options, blanks to be filled in and bracketed phrases. Supporters and critics alike agree that the final text, if one emerges, will be radically shorter and clearer. (...)

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/oct/20/christopher-monckton/british-climate-skeptic-says-copenhagen-treaty-thr/

[BOSSHOG]

1. glen beck loves monckton

Nothing else needs to be said on the matter.

[Why Syzygy]

2. This meme is being spread far and wide

by the right wing nutters, most of whom never stop to consider the validity of any claim that be-smirks progress.

[BOSSHOG]

3. Progress and Higher Education are not conservative values

Ignorant citizens, the fuel that keeps right wing radio going. And those who make a living on right wing radio know it.

[foxfeet]

4. Can't Queen Liz have him beheaded?

Or at least take away his title?