How Climategate Went Global

Candace de Russy

In admirable contrast with the U.S. MSM -- which to its great shame has barely (if at all) covered the momentous climate-change, leaked e-mails scandal --  the Sunday Times (UK) recently ran a highly informed and balanced  account of the story. The whole piece is well worth reading but what especially intrigued me was the tale of how the determined "leaker" disseminated his or her e-mails hoard:

The storm began with just four cryptic words. “A miracle has happened,” announced a contributor to Climate Audit, a website devoted to criticising the science of climate change. “RC” said nothing more — but included a web link that took anyone who clicked on it to another site, Real Climate [where the e-mails were to be found] ... It was a powerful and controversial mix — far too powerful for some. Real Climate is a website designed for scientists who share Jones’s belief in man-made climate change. Within hours the file had been stripped from the site. Several hours later, however, it reappeared — this time on an obscure Russian server. Soon it had been copied to a host of other servers, first in Saudi Arabia and Turkey and then Europe and America. What’s more, the anonymous poster was determined not to be stymied again. He or she posted comments on climate-sceptic blogs, detailing a dozen of the best emails and offering web links to the rest.

Some savvy hacking-job, wouldn't you say?

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