This post somehow disappeared from my blog, so here goes again. It's worth the read. Bonjour M. Yeatman, J'aime bien votre traduction. L'anglais n'est pas ma langue maternelle, mais je m'y retrouve très bien. Bravo Pierre Simard The Fright Industry in Crisis. Pierre Simard, Ph.D. Professeur École nationale d'administration publique Abused, people are sceptical of politicians and experts who present catastrophic scenarios. Fright is the business plan of many government and interest groups. We no longer manage risk: the slighest threat becomes a looming disaster. We've even invented a method to manage these threats, the precautionary principle. Recently, in the last 20 years, the threats of planetary catastrophes just keep on appearing. But after the Y2K bug, bird flu, swine flu, global warming, and finally the A(H1N1) flu, the growing Fright Industry is going through an unprecedented crisis. Until recently, the Fright Industry has achieved an immense success. Other than the financial benefits generated for various firms, it has enabled these <> politicians to control and manipulate their citizens, nonwithstanding limiting their freedom. The strategy is simple: they rely on certain chosen public analysts who flood us with information.They're betting that it's rational for individuals to repeat their ideas or opinions to others. Because it's difficult to stay well informed and properly research facts, people generally rely on the media for the truth. The fact that a story appears on TV or makes it to print adds a measure of truth to it. To contradict or challenge this is both difficult and risky. Instead of critisizing a news item, people, not wanting to seem misinformed, prefer to adopt the argument that has been offered to them as objective reporting. But, eventually, people have realized one thing: if the media are especially effective in broadcasting the next catasrophy, they are generally incompetent when it comes to reporting on scientific issues. They've too often been used by alarmists to deliver their messages of doom. Abused, people are now skeptical of politicians and groups of experts who present catastrophic scenarios that defy reason. Almost everywhere around the world, opinion surveys released by various groups such as the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the World Health Organization are showing that the confidence people have in studies is losing ground. The last vaccination campaign against the A(H1N1) flu has clearly demonstrated the decline. In most European countries, the vaccination rate has been around 10% even though in our 'Distinct' Québec, it reached 57%. Eventually the certain disaster did not occur. There've been around 15,000 deaths around the world attributed to this flu whereas the normal seasonal flu causes from 250,000 to 500,000 deaths annually. Today both the WHO and the IPCC will have to respond to their critics. The WHO will have to appear before the European Commission for having created, in concert with the pharmaceutical industry, a false alarm concerning a pandemic. The IPCC is still suffering from the revelations of Climatgate. It's still trying to defend it's alarmist predictions about the disappearance of the Himalayan glaciers, the Amazonian forest, and the retreating ice fields of Mt. Kilimanjaro. To summarize, the Fright Industry is in crisis. Having to justify their positions, these industry giants have slowed their predictions of certain disasters. Nevertheless, another threat, just as real, is just on the horizon. The thought that our governments could unite to put a 'safety net' around this industry makes me very uncomfortable. This gallant crusade led by premier Charest and his environment minister, Line Beauchamp, is quite simply terrifying. The Fright Industry in Crisis. Pierre Simard, Ph.D. Professeur École nationale d'administration publique Abused, people are skeptical of politicians and experts who present catastrophic scenarios. Fright is the business plan of many government and interest groups. We no longer manage risk: the slighest threat becomes a looming disaster. We've even invented a method to manage these threats, the precautionary principle. Recently, in the last 20 years, the threats of planetary catastrophes just keep on appearing. But after the Y2K bug, bird flu, swine flu, global warming, and finally the A(H1N1) flu, the growing Fright Industry is going through an unprecedented crisis. Until recently, the Fright Industry has achieved an immense success. Other than the financial benefits generated for various firms, it has enabled these <> politicians to control and manipulate their citizens, notwithstanding limiting their freedom. The strategy is simple: they rely on certain chosen public analysts who flood us with information.They're betting that it's rational for individuals to repeat their ideas or opinions to others. Because it's difficult to stay well informed and properly research facts, people generally rely on the media for the truth. The fact that a story appears on TV or makes it to print adds a measure of truth to it. To contradict or challenge this is both difficult and risky. Instead of critisizing a news item, people, not wanting to seem misinformed, prefer to adopt the argument that has been offered to them as objective reporting. But, eventually, people have realized one thing: if the media are especially effective in broadcasting the next catastrophe, they are generally incompetent when it comes to reporting on scientific issues. They've too often been used by alarmists to deliver their messages of doom. Abused, people are now skeptical of politicians and groups of experts who present catastrophic scenarios that defy reason. Almost everywhere around the world, opinion surveys released by various groups such as the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the World Health Organization are showing that the confidence people have in studies is losing ground. The last vaccination campaign against the A(H1N1) flu has clearly demonstrated the decline. In most European countries, the vaccination rate has been around 10% even though in our 'Distinct' Québec, it reached 57%. Eventually the certain disaster did not occur. There've been around 15,000 deaths around the world attributed to this flu whereas the normal seasonal flu causes from 250,000 to 500,000 deaths annually. Today both the WHO and the IPCC will have to respond to their critics. The WHO will have to appear before the European Commission for having created, in concert with the pharmaceutical industry, a false alarm concerning a pandemic. The IPCC is still suffering from the revelations of Climatgate. It's still trying to defend it's alarmist predictions about the disappearance of the Himalayan glaciers, the Amazonian forest, and the retreating ice fields of Mt. Kilimanjaro. To summarize, the Fright Industry is in crisis. Having to justify their positions, these industry giants have slowed their predictions of certain disasters. Nevertheless, another threat, just as real, is just on the horizon. The thought that our governments could unite to put a 'safety net' around this industry makes me very uncomfortable. This gallant crusade led by premier Charest and his environment minister, Line Beauchamp, is quite simply terrifying. Not translated by Google as you might observe but by me, T. Yeatman. -- Pierre Simard, Ph.D. Professeur École nationale d'administration publique Visitez aussi mon blog: pierresimard.blogspot.com