Godwin's Law, "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Triumph of the Will"....An Appropriate Comparison.

Some people took offense at my comparing Al Gore's "documentary" "An Inconvenient Truth" to Hitler's film "The Triumph of the Will", made in 1934. I didn't say Al Gore was like Hitler, I said the films used similar techniques, namely the are both prime examples of propaganda.

Amazingly, there are unofficial "rule" of etiquette in online, or Internet debates. One of them is called Godwin's Law, and it relates to the use to the words Hitler and Nazi. Apparently this is considered "poor form". However note that there is an exception, and that is when the comparison is valid. See what wikipedia says on the subject.
Peter


Godwin's Law (also known as Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies[1]) is an adage that Mike Godwin formulated in 1990. The law states:[2]
As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.
Godwin's Law does not question whether any particular reference or comparison to Hitler or the Nazis might be appropriate, but only asserts that one arising is increasingly probable. It is precisely because such a comparison or reference may sometimes be appropriate, Godwin has argued,[3] that overuse of Nazi and Hitler comparisons should be avoided, because it robs the valid comparisons of their impact.

Although in one of its early forms Godwin's Law referred specifically to Usenet newsgroup discussions,[4] the law is now applied to any threaded online discussion: electronic mailing lists, message boards, chat rooms, and more recently blog comment threads and wiki talk pages.
Godwin has stated that he introduced Godwin's Law as an experiment in memetics.[2]

[There is a tradition in many newsgroups and other Internet discussion forums that once such a comparison is made, the thread is finished and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically "lost" whatever debate was in progress. This principle is itself frequently referred to as Godwin's Law.

It is considered poor form to raise arbitrarily such a comparison with the motive of ending the thread. There is a widely recognized codicil that any such ulterior-motive invocation of Godwin's Law will be unsuccessful (this is sometimes referred to as "Quirk's Exception").[5]

Godwin's Law does not apply to discussions directly addressing genocide, propaganda, or other mainstays of the Nazi regime. Instead, it applies to inappropriate, inordinate, or hyperbolic comparisons of other situations (or one's opponent) with Hitler or Nazis. However, Godwin's Law can itself also be abused, as a distraction or diversion, that fallaciously miscasts an opponent's argument as hyperbole, especially if the comparisons made by the argument are actually appropriate.

Stopping Global Warming a Matter of Will, Call It "Triumph of the Will"....Sound Familiar?

Just some thoughts while reading this article from: http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/climate-change/dn11658

First, an excerpt of the article at the bottom of this post. The author is explaining how controlling carbon dioxide emissions and thus global warming is a political issue. Now read his last sentence, "and in politics, most things can be done if there is the will."

Now read this about an infamous movie titled "Triumph of the Will", and see if it doesn't remind you a lot of a movie titled "An Inconvenient Truth". The similarities are chilling, globally chilling.
Peter









Triumph of the Will
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Directed by
Leni Riefenstahl
Produced by
Leni RiefenstahlAdolf Hitler
Written by
Leni RiefenstahlWalter Ruttmann
Starring
Adolf HitlerHermann GöringOther Nazi Leaders
Music by
Herbert WindtRichard Wagner
Distributed by
Reichsparteitagsfilm
Release date(s)
28 March 1935 (Berlin)
German
Budget
Unlimited

Triumph of the Will (German: Triumph des Willens) is a propaganda film by the German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. It chronicles the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg. The film contains excerpts from speeches given by various Nazi leaders at the Congress, including portions of speeches by Adolf Hitler, interspersed with footage of massed party members. Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his name appears in the opening credits. The overriding theme of the film is the return of Germany as a great power, with Hitler as the True German Leader who will bring glory to the nation.

Triumph of the Will was released in 1935 and rapidly became one of the better-known examples of propaganda in film history. Riefenstahl's techniques, such as moving cameras, the use of telephoto lenses to create a distorted perspective, aerial photography, and revolutionary approach to the use of music and cinematography, have earned Triumph recognition as one of the greatest propaganda films in history. Riefenstahl won several awards, not only in Germany but also in the United States, France, Sweden, and other countries. The film was popular in the Third Reich[1] and elsewhere, and has continued to influence movies, documentaries, and commercials to this day, even as it raises the question over the dividing line between art and morality.[2]


(Global Warming) A Political issue

............"But this is primarily a political issue. The industrialised nations have already emitted enough carbon dioxide to trigger significant warming. Humanity cannot afford for the developing world to take the same path. So a deal has to be done to prevent that. But today the technology to develop on a low-carbon path is much further advanced. And costs are coming down fast.
A new deal to save the world from climate change will probably involve large flows of technology and cash to the developing world. There are precedents for this. Developing countries are already being paid in cash and technology for not using ozone-destroying chemicals in refrigerators and air-conditioning systems. The same must be done on a bigger scale to halt climate change.

To repeat, this is not primarily a technological or even an economic problem, as huge as these challenges are. It is a political problem. And in politics, most things can be done if there is the will."