The Other McCain

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‘Unusually Thick Ice’ in Antarctica Traps Scientists With Unusually Thick Heads

Posted on | December 30, 2013 | 60 Comments

It probably seemed like an excellent idea: Load a bunch of tourists and journalists aboard a ship for an expedition to Antarctica in December (the height of summer at the South Pole) so they can see for themselves how global warming is melting the ice.

Alas, somebody forgot to tell the ice that “the science is settled”:

Most of the passengers and some of the crew stranded on a scientific expedition ship off Antarctica will be evacuated by a Chinese helicopter should the weather allow, Russian authorities say.
“A decision has been reached to evacuate 52 passengers and four crew members by helicopter from China’s Xue Long ship, should the weather allow,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The Russian-flagged MV Akademik Shokalskiy has been stuck on an ice field since last week with 74 people on board. The multinational passenger list includes scientists as well as tourists and crew.
Snow gusts that severely hampered visibility on Monday forced the icebreaker Aurora Australis to turn around, passengers aboard the stricken MV Akademik Shokalskiy had been told to prepare for the “worst case scenario”. . . .
The expedition is being led by University of NSW Professor Chris Turney who continues to post updates on social media.

Try not to laugh at their ridiculous misfortune:

After nearly a week trapped by deep Antarctic ice, the 74 passengers aboard an expedition vessel could soon be freed.
An Australian icebreaker ship Aurora Australis is 28 nautical miles away from the Russian-flagged Akademik Shokalskiy and is waiting for snow showers to pass, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
The Aurora Australis needs better visibility before trying to break through the ice and reach the stranded vessel.
This attempt follows the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, which was just six nautical miles away from the trapped vessel when it couldn’t get any closer due to unusually thick ice.

Via Memeorandum, with more blog commentary by Doug Powers at MichelleMalkin.com, Weasel Zippers and Pirate’s Cove.

Special thanks to Susan Rector on Twitter for the joke I stole.

 

Category: Global Warming, Science

Comments

60 Responses to “‘Unusually Thick Ice’ in Antarctica Traps Scientists With Unusually Thick Heads”

  1. Todd__Kincannon
    December 30th, 2013 @ 1:58 pm

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM ‘Unusually Thick Ice’ in Antarctica Traps Scientists With Unusually Thick Heads http://t.co/Kf25Px4pnf #TCOT

  2. rratkinson
    December 30th, 2013 @ 1:59 pm

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM ‘Unusually Thick Ice’ in Antarctica Traps Scientists With Unusually Thick Heads http://t.co/Kf25Px4pnf #TCOT

  3. KingShamus
    December 30th, 2013 @ 2:00 pm

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM ‘Unusually Thick Ice’ in Antarctica Traps Scientists With Unusually Thick Heads http://t.co/Kf25Px4pnf #TCOT

  4. saveusrepublic2
    December 30th, 2013 @ 2:17 pm

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM ‘Unusually Thick Ice’ in Antarctica Traps Scientists With Unusually Thick Heads http://t.co/Kf25Px4pnf #TCOT

  5. CrustyB
    December 30th, 2013 @ 1:19 pm

    I can’t tell if this this is a true story or a New Yorker cartoon.

  6. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 30th, 2013 @ 1:35 pm

    If it is a New Yorker cartoon, it is always funnier if you follow “Dave’s Law”

  7. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 30th, 2013 @ 1:36 pm

    http://batshitcrazynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/MV-Akademik-Shokalskiy.jpg

    “I’m going to kill myself.”

    See, it works.

  8. Global Warming activists trapped in the ice in the Antarctic | Batshit Crazy News
    December 30th, 2013 @ 1:39 pm

    […] Dave’s Law also applies:  Add the caption, “I’m going to kill myself.” […]

  9. Zohydro
    December 30th, 2013 @ 1:59 pm

    I think the little Einsteins are screwed…

    This behemoth ice breaker isn’t even finished yet and it only will do 3 metres of ice!

    http://rt.com/news/world-biggest-icebreaker-russia-275/

  10. jenny2
    December 30th, 2013 @ 2:05 pm

    They still insist that all that ice proves global warming. They make idiots look brilliant.

  11. AMartel
    December 30th, 2013 @ 2:12 pm

    The only thing that could possibly be better is if Whale Wars morons rammed and killed an injured baby orphan whale. On camera. With drunk Captain Paul at the wheel.

  12. Zohydro
    December 30th, 2013 @ 2:25 pm

    Hear tell they’re gonna rename this vessel the “MV Donner Party” if that Chinese chopper can’t reach ’em…

  13. NeoWayland
    December 30th, 2013 @ 2:37 pm

    Newly revealed secret computer projections reveal that it’s not really ice, it’s really denial suspended in a crystalline medium…

    The projections have to be true, they were derived from Al Gore’s shoe size and the average carbon impact of bottled water in the Congo.

    (can you tell I’ve been doing this for a while?)

  14. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 30th, 2013 @ 2:40 pm

    And then they ate it.

  15. Zohydro
    December 30th, 2013 @ 2:49 pm

    Don’t lecture us about life at sea… It’s always been about rum, sodomy, and the lash!

  16. richard mcenroe
    December 30th, 2013 @ 3:33 pm

    break out the shovels, boys. It’s getting deep out there and I don’t mean the slush…

  17. richard mcenroe
    December 30th, 2013 @ 3:40 pm

    oh, yeah, faker? what BRAND of bottled water?

  18. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 30th, 2013 @ 3:49 pm

    The gluten free kind of course! In the “eco-green” disposable plastic bottles.

  19. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 30th, 2013 @ 3:50 pm

    Are Andrew Sullivan and Dan Savage sponsoring a joint vacation cruise for their readers?

  20. Adjoran
    December 30th, 2013 @ 3:56 pm

    There was an interview with the Captain this morning in which he expressed his unflagging belief that the ice caps are melting due to AGW.

    Weather permitting, they should airlift off all those who have learned their lesson and promise not to say or do stupid things in the future, and leave the rest to be eaten by polar bears, which are also not being decimated by melting ice.

  21. aliswell
    December 30th, 2013 @ 4:04 pm

    Yep, those who STILL insist there’s global warming would make excellent polar bear fodder.

  22. aliswell
    December 30th, 2013 @ 4:06 pm

    Deja Blue, of course, because we keep getting the feeling we’ve heard Al Gore’s global warming BS before.

  23. aliswell
    December 30th, 2013 @ 4:10 pm

    Seems fitting; the captain talks with a lisp and his ship floats with a list.

  24. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 30th, 2013 @ 4:52 pm

    Well there are no polar bears in the Antarctic, guys. But they can leave them on the ice and let the skuas peck at them. http://noahstrycker.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/skuakill.jpg

  25. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 30th, 2013 @ 4:54 pm

    http://gallery.photo.net/photo/4512965-md.jpg No polar bears, but the leopard seals say thanks!

  26. Steve Skubinna
    December 30th, 2013 @ 6:46 pm

    An injured gay baby orphan whale. Of color.

  27. Steve Skubinna
    December 30th, 2013 @ 6:47 pm

    This is what happens when you believe your own BS.

  28. AMartel
    December 30th, 2013 @ 6:56 pm

    The ice is not the only thing in Antarctica that is “unusually thick.”

  29. jakee308
    December 30th, 2013 @ 7:02 pm

    Or sold it to the Japanese.

  30. BillClintonsShorts17
    December 30th, 2013 @ 7:02 pm

    And the helicopter will be powered with refined petroleum products.

  31. ‘Unusually Thick Ice’ in Antarctica Traps Scientists With Unusually Thick Heads : The Other McCain | Dead Citizen's Rights Society
    December 30th, 2013 @ 7:12 pm

    […] ‘Unusually Thick Ice’ in Antarctica Traps Scientists With Unusually Thick Heads : The Other McCa…. […]

  32. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 30th, 2013 @ 7:15 pm

    Well said.

  33. K-Bob
    December 30th, 2013 @ 8:48 pm

    Quick, everyone! We need a new consensus that the ice is really melted!

    That will fix the problem.

  34. K-Bob
    December 30th, 2013 @ 8:49 pm

    Pre or Post operative?

  35. K-Bob
    December 30th, 2013 @ 8:50 pm

    I hear liver is pretty good, if you prepare it correctly.

  36. K-Bob
    December 30th, 2013 @ 8:53 pm

    Prediction: most of the women on this ship will quietly withdraw from the feminist movement over the next few years. IYKWIMAITTYD

  37. Zohydro
    December 30th, 2013 @ 9:01 pm

    At the Captain’s table…

  38. Zohydro
    December 30th, 2013 @ 9:08 pm

    I denounce myself…

  39. Beeblebrocs
    December 30th, 2013 @ 9:20 pm

    If there was any justice in the world, the only helicopter allowed to rescue these morons would be battery powered.

  40. Delaney Coffer
    December 30th, 2013 @ 9:32 pm

    This has a Tower of Babel air about it.

  41. Garym
    December 30th, 2013 @ 10:30 pm

    It was, unfortunately, aborted ………

  42. Garym
    December 30th, 2013 @ 10:32 pm

    Please God no ………..

  43. Garym
    December 31st, 2013 @ 1:50 am

    A battery powered helicopter with only solar panels to charge them ………..

  44. Adjoran
    December 31st, 2013 @ 5:03 am

    Point taken.

    But the Antarctic has The Thing, which is at least as scary as a polar bear.

  45. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 31st, 2013 @ 6:48 am

    You should!

  46. tlk244182
    December 31st, 2013 @ 8:31 am

    Funniest thing I’ve read in 2013. Happy New Year.

  47. tlk244182
    December 31st, 2013 @ 8:32 am

    Rubber band.

  48. Calvin Everhart
    December 31st, 2013 @ 9:38 am

    God turns them into a pillar of ice!

  49. Calvin Everhart
    December 31st, 2013 @ 9:41 am

    If any die, charge AL Gore with murder!

  50. Zohydro
    December 31st, 2013 @ 9:42 am

    I’ll be blaming Darwin…