Gore Critics Hot Under the Collar

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Critics' Corner

Not everyone is celebrating Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize for his global warming efforts. Retired climatologist Timothy Ball tells Cybercast News Service that Gore's movie — "An Inconvenient Truth" — is a "wonderful piece of propaganda" that relies on "visual imagery and gimmickry."

Earlier this week a British judge ruled that the movie had at least nine major errors and could not be shown to students without balancing information. Thursday, the BBC alleged that Gore knew his movie presented false facts, but was afraid any uncertainty would fuel global warming skeptics.

JunkScience.com publisher Steve Milloy says if that is true, "Gore should win the Nobel Prize for propaganda." And Czech President Vaclav Klaus says he is surprised Gore would get a peace prize, noting "The relationship between his activities and world peace is unclear and indistinct."

Many Happy Returns?

Meanwhile, a conservative think tank in New Zealand wants Hollywood to strip Gore's movie of its Oscar.

The West Australian newspaper reports the New Zealand Center for Political Research has written to the president of the group that produces the Academy Awards, contending that the alleged scientific errors in the movie disqualify it for the Best Documentary award.

The president of the group says the situation is similar to when championship athletes are found to be on steroids or other drugs and their victories and medals are nullified.

Mixed Message

Wednesday we told you about fliers that appeared on the George Washington University campus in Washington, ostensibly promoting next week's series of meetings about Islamic fundamentalism. It turns out the hate-filled posters were in fact printed by a liberal group opposing the meetings and trying to smear the conservative organization sponsoring them.

Now The Washington Times reports school president Steven Knapp says he has no plans to take action against those students, despite earlier threats of discipline and a call from the head of the student association for their expulsion.

A spokesman for the group sponsoring the meetings says of Knapp, "He's going to expose himself as a liar. When it first emerged, he said we're not going to tolerate it. Now that it turns out it's liberals — he's going to show where his political views lie."

Friendly Skies

Then there's this: A new booming industry in Mexico, involving cheap airfares from the south and central parts of the country to points in the north, near the border with America. USA Today reports the customers are mainly immigrants planning to cross the border into the U.S. illegally, who want to be well-rested for the sometimes-dangerous effort.

The fares from Central Mexico to Tijuana now cost around $150 — about half what they used to. One potential illegal immigrant says the flights are much more comfortable than taking a bus and about the same price.

The airlines are throwing up their hands and counting the money, saying they are not responsible for what their passengers do after they get off the planes.

— FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.