[Number_Cruncher]

But there is no El Nino this year and 2002 temperatures are nearly as high as those of 1998, Mann noted.

Last July, NOAA said an El Nino was underway this year. See http://www.intellicast.com/DrDewpoint/Library/1334/

Is Mann ignorant, or is he lying?

[JasonC]

Anybody else notice the rather silly side by side comparison of a mean temperature for an entire year, with a a mean temperature for a year -except- December? That is what the 2002 claim is made about.

If it were really on track to break records, they would have waited until January 1 and made a statement about the full year average. Instead, when it was clear it wasn't going to be a record, they effectively threw out a cold month (December) and just pretend that it is apples to apples to compare January through November 2002 to January through December in some other year.

Hansen gets more and more a pure media spin "shill", without any scientific standards, as time goes on...

[rustbucket]

Is Mann ignorant, or is he lying?

Good question. Here's the latest from NOAA: Current El Nino.

From that NOAA site: “This is a classic El Niño pattern,” said retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.

[GOP_1900AD]

Lying. There is a mild El Nino at present. Not much of one though. We have gotten quite a bit of rain in the past week here in N. Calif. But it's not as warm overall as it would be with a full strength El Nino. Had a warmish (but still below what I consider normal - of course, now that we have not had any real consistent summer / fall warmth since the late 80s, "normal" is now biased!) fall and yet another cool summer, with very few days above 90. Away from the coastal fog.