Well, yes, they were absolved.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36104206/A similar report on this side of the Atlantic also cleared Dr. Mann.
Quotes out of context aren't much use for determining facts. "Tricks" are very common in science circles and there's a lot of peer-reviewed science papers that have that word in the title. A big deal was also made about the "redefining peer review to exclude two articles." However, those articles were included in the final report, despite the fact that at least one of them was highly suspicious (a review article that misrepresented the findings of other papers, e.g.).
Cattiness among scientists - yes. Misrepresentation of the facts - no.
Scientists do not claim that C02 is the only factor in global warming.
http://www.youtube.com/user/potholer54#p/u/8/w5hs4KVeiAU( P -> Q ) =/=> ( ¬P -> ¬Q )
Part of the problem is that urban legends get reported in the blogosphere and suddenly lots of people are repeating them when they aren't true.
http://www.grist.org/article/volcanoes-emit-more-co2-than-humansFor most scientists, the science is independent of the politics. For the political types, it seems they start with their assumption that government interference is bad and then work backwards to filter out any 'science' that doesn't result in problems solvable by that solution.
The bastion of liberalism the Jasons warned of global warming 3 decades ago:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4690900.eceThey don't know everything, but I think scientists understand the basic chemistry and thermodynamic properties of C02 pretty well.
