The latter, obviously. Climate is very complex, and especially when you're only measuring *part* of it (eg surface temperatures), there are many factors that affect what results you'll get. The sun is one of those factors, the greenhouse effect is another, the PDO/ENSO/whatever other O's there are in play are yet another.

Cherry picking again, 1960 was the peak sunspot activity but both 1980 and 1990 were way above average

http://facweb.bhc.edu/academics/science/...

But you are correct tropical cloud cover had reduced during the warm years

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9OuRT8a3ow8/To...

The PDO was in a positive phase, causing an increase in El Nino effects, plus the AMO was also in a positve phase as well.

So with the sun, ocean cycles, and cloud cover all having a warming effect, it doesn't leave much room for CO2. and if CO2 is a major driver why aren't temperatures escalating CO2 is.

The sun is not the only factor that influences temperature - but then, neither is anything else.

Is there a list somewhere of all the things that do influence global temperature? Presumably, the modellers need to use it to make sure that they have included everything. Is it on the web?

I can't recall any references by scientists to the sun increasing temperatures. I can recall some references to the sun causing cooling, though. Perhaps the sun only works one way round? See page 7 of this article from the UK Met Office, for instance: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/q/...

I think the moon is involved here and we should make it go away.

no

http://www.woodfortrees.org/plot/gistemp/from:1930/to:1960/scale:500/plot/gistemp/from:1930/to:1960/trend/scale:500/plot/sidc-ssn/from:1930/to:1960/plot/sidc-ssn/from:1930/to:1960/trend

Or does it mean that the Sun is not the only factor that influences temperature?