Mood:
incredulousTopic: independent media
Censorship is a curious beast. It appears amongst surprising folks you would never think for good or ill motives.
Yesterday we had cause to correspond with the Crikey editor re this irregularity below, and today our entries on Rooted are deleted, not simply 'awaiting moderation'. We give one paranoid explanation below - but if there is a more ethical explanation we would be interested to know. By the by we have that deed of settlement in the NSW Supreme Court in reserve for a suitable time, never web published and it's a cracker given we doubt any individual has successfully sued their own peak green group before in the history of Australia for maladministration if not corrupt behaviour. Embarrassing? You bet:
From: Ecology Action To: Jonathan GreenSent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 4:47 PMSubject: Rooted blog, blocked comment 1st Oct story - unwarrantedIt may not be great grammar but the gist is there October 1 article.Any chance of unblocking my comment (?) which was also copied onto a Bernard Keane string already - no worries there. What is the problem with Hepburn I wonder? Or is he wanting to use the intel and not spill the beans to the enemy?For your information - on the paranoid side of things - I quit FoE Australia after busting my guts 7 years when he was still involved in Brisbane FoE about 2002.I had cause to sue FoE Sydney Inc for trying to bully me out of my residential/commercial lease in 2003 and failing to honour their financial debt to me. It was in the NSW Supreme Court and I kicked their lazy dishonest backside where they paid my costs, backed off my lease and agreed to a derisory $50 a week rent - the savings I sent to a green campaign in Chile - $15K worth. Indeed the cheap rent was essential to that public interest agenda that FoE Sydney wanted to sabotage. A campaign that stopped a US $3B hydro smelter disaster for coastal fjordlands, 3 rivers a lake and 10K ha of virgin forest. Pathetic worms.They wanted a confidentiality agreement. No way. They didn't even submit evidence despite having a big city law firm on pro bono while I was self represented. Never were such a perverse rump of by then backwater of the green movement so undeserving of legal help.Hepburn however is a talent and industrious. It would be a shame if he is prejudiced on your public forum totally unrelated to past discipline.On the other hand if he is going to censor me I might as well know.Yours trulyTom McLoughlin..........................................
In Turnbull's high stakes gamble – Crikey 2 Oct 2009Tom McLoughlin
I commented yesterday on the Rooted blog, which curiously remains under moderation while being very moderate in content. The view underpins the real economic threat to Australia of dithering on climate regarding re-insurance sector, which all business depnends on in a rule of law context:
“As extreme weather affects more of the western developed economies the re-insurance industry will continue to ramp up the compulsory costs of insurance for any industry sector not seen to be mitigating climate change. At some point whole sectors or even countries’ balance sheet will be pushed off their insurance profile for just being hostile to long term financial health.
Australia is surely rushing into that scenario and Malcolm Turnbull for one would be smart enough after HIH to know how disruptive that would be for big business behind the Liberal Party or Lablibs for that matter. Neither can afford that to happen in their career span.
So it’s not just the Sarkozy threat of carbon tariffs on foreign (to EU buyer) products and services originating beyond their (my term) ‘credible climate mitigation programme’ (ccmp), but also the global re-insurance industry setting those [rogue] sectors ‘ legally adrift so that they can’t get OH&S or public liability or fire or any insurance whatsover. In other words send them into the liability wilderness just like the HIH fiasco did to numerous small business, builders [through no fault of their own].
Sure China or India etc may buy ‘black’ [rogue] coal outside a ccmp, even more so if they buy up the [means of] production here, but who will provide the insurance to operate such a plant? My guess even if China or India buy the local resource with FIRB approval, unless the Australian Govt abdicates sovereignty of select economic geographical zones (and thus application of domestic labour and safety laws), not even a foreign owner will be able to operate WITHOUT INSURANCE.
Indeed nothing happens in business without insurance, not even King coal power stations. Just ask Esso. [Meaning Longford Vic disaster multi million dollar public liability, workers killed etc].
