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Sunday, 4 February 2007

Sea level rising 12 metres if Greenland and West Antarctic ice melt , and likely they will
Mood:

sharp
Topic: globalWarming

Yesterday SAM posted its scornful view of local ABC radio and tv news parroting of the ‘½ metre sea rise, don’t scare the political economy' mantra sourced to the already out of date IPCC report of February 2nd on climate change.

Ironically at the same time as these broadcasts the flagship radio national Science Show in its 32^nd year of trusted broadcasting (below) confirms a 12 metre sea rise if the above suggested melting occurs. And Professor Tim Flannery in Australia agrees it will whether it be 2010, 2020, 2040 or 2050:

7:40: Tim Flannery 2^nd Feb Radio National Breakfast with Fran Kelly

The Science Show has a couple of stories about hobbits on Flores, and parthogenetic reproduction in reptiles, but the rest is all rolled gold climate change horror story in gentle tones, which somehow makes it all worse. In particular one UK senior government scientist Chris West Director UK Climate Impacts Programme
http://www.ukcip.org.uk/ states the worst case scenario is unknown but if Greenland and West Antarctic ice melts then its 6 or 7 metre ocean rise each.

This is the reality the big old parties and dinosaurs in big industry and media don't want voters to hear because they can't cope with it. Nor can anyone else really.

This inspires SAM to reproduce these full on images relating to storm surge which also features in the Science Show. The first is of the biggest hurricane yet in North America, cyclone Wilma in 2004, off the newswires at the time, and featured front page Sydney Morning Herald at the time, given storms are thought to become extreme:

The second is the huge surf we saw in Sydney from cyclone Wati 1000 km north east of Sydney, with ripples arriving some days later, taken by this writer (I paricularly like the helicopter above the surfers image):

The Science Show starts with an amusing grab from this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_Wing_(TV_series)

specifically the Republican ‘progressive’ character in this episode about corn generated ethanol:

"King Corn" first broadcast January 26^th 2005, which shows corn based ethanol is only a marginal reduction in greenhouse impacts, and compares it with the recent State of the Union speech by George Bush promoting exactly that kind ethanol production.

(We at SAM did a review of the whole insightful series 1 to 5 at the local DVD shop and counting with Series 6 on the ABC Monday nights (now in its last 7^th series) first post January 3^rd 2007 (see date buttons top right) in a misspent Christmas New Year break.)

ABC Science show follows

Rising sea level in Britain

Listen Now - 03022007 | Download Audio - 03022007

Climate change is causing real problems in England's north-east coast. The ground is water-logged and the rising sea is causing the coast to crumble, taking roads and houses with it.

Naomi Fowler reports from Aldborough in Yorkshire.

Guests

Mike Ball Principal engineer the East Riding of Yorkshire UK

Chris West Director UK Climate Impacts Programme
http://www.ukcip.org.uk/

Malcolm Tarling The Association of British Insurers
http://www.abi.org.uk/

Professor James Curran Scottish Environment Protection Agency
http://www.hie.co.uk/professor-james-curran.html

Naomi Fowler http://www.naomifowler.org/

Presenter Robyn Williams, Producer David Fisher

Pictures at right: Taken 27 March 2006 at Tamarama beach front, a popular Sydney area of the eastern suburbs. The first image reflects the aspirated salty sea droplets on the Anzac bridge next to the CBD still 15 km away at about 9.30 am. It was similar walking down the gully to the ocean side descending to just above ocean level - an ethereal misty veil over the view.

There were crowds lining the cliff tops to watch and one new age flighty young woman was dancing with exhiliration, or maybe drugs, at the display and no one actually seemed to be very surprised: Conditions of normality were suspended just as the air was filled with salty suspension. I went down onto the rocks with a very cautious eye on the surge as I did so to get some more dramatic images.

The last imge of the child seemed metaphorical given the risky future we all face, and was taken with the parent's permission.

Postscript #1 5th Feb 2007

A version of the above article was emailed to networks and senior politicians yesterday before going out on indy press delivery work (Sydney City Hub). Now it's hammer and tongs in federal politics with Opposition leader Rudd leading the tv news (which I taped) calling for a climate change summit, more detail here:

PM, Rudd in a race for the summit

Dueling summits indeed, Rudd's climate change, PM Howard's water summit. But the PM has raised the stake in the game of poker chips with a carbon trading scheme here today 5th Feb:

"Carbon tax to hit miners A CARBON tax of up to $25 a tonne is being considered by the West Australian Government in a move that would cost the resource-rich state's alumina industry more than $200million a year. "

And pro Establishment business The Australian is getting nervous over the creeping realisation that its anti ecological economic religious fervour has caused climate change beyond their political control unlike conventional power games of western society. Here they editorialise to proceed cautiously on economic adjustments, literally as the end game for western civilisation stares us in the face:

Editorial: Look before leaping in climate decisions

How pathetic they are under cover of moderation. Which reminds of the mid January 2007 Davos World Economic Forum duly reported on in the Australian Financial Review (Sat 27th Jan 2007): Apparently the consensus in the social chit chat of the western worlds "winners", the billionaires, world 'leaders', crooks, spivs and killers in suits, was that climate change is not an urgent issue at all and that 'market forces' will deal with it.

For 'market forces' we assume this means 'law of the jungle' with rich folks moving to enclaves of luxury, and little people say in Shanghai and most of Bangladesh, Sydney, and London, in short desperate grim lives fighting for scraps of liveable land to survive on, or an even quicker one way ticket to Davy Jones locker. So much for the monsters of Davos, and their fossil fool puppeteers like Exxon Mobil. Moral pygmies? You can say that again.

What has become apparent too in the last few months to this writer is that the USA under W Bush captured as he is by Big Oil (and with PM Howard in his pocket) is playing a horrendous version of global chicken with China and India over greenhouse emissions: In the illegal street racing world beyond the Kyoto protocol, these three charioteers threaten to crash head on, and destroy the world's ecology and all the world's people sadly locked in the boot.

Posted by editor at 8:47 AM EADT

Updated: Thursday, 8 February 2007 7:59 AM EADT

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Saturday, 3 February 2007

1/2 metre sea rise? Try 5+ metres and ignore Big Media deception
Mood:

irritated
Topic: globalWarming

This writer has published (on then viable Sydney Indy Media in late 2006, and) here on SAM, that all this minimalist talk about a small sea rise (as bad as that is for beach erosion and coastal flooding during storm surge) as per ABC radio news this morning, is a form of denial and saccharine deception to the mainstram political economy.

As if to underline the point a report with more scientific integrity by Deborah Smith, Science editor in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald entitled "Sea rises faster than gloomiest predictions" is tucked away on page 6 and is not available online on their text archive.

The International Panel of Climate Change has released it's latest report on 2nd February 2007 which is already out of date, as new research on rapid levels of ice melt at both North and Southern Poles comes in. Every scientist we have heard in the last 24 hours keeps hammering the point that the real rate and extent of ice melt is unknown, or rather is known to be much faster and worse than the IPCC report has been able to address. Their conservative 50 to 80 cm rise by 2100 is all just so much false minimalism.

The serious climate scientists know the IPCC process is the most conservative consensus model of reporting from the science community.

Professor Tim Flannery recently awarded Australian of the Year said on Radio National and PM show yesterday that the 3 million year old ice caps of the North and South Pole could well be gone in 5 to 15 years at the most recent rates of melting measured. More conservative estimates are 2050.

This writer has read several estimates of 5 to 10 metre sea rise with the melting of the ice caps. Really. This is game over for large sections of coastal Sydney.

And it is sooner not later. And all the warnings have been correct so far. Many serious scientists, like this one here:

"UN blames humans for climate change

A United Nations climate report warns the world is heating faster than earlier predictions. It says ice caps are melting faster, seas will rise faster and the certainty has grown that human activity is the culprit. The report also spells out a series of grim scenarios in Australia. Leading Australian climate change consultant Dr Graeme Pearman discusses the dire assessment."

.....can see the stubborn determination of western civilisation to live like modern royalty in their lifestyles will mean the oppressive process of climate change will only get faster and worse.

Get the picture? Coastal cities are going to be hit with big sea rises and 1/2 a metre sea rise is a dangerous under reporting to avoid economic panic, and postpone financial and social upheaval around major restructure (that is inundation) of our coastal suburbs.

Posted by editor at 7:51 AM EADT

Updated: Thursday, 8 February 2007 8:01 AM EADT

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Iemma Govt cops some big hits from Big Press, the real Opposition?
Mood:

accident prone
Topic: election nsw 2007

In a rerun of the Marrickville Byelection farce in October 2005

Marrickville by-election gallery 9/05

the NSW Govt have been caught out suppressing very sensitive urban land use information in a front page mugging by the Sydney Daily Telegraph in it's Friday 2nd of Feb 07 issue. Back in 2005 this writer lodged a $40 Freedom of Information request for the Kevin Cleland Commission of Inquiry Report into the expansion of Port Botany, which is a long way from Marrickville until you realise the trebling (and more) container traffic will transit the marginal seat, and indeed raises the real proposition of a truck tunnel.

And with a truck road tunnel come ventilation stacks, and with those toxic air pollution like the long running sore of the M5 East pollution stack and health studies for the last 3 years. Planning Minister Sartor refused to release the tax payer funded report, and had been considering it for months. It was a shocking abuse of open government principles. The ALP beat off the Greens by a few percentage points in the vote.

The tough, honest, negative Cleland report was released (by way of rejection of its finding) by Sartor two weeks after the vote getting the ALP's Tebbutt over the line.

Now Marrickville and many other suburbs are in the news over another secret infrastructure disruption of social amenity just as the Green Party are back with electioneering in Marrickville and Balmain seats in particular prior to the general State election:

Picture: Cr Fiona Byrne, Green Party candidate fields press and other barrackers in front of a recycled computer pyramid at Reverse Garbage (Addison Rd Community Centre, Marrickville) next to Ian Cohen MP, last Thursday. Press release below.

The Daily Tele “TWO YEARS OF TOTAL CHAOS” carries the proverbial black background with large type bullet points

“EXCLUSIVE: What Labor didn’t tell you about its water desalination plant”

“Hundreds of streets dug up for pipes”

“Houses demolished, roads closed”

“15 suburbs hit by noise and pollution”

“Plans kept secret ahead of election”

The satellite map on pages 4 and 5 show the snaking pathways of disruption. The government disingenuously argues in radio reaction that they took 700 submissions on the project from the public in “consultation”. But there was no real notification of the literally tens of thousands affected. Premier Iemma is on ABC TV news at 7 pm saying the report is “wrong” but it looks anything but on the detail and past form. The 7.30 Report runs interviews with editors of both major press on the travails of the NSW Govt.

And well the ABC should. The conventional wisdom is that if the ALP lose in NSW they will likely win in the Federal election later in 2007 which is the real prize in Australian politics.

But what the damaging coverage doesn’t address is the reality, whether it is massive recycled water interventions, or an Opposition desalination plant at Malabar rather than Kurnell, there will be massive infrastructure disruptions to “drought proof Sydney”.

In this sense the Daily Telegraph is right to expose the subterfuge of the politicians but also opportunistic in loading up the ALP alone for the inevitable disruptions of any equivalent project. The truth is there is no easy way out of our water worries in Sydney.

Greens Media release relating to their photo op above follows:

The Greens NSW - Media Release - 1 February 2007

Greens build computer pyramid to highlight e-waste

Today the NSW Greens are using 150 old computers, supplied by Reverse Garbage, to construct a dramatic pyramid to highlight the problems of toxic 'e-waste'. Greens MP Ian Cohen is calling on the Iemma government to make it mandatory for producers to take responsibility for collecting and recycling old computers.

"Less than 2% of computers in Australia are recycled by individuals or businesses. The rest go into landfill or are shipped offshore," said Ian Cohen, who gave notice of the Greens E-waste bill in NSW Parliament last November.

"This amount of e-waste is an appalling toxic legacy to leave future generations.

"The Iemma government should act to force this billion dollar industry to do more than just produce and distribute computers and pocket the cash.

"NSW already has legislation in place that allows the Government to implement a mandatory scheme if the computer industry fails to implement its own voluntary code on e-waste. The NSW government, at a Federal and State meeting in November 2006, admitted the voluntary scheme is not working but has failed to act.

"The Greens bill proposes a simple amendment that would make it compulsory for manufacturers to take responsibility for their products to the very end," Mr Cohen said.

Greens candidate for Marrickville, Councillor Fiona Byrne, says, "The Iemma government has been captured by this powerful industry and is reluctant to compel manufacturers to tackle the problem of e-waste.

"Some impressive efforts been made at the grassroots level. For instance Reverse Garbage, the Marrickville co-op, has employed a full-time worker to restore old computers and send them out to people in need," said Cr Byrne.

"Unfortunately initiatives like this by Reverse Garbage are the exception.

"The Greens on Marrickville Council have decided to push the issue along by asking Council to audit the amount of e-waste collected in our LGA and the cost of disposing of it in an environmentally sensitive way.

"We will present this information to the government and industry bodies to illustrate the need for change," Clr Byrne said.

*Media conference and photo opportunity at 12.30pm, Reverse Garbage, Addison Rd Centre, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville. *

*Contact:* Ian Cohen: 0409 989 466; Derek Maitland (for Fiona Byrne) 0406 316 612

Posted by editor at 7:31 AM EADT

Updated: Monday, 5 February 2007 8:20 AM EADT

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Friday, 2 February 2007

VP Cheney visiting aircraft carrier USS Australia to firm up nuke weapon silos?
Mood:

blue
Topic: nuke threats

SAM has been reporting China's massive economic dependence on Iranian oil, and China's not very coincidental awesome demonstration of ability to knock USA military satellites out of the sky, which would be necessary for the USA to effectively menace or even politically annexe Iran as it has other Middle East states.

VP Cheney who is visiting here in the next month (refer below), was quoted a few days ago in the major press regarding USS Stenner aircraft carrier steaming into the Persian gulf as 'evidence' of the US intent to curb Iran's influence in Iraq. This reads like putting a brave face on China's frightening warning to back off their oil investment in Iran, that is, to physically stay out of Iran itself.

Now all the chatter in the Big Media is not about military strikes on Iran's dual use peace/weapon nuke research and development sites but a new vicious cold war 'shoot to kill' policy for any 'Iranian agents' found in Iraq, which is after all a neighbour to the war torn country with sympathy over religion and ethnicity.

This reads like something of a tantrum by Secretary of Defence Gates and the US military industrial complex after the China 'test' for being blocked in their escalation agendas against Iran by the next biggest (mostly soft but also hard military) power on the planet .

If these massive geo political players can't fool little old SAM website here about this full on power struggle over US/Iranian influence in the Middle East and its oil resouce or relations with Israel they are not fooling most other serious observers.

Further this scary unstable reality feeds into little old Australia. Paul Dibb ex ASIO for 25 years, now ANU academic, in The Australian newspaper recently reported his 1976 research 'proving' Australia was a nuke target priority of the Soviets back then.

Australia today is surely in the nuke geo politik strategic balance. There was a rumour that US Secretary of State Rice and Australian PM Howard talked about 10 or 15 nuke silos in Australia last June 2006. It's a logical suggestion. We have US military communications sites at Pine Gap, North West and some others from memory. We have Dibb's advice back to 1976, and now we have strategic movement in all of the East Asia: Japan, let alone South Korea, debating nuke weapon deterence on North Korea. Taiwan with nuke power similarly vis a vis China menaces of their democracy. Indonesia, a huge Islamic country, seeking nuke power capacity which again is dual use by 2015 (only 8 years from now), earthquake zone notwithstanding. Iran arming up nuke wise vis a vis Israel already 2nd or 3rd in the world nuke weapon capacity.

Anyone who thinks either the United States Govt or the Australian Govt is not looking at nuke weapons here as part of their global network of super power control has not been paying attention. And Cheney's visit is surely not for holiday talk. World scale politicians like Cheney are not like that. They visit to do serious things.

More here: http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/cheney-to-visit-australia/2007/01/30/1169919313080.html

including these quotes:

"A statement issued by the White House said Mr Cheney would travel to Australia and Japan during the week starting February 19.

"He will meet with (Japanese) Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and (Australian) Prime Minister John Howard to discuss issues of mutual interest including Asian security and the global war on terror," it said....

"Mr Howard later confirmed that Mr Cheney would visit Australia from February 22 to 27.

"The Australia-US alliance is of enduring importance to both countries and makes a significant contribution to international security," the prime minister said in a statement.

"Australia and the United States continue to work together toward our common goals.

"We are cooperating closely to fight terrorism, address global environmental challenges and enhance energy security, prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and promote an open international economic order."

Mr Howard said the visit would be an important opportunity to reinforce the strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Australia.

"(It will allow us) to consult on major international issues such as regional security challenges, Afghanistan, Iraq and the war against terrorism," he said."

Posted by editor at 7:48 AM EADT

Updated: Thursday, 8 February 2007 8:02 AM EADT

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Germany closing down it's coal industry: The Times
Mood:

a-ok
Topic: globalWarming

The local Australian newspaper quietly reports this massively significant news story yesterday February 1st 2007 in its World section, sourced to The Times in the UK, which relates directly to Australia's problem with our own huge greenhouse generating white elephant coal sector. Not least in NSW the Anvil Hill coal project which is an issue playing in marginal seats like Marrickville and Balmain in Sydney.

Here is the full story for its historic value:

Germany to bury its coal industry

Roger Boyes, Berlin
February 01, 2007

THE coalmines of Germany were condemned to death yesterday when Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to end state subsidies for the industry.

The decision to end the payment of E2.5 billion ($4.2 billion) a year of taxpayers' money will wipe out 37,000 jobs at the nation's eight surviving pits. It effectively shuts down what was once Germany's most powerful industry, providing jobs for 500,000 workers and exerting huge influence on policy.

The threat of industrial action, and even a national stoppage similar to the miners' strike that blighted the early years of the Thatcher government in Britain, has been averted. Ms Merkel's coalition Government secured the reluctant support of unions by agreeing to direct part of the subsidies into creating jobs in the worst-hit regions of Saarland and North Rhine-Westphalia.

The scheme will not be fully implemented until 2018, and can be reviewed in 2012 in light of conditions in the European energy market.

"No miner need be scared he is about to be dumped on the street," Economics Minister Michael Glos said, revealing some of the Government's nervousness over the issue.

The miners appeared beaten yesterday, faced with the stark reality of cheaper imported coal. The cost of production in Germany is three times higher than in China or Australia.

"They seem to be deeply resigned to their fate," said Thomas Hunsteger-Petermann, Mayor of Hamm in the Ruhr coalmining belt.

"None of us can understand why domestic coal is being eliminated from our national energy mix."

A spokesman for the German Trade Union Federation said: "These closures could lead to an erosion of the labour market from which the Saarland will never recover."

Ms Merkel's decision to end coal subsidies was supported by the two main factions in her "grand coalition" Government, comprising the Chancellor's Christian Democrats and their Social Democrat partners.

Many union members feel a sense of betrayal at the way the Social Democrats, who have traditionally drawn support from mining communities, failed to defend the state subsidies for coal. The fallout from the decision is likely to weigh on the next round of pay talks, with unions demanding the Social Democrats live up to their left-wing heritage and break ranks with Ms Merkel to demand a generous inflation-busting wages settlement for 2007.

That means not surrendering ground on demands for a minimum wage. The unions want E7.5 an hour to be paid to all workers in all industries, which would entail a pay rise for about five million workers. In the EU, only Germany and Cyprus have no minimum wage, and Ms Merkel, intent on being business-friendly, has always resisted the measure.

Figures released by the German Federal Statistics Office showed last year's pay rises had been almost entirely offset by inflation. The discontent over the pit closures may thus gain a sharper edge when the next wage round begins.

The Times

From http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21151238-2703,00.html

Posted by editor at 7:36 AM EADT

Updated: Thursday, 8 February 2007 8:03 AM EADT

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Thursday, 1 February 2007

Iemma, Garrett, and 'mate' Angel spin an exclusive climate googly at Howard government in his favourite newspaper
Mood:

loud
Topic: globalWarming

On the PM show last night Peter Garrett as Shadow Minister gave a somewhat waffly interview to hard head Chris Uhlmann here:

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s1837613.htm

leaning on the front page story on climate change story in the Sydney Daily Telegraph lifting out to another 2 page spread with colourful graphics:

“PETER GARRETT: Well look, just think about where we would be if John Howard had done something about greenhouse gas emissions 10 years ago. I mean, the front page of The Daily Telegraph today …”

The PM show ran the same story from the Daily Telegraph just prior

“But the city's been given a dire warning about the impact of climate change on its future from the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation).

It's a report commissioned by the New South Wales Government. The study predicts temperature rises of up to five degrees, and a decrease in rainfall of up to 40 per cent, over the next 70 years.”

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s1837611.htm

Premier Iemma is quoted about this “doomsday” scenario and their seems little doubt the whole exercise was aimed at hurting the Howard federal government, widely viewed as a failure on this policy area, having been a repackaged CSIRO 2004 report trimmed to focus on Sydney’s future and released by Iemma’s office.

Not only hurt Howard perhaps but marginalise the attack being worked on by the Herald using the Angel TEC research:

Water crisis plan sinks in red tape

But today the Tele rival Sydney Morning Herald is very not amused for being trumped yesterday

Climate data fit for recycling

THE State Government's green credentials were under scrutiny yesterday after it was caught out recycling 2004 data on climate change and was forced to admit its own agencies were too slow to make water savings.

And here

Analysis: All hot air: Iemma's reign of hypocrisy

And here

Editorial: In a spin over climate change

Hell hath no fury like a newspaper scorned for their rival.

But it also echoes the lengthy story we wrote yesterday about one Jeff Angel who similarly ran on abc 702 radio news bulletins both early and late though curiously not in the middle, boosting the message that ‘politicians have to start behaving themselves’ in light of the CSIRO report. That story here on SAM

Angelic greenwashing of water guzzling cyanide gold mine at Lake Cowal posted 31^st January 2007

goes on to analyse the very ALP NSW Govt friendly history of Angel in the past around the Lake Cowal gold mine for one, and many parallel green concerns, particularly while Carr was Premier.

This has to be balanced against Angel’s attacks on the Iemma government in the Herald yesterday for their water inefficiency and their policy of long wall underground mining for coal on abc radio.

Perhaps Peter Garrett is effectively the pro ALP brand greenie now who can defend or neutralise anything Angel serves up at least in PR terms, The Green Party have annexed the role of powerful honest brokers and the ALP know it, and thus Angel is finally losing his protection racket modus operandi.

Perhpas Angel is only left now with actually building public support if he can for a position like Milo Dunphy always did, not just co opt others campaign work burning them in the process in order to draw down government sinecures? Which calls up why did he take the wrong path originally? Was it for being stuck in the shadow of a giant like Milo Dunphy who took pollies head on, or genuine lack of ability? Time will tell.

Postscript #1

And as angry as the Herald is for being cut out of the CSIRO report story exclusive attacking Howard, this report today in conservative The Australian by Mike Steketee, is also very negative but not very persuasive, and virtually concedes the election to Iemma regardless

"Mike Steketee: Iemma's banana republic

01 February 2007

IF you were writing a script for how to get in trouble in the run-up to an election, you simply could not go past NSW. It has the lot, including a child sex scandal, a flagging economy and the fallout from the Government's long neglect of capital spending in areas such as water and public transport. ...

The Iemma Government is not mainly to blame for the NSW economy lagging behind the rest of the nation. Rising interest rates have hit the housing market harder in Sydney and the resources boom is sucking jobs and investment interstate. But a government prepared to scare off investors for short-term political gain does not help.

The state election will not hang on this issue, particularly because the Opposition is even more irresponsible. So large is the Government's electoral margin, so powerful the benefits of incumbency and so discredited the Opposition that the Government on present indications will be returned with a reduced majority. But the ramifications of its behaviour are much more serious and longer lasting than any of the issues on which voters will be asked to exercise their choice.

Mike Steketee is The Australian's national affairs editor."

Postscript #1

An amusing article ran bottom left of page 4 of Daily Telegraph the following day 2nd Feb 07: "Scoopful of sour grapes"

"Having been scooped again on a major exclusive, The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday resorted to lying to deflect its failure to cover the CSIRO climate change report. The Daily Telegraph beat its rival on Wednesday with a page 1 exclusive on the CSIRO report commissioned by the State Government. To cover its embarrassment at being beaten, The SMH wrongly claimed the report was old."

They similarly quote Premier Iemma accussing the SMH of "petty jealousy".

Posted by editor at 8:56 AM EADT

Updated: Thursday, 8 February 2007 8:20 AM EADT

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Big Brother Feds oppressing ngo dissent, just like Little Brother NSW govt?
Mood:

sharp
Topic: election Oz 2007

The well written and idealistic comment piece by Sarah Maddison and Clive Hamilton January 27, 2007 which leads in with

"Many welfare organisations have discovered that criticising policy is unacceptable to this Government"

was a good read, and mostly true to this writer with some 15 years in the non government group sector. It was circulated to us by environmentalist David Lockwood. The article is here:

The repression of the bleeding hearts

One comment regarding the complexity of the situation from this ngo minnow with no govt funding: The NSW ALP govt does the same thing.

Clive Hamilton is on the happy side of that favouritism as regards state largesse. Ex Premier Carr is on his Climate Institute and was cued to launch his sustainability book in 2005 at Parliament House in Macquarie St while as Premier overseeing woodchipping of a million tonnes of natural forest per year in breach of an election promise made in 1995.

Clive didn't see the inconsistency of that and wrote to me to the effect of 'You have a chip on your shoulder'. Which of course is true too regarding that issue.

A case in point was defunding of the 'NSW Ethnic Communities Council' as a way of conservative Carr addressing the momentum of the One Nation challenge to right wing voters. The other case in point is sidelining the far more representative and bigger membership The Wilderness Society versus the 700 size Total Environment Centre which was far more compliant to the then Carr govt as

"the greenest premier in the history of Australia"

to quote Jeff Angel in late 2002 in the Sydney Morning Herald prior to the March 2003 vote. That was an outrageous pre emption of the green movement in an election cycle.

Conclusion: Both major parties are corrupt when they can get away with it as regards robust discipline of critical comment by the NGO sector.

The difference is that the Howard Govt are bigger and have been there the longest and thus are most guilty of oppressing non govt groups.

Postscript #1 5th Feb 2007

And the Establishment chill, possibly via Howard Govt contacts in business, against Clive Hamilton's Australia Institute is in this article following, while noting the legal timing of the court action reported is back in November 2006 is before this latest book of Maddison and Hamilton about 'Silencing Dissent' in early 2007:

DJs sues over child exploitation claims

ADELE HORIN | David Jones is suing the Australia Institute over claims the giant retailer's advertising sexually exploited children.

Posted by editor at 7:59 AM EADT

Updated: Tuesday, 6 February 2007 7:26 AM EADT

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SAM news blog clocks 2800 hits first month, Sydney Indy Media back online too
Mood:

a-ok
Topic: independent media

We are fairly happy with our Sydney Alternative Media website as we lead into the NSW and federal elections, and gather together the strands of news value from diverse social contacts here in Oz, but also Aussies scattered by the global wind to Canada and South Korea.

It was intended to substitute for http://sydney.indymedia.org/ which went offline for maintenance and upgrade for about 6 weeks, and is now thankfully back up in the last few days.

This calls up the role of blogging news and how it can relate to collectivist and much more public interactive official indymedia sites like SIM and say alternative news media blogs like SAM. My feeling the greater editorial control of a blog can raise the quality of a read while SIM provides a genuinely well known and globally connected brand for public access to get that critical news story into the community.

Also blogs are generally hosted by blog companies and therefore subject to that control while indymedia have greater stand alone technical capacity and multiple redundancy built in if ever there was a censorship agenda against bloggers per se.

2,800 hits for SAM in just under a month is nothing earth shaking but enough to feel okay about, and worth pursuing. This level of interest is in January which is supposed to be a quiet time though this year is not so typical with 2 big elections marching on with NSW March 24th and federal election perhaps in November 2007.

The trend in daily reads seems to be increasing too with 179 for the last day. Lastly we have noticed our language and even content turning up either as a direct or indirect echo or perhaps parallel evolution in some high profile columnist articles, one distinctly centre left, another on the right. We won't embarrass them by mentioning who.

Our material is for open use and is meant to be borrowed, recycled and reused. It's free, and no need for attribution either. It really is free, and that's the owner and editor speaking.

Posted by editor at 6:39 AM EADT

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India's President calls for public feedback on solution to terrorism via yahoo blog
Mood:

crushed out
Topic: peace

Our man in South Korea Jarrah Keenan, with plenty of reason to ponder the question of peace south of the DMZ there, sends this intriguing message about a Gandhi style internet based process to find the solution to terrorism:

Howdy Tom! I thought this question on Yahoo! Answers might be interesting to you.

any chance of adding this to SAM and MIM? it's really very thought provoking - global democracy in action!!!

What should we do to free our planet from terrorism?

jarrah_fortytwo

Posted by editor at 6:18 AM EADT

Updated: Thursday, 1 February 2007 7:05 AM EADT

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Energy lobby still in thrall to fossil fool greenhouse mafia says Milne
Mood:

incredulous
Topic: globalWarming

As the 7.30 Report last night ran this

Australia ignoring solar power, says pioneer

Australia's leading solar power innovator leaves the country tomorrow, frustrated because he believes this country cannot see past its rich coal and uranium reserves, and recognise that the sun is Australia's richest energy resource of all.

in effect a profoundly depressing coverage of groundbreaking solar energy technology going to China, Europe and the USA out of Australia to help save our planet, to strains of denial of Industry Minister McFarlane and to this ear a sound of voters rushing for the door, Senator Milne of the Greens below identifies where the Howard government, and the energy sector here have gone so horribly wrong. And she is right.

It is a depressing and very frightening manifestation of an earlier profound report on ABC flagship 4 Corners about an insiders club 'greenhouse mafia' here:

The Greenhouse Mafia

Reporter: Janine Cohen Broadcast: 13/02/2006

Four Corners returns for 2006 with a whistleblower … and revelations of a powerful insiders’ club...

"Having found out what I’ve found out, I find it impossible to continue with a clear conscience without speaking out" - whistleblower interviewed by Four Corners.

Are Australians getting the whole truth on global warming?

Not according to evidence given to Four Corners, which returns with disturbing allegations about the power wielded by industry lobbyists, the self-proclaimed greenhouse "mafia". http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2006/s1566257.htm

Over to Senator Milne ....

MEDIA RELEASE

Wednesday, 31 January 2007

No time to delay climate action - Howard must price carbon now

Australia cannot afford to wait for experimental technology to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and advocates of this 'wait-and-see' approach
are risking catastrophic climate change, the Australian Greens said
today.

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Senator Christine Milne
said a report commissioned by the Energy Supply Association of Australia
(ESAA) was self-serving, arguing for the nation to put its hopes in
carbon capture and storage, and ignoring the potential gains from energy
efficiency.

"It is in the interests of the fossil fuel industry to claim that
renewable energy and energy efficiency are no solution to climate change
and that we must rely instead on an experimental and costly technology,"
Senator Milne said.

"The ESAA should be advocating improving energy efficiency and demand
reduction - the quickest and cheapest way to reduce emissions - but of
course this in not in their members' short-term financial interest.

"The Howard government has deliberately refused to review the scope of
renewable energy and energy efficiency to meet deep greenhouse reduction
targets, instead directing all its efforts at 'clean coal' and nuclear
power, which it favours.

"This policy failure has driven renewable energy technologies like solar
thermal power company Solar Heat and Power offshore where it is
recognised that solar thermal power is a probable replacement for coal,
nuclear and oil.

"The urgency of action on climate change is reinforced with the release
today of a CSIRO report on the likely impacts for NSW. The forecasts are
alarming

"Australians have a right to be angry with their governments for
continuing to prop-up polluting energy interests and failing to treat
climate change with the urgency it demands.

"We need a national effort, starting with the federal government setting
a national greenhouse reduction target, introducing an emissions trading
scheme and a carbon tax on transport fuels, a higher mandatory renewable
energy target and investment in public transport."

Posted by editor at 5:52 AM EADT

Updated: Thursday, 8 February 2007 8:06 AM EADT

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