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Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Naked journo power envy drives Milne's 'Rudd strip club' story, sincere Ramsey sledge?
Mood:  energetic
Topic: big media

In the Latham Diaries on p254 big Mark cries over attacks on his Mum ('by his ex wife on the radio') in a meeting with Kevin Rudd over policy. That’s some trust to cry in front of a colleague.

 

In the same Diaries at page 364-5 Latham brutally insults Rudd for crying over the death of his mother (the day before federal election Oct 8th 2004) allegedly while lobbying him for a job in the shadow ministry. 

 

Again that’s some trust. Latham almost certainly misinterprets the grief as callous ambition when the potential demise of a golden son’s career is surely exactly the main concern of every great mother. Hence the intertwined psychology of career with child-parent solidarity and tears: Endeavour to glorify their mother or conversely failure causing dishonour, at least in their minds.

 

Our view Latham and Rudd might have a bit more in common on the emotional level than either want to admit. Indeed Latham describes Rudd as “a crazy bastard” at p256, an epithet since directed at himself by the Big Media.

 

But the Big Media have some psychological vulnerabilities of their own to ponder this last week.

 

Insightful media analyst Margaret Simmons on Crikey yesterday asks where is the story really in a strip club visit 4 years ago …. led by the nose there by one notorious yet powerful sink pisser Col Allan, formerly editor of cartoon book Sydney Daily Telegraph?

 

The seeds of Rudd at sleazy Scores story surely arises like a rusty sword out of the waters of Lake Burley Griffin, or the Waters Edge restaurant to be exact, another warty story itself 2 years old.

 

3 power journos Daley, Brissenden, Wright, and by definition not Milne or Ramsey are treated to a lengthy chat on/off the record by Treasurer Costello. Ramsey illustrates how cosy it all is with Mrs Wright owning the place, Mrs Brissenden (Taylor) corroborating etc etc.

 

But Ramsey makes it quite clear his pique at not being invited  with terms like “all that journalistic chest hair”, “Oh please”, “bored by the story” “dreadfully incestuous hothouse of huge, clashing egos” and deliciously “Don’t ever think it’s just the politicians”.

 

Well sure Alan but you still weren’t there, and just as well otherwise we might not have got such a cracking article Not-so-meaty returns, never mind happy - Opinion - smh.com.au last Saturday. Nor Glen Milne who got his equaliser next day with Kevin Rudd hits a strip club | The Daily Telegraph

 

That’s envy, and relevance deprivation syndrome within the Canberra Press Gallery.

 

We suspect as an indulgence to pop psychology that Rudd’s desperate attempt to unwind and lapse of judgement in New York 2003 relates in some Freudian way to the impending loss of the first, most profound woman in his life  – his mother. A big adjustment in anyone’s life. The male id and all that.

 

But all we get from Big Politics and Big Media is the increasingly naked reputations of all the power players – envious journos, grasping leaders (some pictured present and past) of major duopoly parties, and probably this wannabe blogger here.

 

Meanwhile Morris Iemma is busy grandstanding on police water cannon to steal oxygen from this story of a nakedly corrupt meeting with a Macau gambling gangster as here or cancer causing ventilation stacks from another multi $billion corrupt tollway tunnel.

 

Naked power money mum and sex. What else is there? 

 

Well as Akerman cunningly identifies with a recent piece on the scandalous Heiner affair back to 1990 - the fact that the famously effective Fitgerald Inquiry was shut down before it got to do over the ALP .... like it did over Joh's corrupt National Party. Lawyers picnic, or essential house cleaning of the ship of state? Almost certainly the latter - just ask Morris and his Macau mate, or his senior staffer Mike Kaiser ex Qld ALP and convicted electoral fraudster.

 

Or maybe this very real national security concern, and it's not APEC from the Sydney Daily Telegraph a month or two ago (date tbc):

 

Postscript #1 22nd August 2007

A. And the so called strip club front page shrieker last Sunday has turned to dust with references in the big media business (eg Sky News on abc radio) that its a 'one day wonder' (after 48 hours it might be noted). Indeed The World Today has direct interview with the boss of Scores 'Gentelman's Club' who was present 4 years back, saying Rudd didn't want to be there, didn't finish his beer and as soon as he realised the kind of place said "this won't do", but also the others Aussies "were fawning over him". That's quite a vindication for Rudd, and quite a devastating blow to the credibility of the story promoters overt and covert. There will be quite a deal of political accounting for this pathetic beat up - one can judge by the huge election spend flagged by Howard within 36 hours (since reinforced on 7.30 here) of Rudd meeting the challenge in his face to face with Laurie Oakes on Ch9 Sunday talkies. Gutsy effort Kevin. Which timing by the way suggests a certain tag team choreography and intent over who promoted the strip club story - the political equivalent of a punch to the solar plexis and then right cross on the chin of the increasingly rock jawed alternative prime minister Rudd.

B. The other intriguing political echo is our reflection in the main story above of corrupt tendencies of the Iemma ALP govt re Stanley Ho/2nd casino (as per SMH), and polluting tunnel agendas, which just might have caused this blow for improved integrity of governance via Justice Paul Stein (a heroic environemntal lawyer) via Minister Koperberg - about 10 years late but still thank heaven for small mercies.

C. And lastly, Iemma should have a little think about whether he is for or against the Iraq war as lame duck Bush attends Sydney's APEC and citizens protest agaisnt him .... not least the former senior army officer, Olympic security chief, and now theological type who condemns choice of Sydney as the venue yesterday on ABC radio, and notes 1/2 million deaths in Iraq since the invasion in 2003:

 

Security expert and author Adrian D'Hage [21/08/2007]
Adrian D'Hage is a man of many parts. First, there's the military man: Adrian was a platoon commander in Vietnam where he was awarded the Military Cross. He became a Brigadier, but doesn't believe he was every a very conventional member of the military.   [
more ]


Posted by editor at 9:23 AM NZT
Updated: Wednesday, 22 August 2007 9:58 AM NZT
Sunday, 19 August 2007
Sunday free to air tv political talkies: It could be a hell of alot worse, Rudd senior died in a car crash when he cut loose
Mood:  chatty
Topic: election Oz 2007

Author’s general introductory note (skip this if you know this regular weekly column):

This is not a well packaged story. It’s a contemporaneous traverse of the Sunday television free to air political talkies indicating the agenda of Establishment interests: Better to know ones rivals and allies  in Big Politics and Big Media.

 

 

Indeed it’s the tv version monitoring task similar to what Nelson Mandela refers to here in his book Long Walk to Freedom (1994, Abacus) written in Robben Island prison (where he was meant to die like other African resister chiefs of history in the 19C), at page 208

 

 

 

 

“..newspapers are only a shadow of reality; their information is important to a freedom fighter not because it reveals the truth, but because it discloses the biases and perceptions of both those who produce the paper and those who read it.”

 

Just substitute ‘Sunday tv political talkie shows’ for "newspapers" in the quote above.

 

 

 

 

For actual transcripts go to web sites quoted below except with Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.

 

 

 

 

 

Media backgrounder: [this segment under construction]

 

 

 

See prequel re Rudd, an Australian in New York in lurid detail, and following segments. In lieu of that imagery this old classic from Bill Leak at The Australian

 


See yesterday’s sledge post by us in return to Duffy and Tim Blair nitpicking temperature measurements in the absence of high level scientific expert analysis

 

 

 

- too many 'APEC police action and/or bloody annoying disruption to fine Sydney citizenry stories' to mention, mostly adverse such that the organisers have been forced to full page advert promo

 


- This clip bottom page 3 (from memory) 14th August 07

 


-         Why is there no Big Art opera with “something to say” in the sense Bob Dylan was hungrily consumed in the 1960ies as per all the retrospectives this last week. The Opera on Rwanda genocide, on Tasmanian corruption destroying our forest, on climate change destroying our future, on the Iraq war. Why is opera after Don Giovani so irrelevant, and other reactions to this insert

 

, as well as promotions for 'Children in the concert hall' on abc radio to help with the recruitment to the Royal (stuck up, corporate sponsored) arts.

 


- Plan for N-plant "to build a $2.5 billion nuclear enrichment plant in Australia" - postage stamp in Sydney Daily Telegraph p18 12, 2007.

 

- With all the dual use uranium deals with India – Uranium cleared for India p1 lead 15/8/07 The Australian -  and Russia, this oldie popped up p11 May 10 07 Hugh White “Another nuclear arms race is in the offing”. Rudd’s ALP gets it. Coalition’s Howard too – only he wants it. For instance notice this on the World Today 17/8/07 Russia next for Australian yellowcake and this sop Russia satisfying domestic energy needs, says analyst .

And if you believe the govt soft shoe shuffle as they all run scared with the USA of the Chinese dictatorship straddling Asia, well then you haven’t been reading Beijing’s horror human rights record, let alone death rate from pollution (about 450,000 per year apparently). So nuke weapon containment of China is on. And add to this the broader the sales market from Australia the more likely customers will support Howard’s Australia obtaining nuclear weapons in the future in an orgy of pro nuke mutualism of haves and have nots. That’s the nasty way geo politics works and that’s Howard’s demonstrated ruthless style. The politics is pretty clear with the price of uranium going south now too - Resource that radiates fear 11/8/07 Sydney Daily Telegraph.

 

- Germany thinks big as it taps in to the sun p22 SMH 11-12 August 2007

 

 

- an oldie, image of a melting road – that’s what a tanker of petrol does not least risk planning for APEC. Ouch from May 1st 2007 The Australian p9

- another oldie – front page  The Australian by Imre Salusinszky  26/3/07 Satisfied Carr emerges to claim his due, but that’s not how its played out with “Business Consultant” Bob Carr slumming it on ABC RN design show Saturday morning (18/8/07) laughably advising on “good cities” i.e Paris, Manahattan, London and quoting secular saint J K Galbraith the great political economist like others might grab a figleaf amongst the tollways BC gave Sydney. At least he sounded more humble and subdued and less dandy.

 

- The original story by Imre at The Oz predicting the feds beat up the States election agenda back on May 12-13 07 at p31 Feds bent upon waving a red rag

 

 

- Tim Flannery does book review High and Dry: John Howard, climate change and the selling of Australia's future by Guy Pearse smh spectrum 11th August 07

 

- We won't preference the ALP, Senator Bob Brown p12 27/7/07 The Australian

 

- Sustainability theme ex ALP Env Minister Barry Cohen Dangers in growth for growth's sake .... and Seniors shun materialism to help save the planet  by Glenn Milne both August 6 p16 The Australian

 

- Litigation heating is heating up over climate change p34 11-12/8/07 Weekend Australian

 

- Rush for cyberspace has traps for new players Michelle Grattan August 12 2007 p31

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Meet the Press 8-8.30 am

 

Costello fronts early 2nd string (but still good) MTP. Shows he’s boosting his profile. Bongiorno inevitably leads with Sunday Tele earlier post re Rudd at a strip club in NYC and Costello plays a very very dead pan face and bat. No smirk at all. But has to crack up at the

 supplementary – has he ever been to the strip club in question? Bonge was already sparkle of eye and glint of smile before he even started and so the two of them have a good chortle at Rudd’s embarrassment.

 

[So the issue for Rudd is holding his gravitas as an alternative PM despite his humanity. And there’s another thing about the scenario – he might just have been a bit lonely especially amongst the chilly ALP rivals way over there surrounded by 20 million yanks.]

 

Most of the interview lost in earnest dry economics about something (??)

 

Outtake Gareth Evans experienced – PM makes hay on Rudd implicit less experienced though pushing 50, family mostly grown, rich, senior role in Qld Govt etc. Fair sledge especially in context of funny strip story.

 

1st adbreak

 

Panel Alison Carabine (Canberra Times?) admirable control of the Cheshire cat too, Steve Burrel SMH.

 

Again earnest talk about housing etc. But it’s just dead time given the scoop story above.

 

Costello looking a bit healthier and appealing than usual visually speaking.

 

Grab from Res Bank chief need for infrastructure – Costello says States undoing their fiscal discipline.

 

Out take – gross Nicholson animation very unflattering to PM Howard re dismal polls.

 

2nd adbreak

 

Teachers Federation advert for the benefit of the wonks at this time?

 

Journalism ethics story re dinner with Costello 2 years ago. 3 versus 1. Agrees with most commentators implicit criticism of journos leaking off the record once confidence accepted. Costello showed at one point an unvarnished transparent steel I’ve not seen before that Rudd and Howard both have, except perhaps the parliamentary speech “it takes bravery”. He is growing as a politician in the classical sense of mediating the polity.

 

Beattie gone too far punishing any referendum on council inefficiency. Cheap points to Costello so still immature games. [real issues of white shoe developer brigade but should be sorted fairly.]

 

 

 

Transcript in due course www.ten.com.au/meetthepress

 

 

 

 

7 Weekend Sunrise, 8.35-40 am Riley Diary  -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Satire around Peter Costello’s 50th Birthday, journalists dinner and the like. Quite good overshadowed by Milne funny strip story.

 

http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/weekend

 

 

 

 

 

 

Insiders 2

 

Peter Beattie retreats on referendums, agrees to them on the show. Long interview – making political space even in terms of a few hours to get his act together, emotional poise.

 

Panel – Annabelle Crabb – becoming a really classy writer quite young still, respect of other journos by the looks. Price and Milne with the cracking story.

 

Panel discussion – Milne argues lead story goes to character and there is alleged improper touching of a stripper.

 

Reference to 1000 Tamil voters in Bennelong. Howard praises ethnic tolerance re his own electorate – must be seen as self serving.

 

Barbara Bennett IR attack person for Coalition Govt is being paid $500K salary.

 

IR anti union attack advert is brutal and probably effective.

 

Missed the rest switch to Laurie Oakes.

 

 

Home page is http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/

 

 

Sunday 9

 

Comperes crank the very seedy dangerous record of Scores in NYC from gangsters to rip off merchants and dirty money.

 

Feature on rail safety in Victoria. Big story – hard to track with 2 parallel – feed into federal attack on states probably.

 

Laurie Oaks with Kevin Rudd is the story/interview of the day.

 

The grovel proceeds, full responsibility. “Cop a belting from the community. No recollection of improper touching a dancer. New York Post editor who took them to Scores for a drink, Col Allen says he acted as a perfect gentleman. Told his wife and acted like a goose. [Allen notorious ex Sydney Daily Telegraph – story of pissing in the sink in an editorial meeting, famous drinker, never to be trusted would be this writer’s view about any moral issue.]

 

Only 2 occasions can recall 2 “blowouts” regarding drunkenness. LO notes he is not a big drinker. Planted by the govt?

 

Leaves to journos to work out. 4 years old so a puzzle.

 

LO notes Milne famous drunken indiscretion at Walkleys.

 

Christianity character? Never claimed moral perfection.

 

Gave speech of US-Australia leadership dialogue last night as well as field this character attack – [Empire head patting group] – founded 15 years ago by someone called Phil Scanlon (worth a research). Keen to avoid US post Vietnam isolationism. [Completely mis describes USA jackboot in South American continent as ruthless and arrogant as the USA has ever been over the period of the cold war to say 1990].

 

Looking a bit tired and laboured but competent and mild, no doubt the emotional impact of facing up to this LO interview and surviving the hardest topic. Gathers some second wind and spark within a minute. Almost see the colour back in his face – back on front foot with his rhetoric on interest rates etc. Quite the impressive reboot all on the screen. Talking a hundred miles an hour – sugar in the blood again.

 

Economic equivalent of the Tampa in financial turmoil discussed.

 

Interest rates – responsibily do whatever we can to as low as possible responsibly. Not irresponsible claims. 17% 1989 under ALP versus 23% in 1982 – quite a counter attack as per Paul Keating advice.

 

Low doc home loans back federal intervention of the govt. “Positive, ASIC powers etc, proper robust regulation.

 

Ports takeover – extra question said it was last one – support? Treasury not involved in federal govt proposals on this – refers to Crosby Textor research – state attack tactic. Get black and white policy.

 

One more question (again) – how NY adventure affect him in the polls – take a belting in the opinion polls – up to the people.

 

Poll question re Costello truthful re dinner with journos? 

 

Q and A with LO follow up it seems. Govt definitely groomed the story says LO.

 

General view like Mark Riley, Matt Price gist of humanness, not a nerd, Beattie blood in his veins.

 

 

 

 

http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/default.asp

 


Posted by editor at 10:41 AM NZT
Updated: Sunday, 19 August 2007 12:28 PM NZT
Uh oh Rudd vote goes up after NY strip club scandal from Sept 2003
Mood:  cool
Topic: election Oz 2007

Well I'll be horn swoggled as the yankees would say. The Big Meeja have switched to vaudeville at Ruddy's expense, from a Costello barracker in the Press Gallery no less, feral News Ltd journo Glenn Milne in today's Sunday Telegraph who ever regards his role as a player not just reporter:

 

But here's the kicker - Rudd's vote will actually go up. Eh, how so?

There's one thing about the Christian evangelical vote - it's all about redemption of the sinner. So as long as Kevvy the Silly Lad can grovel and confess and plead human frailty and isolated lapse of judgement, well then he's one of us brothers and sisters in Christ. Even my old man DLP and father of 9 used to watch Alvin Purple, I could hear him chortling across the hall as I drifted off to sleep suffering serious envy.

On the other hand the red neck hard drinking hard working blokes in the back blocks will give a sigh of relief, thank heavens (there is the religion aspect again) he has actually got red blood in his veins. Drinks and likes women. Therese (his loyal wife) get him in the dog house, woof.

The ALP proper will see the ghost of reformed hard drinking Bob Hawke who won his big election star turn in 1983.

The Costello backers will see Rudd's polling go up and get the leadership yet, in a draft from aging sinking but wily battling PM John Howard? Greater good and all that.

The balance of the Right of politics will shake their head knowingly about those free thinking lascivous Democrat towns like New York (the blue (!) ones, or is that red on their electoral maps?).

As for the rest of mainstream society. Well, we all think about such places even if we haven't been there on a 'fact finding tour' as the parliamentary jargon goes.

So we will all have a damn good laugh at his expense but not in a censorious way which is against our Convict heritage of calling a spade a shovel. Sex is another management issue in Australia, not an impeachment crusade. Just as long as he didn't do anything or catch anything to hurt anyone including himself or his sainted wife.

We always said grog was a real problem in society so mitigate your folly Ruddy and do something about the grotesque influence of those clubs & pub lobbyists as per front page of the Sydney Fairfax press same day (story about $150M alcohol driven project for Sydney's CBD).

And for God sake win the election, sooner rather than later too, we are all getting bored senseless (as per Mike Carlton column), and as Max Walsh formerly of The Bulletin stated on Breakfast RN with Doogue yesterday, the polls have stabilised for the ALP. Which probably explains the lurid attack story. Or maybe it comes from malcontented ALP types of the Lathamesque pursuasion annoyed by Rudd's success - a bit of tickle up as the burly crew coiffured one might say.

Our traverse of Sunday political free to air tv talkies later today should be a quite a doozy. Never done a prequel before either.


Posted by editor at 8:26 AM NZT
Updated: Sunday, 19 August 2007 11:31 AM NZT
The Bower latest newsletter August 2007
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: ecology
bowerfrontage
Sydney's first straw bale building

 

Following the front pager about wasteful consumption literally killing the planet here yesterday: 

Top suburbs costing the Earth and here Spending our way to climate change

Here is a place where you can practice how to do things so much better

 

The Bower

 

with their latest newsletter here

 

 The Bower newsletter August 2007


Posted by editor at 8:03 AM NZT
Marrickville film festival calling for short films ASAP
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: culture

 

Picture: Organiser Jola Jones wants more pulp friction for the Marrickville Film festival, don't know if she dances.

 

Calling for films!!!!!

 marrickville_film_festival_sml

 

Marrickville Film Festival

 

14th - 15th September

Posted by editor at 6:15 AM NZT
Saturday, 18 August 2007
TB, aka Tim Blair, aka Two Bit ....the $2 Will Bailey figure and creationist of climate change policy?
Mood:  spacey
Topic: big media

Tim Blair, or TB as we prefer being a noxious debilitating illness requiring antibiotic treatment, has all week to work up his Saturday rottweiler column in the Saturday Daily Telegraph as here

usually attacking enviornmentalism and anything more centre left than Genghis Khan.

And today is no exception. And Will Bailey is the stirling policy intellect amongst the panoply of characters in the West Wing tv series with a passing spectacled resemblance to TB. Hence the $2 wannabe reference in the headline.


Joshua Malina as Will Bailey

As we like to say the News Ltd Smelly is more cartoon book than reflection of truth, a looney tunes exercise. If this is understood one can even grow to enjoy such sophistry from one as TB.

His constant mock scorn of world's best climate change science reminds us of the nay sayers for quite a few years challenging the double helix in DNA. The 100 year history of anti science creationism against the unifying theory of Evolution (talk about crack pot yankee museums). Or Big Tobacco trading in doubt in the face of decades of medical science on cancer.

Not for nothing does TB refer in satirical projection to "burns on the bathroom sink, possibly from [hotel] tenants putting aside cigarettes while brushing their teeth'. Too much information TB, we don't need to know your autobiographical habits! [Yes we did laugh at the line which is something I suppose.]

Suffice to say Tim Blair has no scientific credentials and would be horrified to be so burdened. He prefers creationist style denial just like the troglodyte Exclusive Brethren nutcases over robust, diverse, increasingly developed climate change science literature.

He's the sophist sop to rednecks everywhere too cowardly to confront the huge folly and extremism of their own lifelong anti ecological philosophies. On the content of his article itself TB ignores the well accepted utility of trend line in annual temperature measures - just like electoral polling really. Not one or other individual metric but the trend. 

TB prefers selective nitpicking around new data on apparently very hot year 1938. Which is why we have pictured a bag of frozen veg - pour into a pan on high heat, some of it is icy, some of it damn hot, contemporaneously (just like our planet actually), but most of it popping and whizzing on the flame (in the interim phase) at extremes of temperature until in the end it's all a black charred smoking mess. Unless you turn it down or off.

Are we in the the interim variability phase of climate change under conditions of increased energy inputs and entropy like frozen veg on a hot pan?  That question is way too complex for pea brain Tim (and his readers which sadly are all too many) stuck somewhere between a luke warm bit of carrot and corn in a pan going to hell but thinking all is well. But the expert chefs/climate experts, prima donnas no doubt, are increasingly sure the heat is coming given given all the noise in the pan. In other words don't just read one silly/bad newspaper columnist with an ignorant view and do avoid rottweilers in the park this weekend:

http://www.cicsworld.org/blogs/snmoorthie/2006/12/   http://www.1stopfordogs.com/puppies/   http://mirror-cn-bj1.gallery.hd.org/_c/natural-science/_more2002/_more09/Rottweiler-doing-protection-training-athelete-in-motion-CF.jpg.html   

 

Postscript #1

Ditto this today more resembling a trend but as with most of these attacks the pro scientist refutations tend to be devastating, just a matter of time really Cold, hard facts take the heat out of some hot claims What's more revealing is the tag team aspect to the timing in the Fairfax press from the Right commentariat.

What they and maybe some readers don't realise is that such as James Hansen of NASA Goddard Institute have opinon writers in 50 states of the USA and then European Countries to prioritise before they get to hokey Australia at the *rse end of the world, as some wit put it a long time ago. And it's that time lag in refutation, much like allegory of The Lie that gets half way round the world before Truth gets it's shoes on, that pays the corporate welfare seeking wage of shriekers like Blair and Duffy.

But only just, or else Rupert Murdoch who accepts the real risks of global warming is a dummy, and that is a very big call and against all common sense as he moves his digs ... into the Wall Street Journal no less.

Postscript #2 20th August 2007

Sure enough Dr James Hansen Of NASA in his nerdy scientific excellence has addressed the melodrama with his view the theoretical integrity behind climate change is completely unaffected by the look of things here in a PDF document, via Crikey.com.au today: http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/realdeal.16aug20074.pdf?source=cmailer


Posted by editor at 9:16 AM NZT
Updated: Tuesday, 21 August 2007 9:56 AM NZT
Thursday, 16 August 2007
Is Jeff Angel an ALP collaborator in environmental destruction?
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: nsw govt

 

Picture: Our Forests, Our Future conference flyer later this election year. Prominent environemntalist Jeff Angel is not on the speakers list though his group is listed in support. Details include:

 

 

Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 1:47 PM
Subject: [chipstop] Our forests, our future: a question of politics
This event is on Saturday 15th September in Sydney. You can RSVP via the web link below. regards, harriett
Why are our forests being destroyed at an alarming rate? And what will it take for politicians save them? Join forest campaigners from groups across Australia for a full day forum on the science and politics of forests  
Balmain Town Hall, Sydney 10am-5pm Saturday 15th September 2007
Speakers include: Greens Senator Bob Brown, Alec Marr (The Wilderness Society),  Dr Judith Adjani (Australian National University) and more to be confirmed. Admission free, lunch $5 on the day. RSVP by 7th September by visiting http://nccnsw.org.au/index.php?option=com_fabrik&Itemid=1004 Proudly presented by the Nature Conservation Council of NSW.
Supported by: The Forest Campaign Group, Wilderness Society, North East Forest Alliance,  South East Region Conservation Alliance and Total Environment Centre.
Between 2,500 and 3,000 trees from SE NSW and East Gippsland are cut down every working day to supply the Eden chipmill
CHIPSTOP campaign against woodchipping the SE forests, 02-64923134, PO Box 797 Bega NSW 2550 Australia, http://www.chipstop.forests.org.au

 

Main story

 

Angel is a prominent environmentalist who leads the Total Environment Centre. He is also quite controversial within the green movement.

 

We began our career in 1992 quite liking Angel. His co director at TEC Milo Dunphy first took me under his wing in the Dunbogan Canal Estate Commission of Inquiry which was a win for the environment. Then Angel positioned this writer into a job for Clover Moore MP’s private member’s South East Forest Protection Bill as a wedge on the National Liberal Party Coalition.

 

Well I remember redneck MP Peter Cochrane of the Nats referring in the House to Angel as “a weasel”. With my ecological training and commitment and with shared enemies like Cochrane I should be a fan of Angel surely?

 

So why about 1994 did I become aware of great animosity to the man. Director of  The Wilderness Socity, Karenne Jurd, hated “the bastard”. It’s a matter of public record that founder and co-director of TEC Milo Dunphy distrusted his colleague Angel greatly too – with dark mutterings about ‘a Jewish mafia’ within his own ranks. Was this the environmental movement version of anti semitism?

 

Certainly this writer had no time or interest in indulging any kind of covert bigotry. I was a child of authors like Bernard Malamud and impressed with the gutsy Isrealis, and their survival from the mundane bureaucratic industralised horror of the holocaust and death of 6 million innocents, children, women and men ie Jewish families. The horror and never again were my top of mind views on such subjects in my undeveloped political persona.

 

But the antagonists to Angel within the green/Green movement kept coming. There was Carl Drury who spearheaded the Snowy River campaign from the grassroots and ended up writing in a letter to the Herald attacking Angel’s alleged ‘sellout in a deal with the NSW Govt’.

 

Dunphy died in 1997 and Angel became top dog in the NSW official green NGO movement in alliance with ALP aligned Australian Conservation Foundation (who had raw numbers), and needed his on the ground smarts in NSW. 

 

I was put in mind of this with Angel on the ABC tv prime tv news last night 15th August 2007 - calling reportedly “for the end to landfills’. An end?

 

Oh dear how the history on waste reform just lurches out of me like spewing lava at the sound of the words. In 1995 I became ex officio a co director of the Waverley Woollahra Process Plant aka Waterloo incinerator after the council election in Sept of that year. Ironic for a councillor at Waverley representing the Green Party. I had earlier that year joined Friends of the Earth in Sydney and got to know John Denlay a Churchill Scholarship winner and waste reform guru. John and Greenpeace wanted the old dioxin spewing monster closed and a whole new era of 60% waste reduction, in fact adopted in word if not deed by the incoming ALP govt in 1996 in the Waste Management Act of that year.

 

But TEC were in favour of an incinerator upgrade all through the early 90ies. Conceptually this is like a waste to landfill only via gases in the air – a giant open ended escape hatch, out of sight out of mind either in a furnace or a big hole in the ground. The result is the same – no pressure on designers, builders, industry, govt or society to clean up its act and put materials to their highest order of re-use. In nature there is no such thing as waste and indeed this is the conceptual under pinning of the pro business approach of Amory Lovins of “natural capitalism” – use all by products.

 

It would not be fair to tarnish Angel with the pro incinerator agenda but it remains true TEC were the achilles heal of the FoE Greenpeace campaign and his role is unclear. The incinerator closed in 1997 in no small part to this writer and the $40 million upgrade was in tatters.

 

But the Carr govt were now really faced with the waste reform challenge. Waste Boards, industry plans, waste services, environmental socio economic justice  problems across regions all escalated as concerns. And the rich kept churning out the rubbish as did all industry sectors – what to do with the stuff?

 

This is where the next Angel hater arose – Frank Miller of FoE network and Goulburn Greens Party group and representative of the Nature Conservation Council at the Commission of Inquiry into Woodlawn landfill. A gritty experienced landholder in the Goulburn Braidwood area, a former tank driver in the 2nd World War, Miller wasn’t having truck and train loads of Sydney crap contaminating his rural region if he could help it.

 

We have correspondence from the late 90ies with Miller scathing of Angel’s apparent endorsement or at the least acquiescence of Carr’s waste to super landfill agenda at Woodlawn near Goulburn. There is no doubt Miller saw the Carr govt as corrupt, and a corrupting influence, with the Sydney Catchment Authority changing the content of its submissions mid stream in the C of I, seen as a buckle to political masters by the waste reform collective at NCC. The collective via Miller even referred it to ICAC only to have Dr Judy Messer as Chair seek to withdraw the referral over the heads of the collective experts. Messer was the long time ngo appointee to the Sydney Water Board for many years and a high status and cosy position to hold.

 

Certainly Angel had nothing to say about the problem of landfills on the ABC TV news during the whole Woodlawn fracas not least opposition here in Sydney to a massive transfer station at Clyde in suburban Sydney opposed by a group called RAGE (if memory serves). Yet there Angel was last night 11 years after the Waste Management Act pioneered by Denlay and after hopeless failure on Woodlawn landfill 6 years before, on August 15th  2007 national abc news calling for the 'end to landfills' or similar. Now but not when it counted? Hypocrisy? Selective? Tactical silence?

 

We realised there was something wrong with Angel’s independence in about 1996. Recently the 4 Corners reporter Liz Jackson was at Gleebooks in Glebe Sydney to present a Q and A with commodities economist Judy Adjani (nee Clark) with a new book called Forest Wars whose career long thesis is that plantation resource from the 60ies onwards is way big enough to drive reform in the loss making native forest sector. We agree entirely as does the TWS subject to strict environmental controls – as the jargon goes. This was as true in 1996 as it is now. But when we wrote a draft economic submission under delegation for the combined NSW green groups as part of the Peace Plan process under Carr’s election winning platform of ‘95 (partly negotiated by prominent Green MP and secular Jew Ian Cohen), Angel deleted my referencing of Adjani (then Clark) and the Resource Assessment Comission (C’th) work on plantation resource, RAC having been led by such as Clive Hamilton in 1992. Yet these were central planks to real opportunity for reform supported by the vast majority of the green movement in democratic numbers.

 

This economic reform based on substitution into the massive existing plantation was lost from this and no doubt other similar negotiations in a tragedy for the NSW industry and environment. Why Angel would do that I can’t fathom unless he was collaborating with the the ALP Govt to stay in native forest logging despite overwhelming public (80%) support to get out of woodchipping forests in particular. Certainly the logging union behind the ALP wanted all the forest they could cut.

 

I became an Angel sceptic myself from about that time on, especially as more classic forest was woodchipped in East Gippsland (eg Goolengook), and southern NSW (Deua, Nalbaugh, Badja etc) through the late 90ies and noughties. Carr having prepared the way for staying in native forests broke his election promise to end native forest woodchipping by the year 2000. The words of ex TWS director Jurd ring in my ears and how she wanted to meet me before doing Angel’s agenda via Clover Moore in NSW Parliament. Oh how the naïve wise up. Jurd was of course right about Angel and even allowing for her eccentricity should be acknowledged for that.

 

Then in about 1998 I finally came to believe there was something deeply morally wrong with Angel which only in hindsight I have been able to put into a real politik context. He was appointed around this time to the NSW Native Vegetation Committee of the Carr Govt to allegedly halt land clearing: A campaign championed by Penny Roberts (of National Parks Assoc) since the early 90ies.

 

Roberts was ‘a close friend’ of Dunphy. She either quit her job or was sacked apparently on his death from NPA. Angel convened a meeting with Jamie Piddock then of WWF conservative green group with the other peak green ngo groups. Together these two proposed rural tradeoffs of bush conserved in exchange for NSW farmers to clear relatively less endangered bush types. There was no mention in the meeting of native title property rights of traditional owners in this huge swathe of the western division leases under current litigation following Mabo High Court decision in late 92. It was a damage control strategy rather than confront the madness of clearing directly, exposing the failure of the NSW Govt and nurturing a public wave of political action to discipline the govt as per the groundwork of Roberts for the previous 7 years.

 

But I knew the significance from my own honours thesis in 1989. The Piddock/Angel agenda was a classic farmer extinguishment via clearing of native title evidence. To claim native title one needs ongoing physical connection – quite easy to erase with D9 bulldozer and chain. And the farmers wanted the greens to bless this in a classic wedge by them of the Greens/Blacks and probably of Left and Right of the ALP itself. Just as the rednecks had turned the greens against the blacks over national parks in other parts of the country. This was Angel’s leadership? No thanks.

 

But my voice was “marginalised” at the meeting of some 10 mid to senior level campaigners of diverse 'peak' green groups. This was racism for real against for all we knew were legal NSW Aboriginal property interests under Mabo. I was outraged. I had played an honourable role in supporting native title with The Wilderness Society 1992-5 and ever since and these turkeys were about to blunder over all of that great work and reconciliation.

 

As it happened the native title claims over the western division leases were lost in that litigation all the way to the High Court but we were never to know that in the proposal to just let the farmers rip in a NSW Govt deal to be blessed by the greens led by Angel and Piddock. Many other places have had their native title upheld all over the country up to 2007. And the NSW decision was probably wrong under a notoriously conservative High Court anyway.

 

And the Angel haters still keep arising. There is Mersina Soulos founder of Concord based Green Party group (somewhat misnamed Inner West Greens)  who has dark things to say about redevelopment of contaminated land in Homebush Bay at Rhodes Pensinsula involving Angel in some way.

 

There are the Chipstoppers network still fighting the NSW ALP govt over their broken year 2000 election promise to end the forest woodchipping not least for dangerous climate change reasons.

 

There are the Lake Cowal traditional owners and diverse environmentalists (including Green MP Cohen , Rainforest Information Centre, Benny Zable another prominent secular Jewish environmentalist expert in street theatre) outraged at a $6M revenue deal with select tame green groups out of profits of a cyanide gold mine destroying ephemeral lake Lake Cowal and massively drawing down the water table there. That’s a $6M deal orchestrated by … Jeff Angel to help Bob Carr manage industry backlash over refusal of a cyanide tailings dam at North Parkes gold mine killing birdlife exposed by 60 Minutes.

 

In recent time we have been reading about Louise Adler the secular Jewish lady who is a publisher for Melbourne University Press. In a profile we noticed her reference to the Jewish collaborators in the murderous Nazi regime with ‘disprorportionate survival rates’ from that horror. Then this word for the collaborators – the Judenrat - as here

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judenrat

 

Angel may have many flaws but survival instinct is not one of them, even as woodchipping of natural forest in NSW and South East Australia generally is at record levels, land clearing atrocities unfold at the Macquarie Marshes off a decade of multi million hectare clearing her in NSW this last 15 years under both major Parties, coal mining is expanding at a massive rate, and Frank Sartor puts planning on developer steroids to appease the bean counters and the economic cheer squad, not least premier Morris Iemma, Daily Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald.

 

So we pose the quite deliberate and scathing question “Is Angel a collaborator in environmental destruction?” the environmental Judenrat of our time, and should he actually be working in an official paid position with the NSW Govt and not the ngo movement?

 

Postscript #1 17th August 2007

 

The timing of this article is around any influence Angel may bring to bear in the lead up to the federal election on both green/Green and ALP policy. Just as the pro ALP biases of Peter Garrett have been well exposed by such as Senator Bob Brown's example of independence in the Green Party.

 

We spoke with Jeff Ash by phone yesterday many know as an architect of the NSW Greens (he drafted me in 1994 for the councillor job) working within MLC John Kaye's office. (The purpose was to note Eric Roozendaal as Roads Minister was campaigning for Carmel Tebbutt in Marrickville where pollution stacks will be located from trucks tunnels on the front of the Daily Telegraph.) This writer mentioned this SAM news site article and the underlying thesis of Angel as biased to the ALP and Ash's comment was along the lines "we already know that".

 

We say for those seeking successful environmental campaigs this grip by the ALP on the vibrant beating heart of the NSW Green Movement has been essential knowledge for over 15 years now. Thus an ALP MP whose name is lost in the mists of time stated famously "We can work with Jeff" by way of contra distinction. Just like Peter Garrett. Yes the ALP can work with these, but not necessarily to save the environment, more to get and hold power while doing the destruction for greater powers of industry and government (and revolving door big media). What a human and ecological tragedy.


Posted by editor at 9:28 AM NZT
Updated: Saturday, 18 August 2007 9:15 AM NZT
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Treasurer Costello looking a serious draft choice for PM given constant dismal polls?
Mood:  d'oh
Topic: election Oz 2007

Picture: Peter Costello looking rather prime ministerial in Parliament today and PM Howard suffering relevance deprivation syndrome and pique? And see picture at 2.57pm or so below.

On one level Peter Costello might be accused of lying about what was said back in 2005 to 3 senior journalists about pulling the leadership of John Howard down.

But on a far more serious and real politik level Costello is presenting himself as the one who was going to deliver the Coalition colleagues from the constant dismal polls now. "We can win, he can't" is a very cutting appraisal whether Costello owns the words allegedly made in 2005 or not. They resonate because of the stabilising of the dismal polls.

That it was Costello, but for Howard staying as PM, that was going to save their bacon with his superior economic credentials, in an echo of Paul Keating as ex Treasurer then PM for the ALP in the close tough 1993 election (?).

Picture: PM John Howard leaves his seat just as Peter Costello launches a quite impacting "it takes bravery" speech on economic and policy achievements, scorning the emotional violence implicit in the Opposition ALP attack seeking to generate dissension if not a whole leadership spill. Be careful what they wish for? A rampant Costello turning the polls around in 3 months?

Picture: Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd ascendant in the polls over the Coalition seeks to have the last word on a speech arguing 'arrogant, decaying, selfish, inward looking, energy sapped, losing touch' government. In short the stock standard poison. But what makes it dangerous is not the rhetoric as such but the dismal polls.

In summary both sides argue the other side is presenting a false face, the Opposition alleged lack of economic policy credentials, the Government alleged lack policy integrity/initiative on the most serious issues. Alot of truth in both claims making the power grasping two party system even more broken than most already know it is. Bring on a third Green force at the least.

Looks like a hard grinding election to the wire.


Posted by editor at 4:33 PM NZT
Updated: Wednesday, 15 August 2007 6:14 PM NZT
Tuesday, 14 August 2007
Premature ej*c*lation by the Green Party in marginal Wentworth?
Mood:  accident prone
Topic: election Oz 2007
Curious is the news from the weekend that the Green Party in Wentworth marginal seat in east Sydney  (apparently on the abc radio but I missed it) have already announced their preferences. Here it is via Australian Jewish News too, a very influential cultural demographic there



.....full story follows here .....

Posted by editor at 3:43 PM NZT
Updated: Thursday, 16 August 2007 9:56 PM NZT
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Sunday political tv talkies: Ruthless Rudd masquerade as Kevin 07 Bond 'the Howard slayer' aka Austin Powers aka Bondi jokster?
Mood:  d'oh
Topic: election Oz 2007

Picture: Will the real Kevin Rudd stand up (assuming such exists), or like John Howard is he a comedy fiction that blows with the sea breeze in any policy direction?

....full story follows here....


Posted by editor at 11:09 AM NZT
Updated: Thursday, 16 August 2007 9:51 PM NZT

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