Adelaide’s Advertiser continues to spout pro nuclear advertising articles
Dennis Matthews, It is indeed pathetic that the pro-nuke lobby keeps repeating the same old one-sided arguments to support their out-dated, dangerous and dirty industry (The Advertiser, 15/6/15). This should be recognised for what it is, the standard tool of the propaganda merchant.
It is equally pathetic that others keep repeating the neurotic claim that opposition to the nuclear industry is some sort of conspiracy to prevent “rational debate” (The Advertiser, 15/6/15), a claim that flies in the face of countless inquiries run by manifestly pro-nuclear governments.
But the most pathetic thing of all is that a reputable newspaper keeps publishing these sorts of unproductive and boring contributions to what is claimed to be an important issue.
Let’s have not only a rational debate but also a debate that encourages the flow of new information not repetitive, mindless, propaganda that appears to be designed to brainwash rather than inform.
Christine Milne carries environmental battle globally, trusts Greens to do this nationally
Christine Milne has left as Greens leader but continues to fight for the environment CHRISTINE Milne has resigned as Greens leader, but she still has ambitions to protect our future….
After the Abbott Government dismantled key climate-change policies she negotiated with former prime minister Julia Gillard, Milne has lost faith in Australia’s ability to help save the world from global warming. “There is no way Australia is going to do the right thing in any way, shape or form as long as he [Tony Abbott] is the prime minister but even if there was a Labor government elected there’s still going to be slow progress,” Milne says.
“Australia is not the place that’s going to drive the kind of policy action that’s necessary in the time frame that’s necessary because we’ve only got a few years to do this.”
It seems an oddly defeatist stance for someone in Milne’s position. If she has given up, why should other green-minded Australians bother fighting for change locally? She quickly qualifies her remarks by saying she has complete faith in the rest of her party to keep up the fight against Abbott while she tackles things globally. http://www.themercury.com.au/lifestyle/christine-milne-has-left-as-greens-leader-but-continues-to-fight-for-the-environment/story-fnj64o6u-1227394566374
Rockefeller Brothers Fund warns Australia on diseconomics of investing in coal
Australian Government ‘stuck in the past’ defending fossil fuels, descendant of John D Rockefeller says, ABC News Four Corners By Geoff Thompson 15 June 15 A descendant of America’s first billionaire John D Rockefeller, whose fortune was built on oil, has accused the Australian Government of being “stuck in the past” for continuing to defend fossil fuels like coal.
Valerie Rockefeller Wayne is the chair of the $1.1 billion Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a charity committed to social change. The fund last year joined a growing “divestment” movement by abandoning its investments in coal companies.
“The value of coal stock in the United States has gone down 60 to 90 per cent,” Ms Rockefeller told the ABC’s Four Corners program. “This is a global phenomenon and we want to get out of those because we see the fossil fuel investments as risky.”
Ms Rockefeller said the numbers for coal no longer added up in Australia either.
“If you look just at the financial data in Australia … over the past five years, the SNP500 has gone up by 76 per cent,” she said. “The value of coal stocks has gone down by 71 per cent, so you’ve lost a lot of money if you’ve been in coal.”…………..
“In my mind Australia’s an extremely progressive country that has been an international player on so many issues. “It is baffling to me why the current Australian Government is stuck in the past rather than looking towards the future and becoming part of the solution.”
Ten days ago Norway decided one of the world’s richest government pension funds, the $1.1 trillion Norwegian Sovereign Wealth fund, would divest from companies that derive more than 30 per cent of their income from coal.
Last week the G7 group of industrial nations agreed to give up fossil fuels by the end of the century. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-15/government-stuck-in-the-past-defending-fossil-fuels-rockefeller/6544200
Pope Francis’ message on climate change – a hard one to ignore
It is also intended to improve the prospect of a strong new UN global agreement to cut climate emissions. By adding a moral dimension to the well-rehearsed scientific arguments, Francis hopes to raise the ambition of countries above their own self-interest to secure a strong deal in a crucial climate summit in Paris in November.
The pope chose Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, as his namesake at the start of his papacy in 2011, saying the saint’s values reflected his own.
Explosive intervention by Pope Francis set to transform climate change debate, Guardian, John Vidal, 13 June 15 The most anticipated papal letter for decades will be published in five languages on Thursday. It will call for an end to the ‘tyrannical’ exploitation of nature by mankind. Could it lead to a step-change in the battle against global warming?
Pope Francis will call for an ethical and economic revolution to prevent catastrophic climate change and growing inequality in a letter to the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics on Thursday.
In an unprecedented encyclical on the subject of the environment, the pontiff is expected to argue that humanity’s exploitation of the planet’s resources has crossed the Earth’s natural boundaries, and that the world faces ruin without a revolution in hearts and minds. The much-anticipated message, which will be sent to the world’s 5,000 Catholic bishops, will be published online in five languages on Thursday and is expected to be the most radical statement yet from the outspoken pontiff.
However, it is certain to anger sections of Republican opinion in America by endorsing the warnings of climate scientists and admonishing rich elites, say cardinals and scientists who have advised the Vatican.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s intention to kill renewable energy
Facts lost amid political bluster, The Age June 14, 2015 “From today I declare Australia is under new management and is once more open for business.” Thus declared Tony Abbott in claiming election victory almost two years ago.
Last week the Prime Minister made clear that under this management Australia would be far better off if certain industries just went away and silently died.
The wind power industry (a multibillion-dollar business), for instance. And, by inference, the entire renewable energy sector. Despite the outrageous nature of this attitude, it is for those who look beyond the election cycle and to Australia’s long-term future, all the more predictable a stance.
Mr Abbott last Thursday revealed to broadcaster Alan Jones that he would prefer there to be fewer wind farms. “What we did recently in the Senate was reduce, Alan, capital R-E-D-U-C-E the number of these things that we are going to get in the future. Now, I would frankly have liked to have reduced the number a lot more … but we got the best deal we could.”
Mr Abbott mentioned the recently agreed renewable energy target of 33,000 gigawatt hours by 2020 was only the lowest the government could be assured of getting through the Parliament. Mr Abbott also said wind farms were “visually awful”, made a lot of noise and were injurious to health. ……..http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/facts-lost-amid-political-bluster-20150613-ghn94w.html
The role of Nazism in Ukraine politics and conflict
U.S. House Admits Nazi Role in Ukraine By Robert Parry (about the author) OpEdNews 6/12/2015 Last February, when ethnic Russian rebels were closing in on the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, the New York Times rhapsodically described the heroes defending the city and indeed Western civilization — the courageous Azov battalion facing down barbarians at the gate. What the Times didn’t tell its readers was that these “heroes” were Nazis, some of them even wearing Swastikas and SS symbols.Trans Pacific Partnership stalled, for the moment, by USA Democrats
Australian Government is negotiating this and it’s not giving out any of the details – and, of course, this is one of the great big concerns for opponents: is that we don’t know what’s being negotiated.The Trans-Pacific Partnership is being negotiated between the US, Japan, Australia and nine other Pacific countries.
But the discussions are secret and opponents of the deal are deeply worried about what the leaders of those countries are giving away – including members of Barack Obama’s own party.
Our Washington correspondent is Ben Knight.
Ben, what exactly was this vote?
BEN KNIGHT: Well, it’s pretty complicated. And, you know, it’s very easy to get sort of down into the weeds of congressional machinations and, in fact, Barack Obama’s spokesman, Josh Earnest, called this a “procedural SNAFU” – a word he’s become pretty fond of.
But look, essentially what has happened is: the Congress had the first votes on giving the president the authority he wants to be able to negotiate this Trans-Pacific Partnership in secret, by himself.
Continue reading
France’s nuclear technology in doubt, casting shadow over UK’s atomic power project
French reactor problems cast doubt on UK nuclear power plant, Ft.com Jim Pickard, Chief Political Correspondent, 14 June 15 Problems with a reactor in northern France have triggered deep concern in the British government about the future of the UK’s first new nuclear power station for 20 years at Hinkley Point in Somerset.EDF Energy, the French state-owned company behind Hinkley, has suffered a five-year delay and escalating costs at its flagship Flamanville project in Normandy.
The £7bn French scheme — designed to showcase new atomic technology — is based on an “EPR” European pressurised reactor, the same model that will be used in Hinkley.
Further concerns mounted last week when a leaked report from France’s nuclear safety watchdog highlighted faults in Flamanville’s cooling system.
That followed a warning in April by the French Nuclear Safety Regulator that there was an excessive amount of carbon in the steel of the reactor vessel.
EDF’s struggles in France have prompted worries at a senior level of the Treasury about the £24bn Hinkley scheme. “I think there are serious questions about the technology,” said one Treasury figure.
Wikileaks Drops Another Damning Trove Of Secret Trade Deal Documents
Huffington Post, 14 June 15 WASHINGTON — The latest trove of secret trade documents released by Wikileaks is offering opponents of the massive deals currently being crafted by the Obama administration more fodder to show that such agreements can impact United States laws and regulations.
The latest leak purports to include 17 documents from negotiations on the Trade In Services Agreement, a blandly named trade deal that would cover the United States, the European Union and more than 20 other countries. More than 80 percent of the United States economy is in service sectors.
According to the Wikileaks release, TISA, as the deal is known, would take a major step towards deregulating financial industries, and could affect everything from local maritime and air traffic rules to domestic regulations on almost anything if an internationally traded service is involved.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/03/wikileaks-secret-trade-deals_n_7504548.html
The 15 Rules of Web Disruption
How to Spot – and Defeat – Disruption on the Internet August 13, 2012 by WashingtonsBlog
The 15 Rules of Web Disruption
David Martin’s Thirteen Rules for Truth Suppression, H. Michael Sweeney’s 25 Rules of Disinformation (and now Brandon Smith’s Disinformation: How It Works) are classic lessons on how to spot disruption and disinformation tactics.
We’ve seen a number of tactics come and go over the years. Here are the ones we see a lot of currently.
Pretend that alternative media – such as blogs written by the top experts in their fields, without any middleman – are untrustworthy or are motivated solely by money (for example, use the derogatory term “blogspam” for any blog posting, pretending that there is no original or insightful reporting, but that the person is simply doing it for ad revenue).
6. Coordinate with a couple of others to “shout down” reasonable comments. This is especially effective when the posters launch an avalanche of comments in quick succession … the original, reasonable comment gets lost or attacked so much that it is largely lost. Continue reading
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 