by cameron | Apr 23, 2007 | Australian media, Australian politics, censorship, climate change, Culture Jamming, energy, energy debate, environment, freedom of speech, Melbourne, movies, Podcast
No guest today, just a bit of a chat about:
Robert Rodriguez’s cooking show on the Sin City Recut DVD
this report that less than 7% of Australians believe cosmetics advertising
a review of “The Receipt” by Will Adamsdale and Chris Branch, currently showing in the Melbourne Comedy Festival
ExxonSecrets, a site that helps you follow the money behind the climate change skeptics
my review of George Romero’s 1985 classic “Day Of The Dead”
my review of Danny Boyle’s current film “Sunshine” starring Aussie actress Rose Byrne and Cillian Murphy
the spoof website MiningNSW which the Mining Council of NSW has been trying to shut down
and then I finish with a little chat about my friend, the darkness, and what to do about it.
Don’t forget to make use of my new comments line – Aussies can dial into +613 9016 9699. The rest of you can either pay international charges (cmon, what price can you put on being on my show??) or just start begging me to set up an international number.
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The G’Day World Theme Song is “Save Me†by The Napoleon Blown Aparts.
by cameron | Mar 20, 2007 | censorship, climate change, environment, freedom of speech, US politics
From the LA Times’ coverage of the Hansen case:
James Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, took particular issue with the administration’s rule that a government information officer listen in on his interviews with reporters and its refusal to allow him to be interviewed by National Public Radio.
“This is the United States,” Hansen told the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee. “We do have freedom of speech here.”
But Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) said it was reasonable for Hansen’s employer to ask him not to state views publicly that contradicted administration policy.
Of course, the most shocking suggestion here is that the Bush administration has a policy? Who knew!?
The suggestion that a senior scientist on the government payroll should not be able to talk openly about his scientific views because they might contradict administration policy is absurd. The dangerous theory here that Issa wants to sell is that the Government is a regular employer who should be able to determine what is said publicly by their “employees”. This theory fails to recognize that ALL Government employees and actually employees of the PEOPLE, paid for by THE PEOPLE, and their first (and only) duty is to fulfill their public responsibility, not to toe the line.
By the way, know where the term “toe the line” comes from?
According to the Grammar Tips site:
The phrase “toe the line” is equivalent to “toe the mark,” both of which mean to conform to a rule or a standard. The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2002; ed. by Glynnis Chantrell) says, “The idiom toe the line from an athletics analogy originated in the early 19th century”.
The specific sport referred to is foot-racing, where the competitors must keep their feet behind a “line” or on a “mark” at the start of the race–as in “On your mark, get set,
go!”
So one who “toes the line” is one who does not allow his foot to stray over the line. In other words, one who does not stray beyond a rigidly defined boundary.
by cameron | Feb 7, 2007 | Australian politics, climate change, energy, energy debate, environment, Podcast
John Howard *still* doesn’t want to do anything about climate change. The Cartoon Network pays $2 million in fines in the cheapest ad buy this year. And I review some of the recent comments on the blog. All that and not much more on tonight’s show.
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The G’Day World Theme Song is “Save Me†by The Napoleon Blown Aparts.
by cameron | Jan 15, 2007 | Australian politics, climate change, energy debate, environment, Podcast
The word of the day is “Enterdrainment“: Any passive form of entertainment that is so incredibly mind numbing that it sucks the intelligence from the listener or viewer; ultimately over time reducing (or limiting) them to a simplistic proto-human mental state, incapable of cognition or rational thought.
Kind of like this show. 🙂
To give you a break from my attacks on religion, my guest tonight is Mark Pop who is a Sydney-based expert in solar energy and climate change. We talk about the economic and political challenges to solar energy as well as discuss the truthiness of climate change.
Some links from the show:
Blacktown to become Australia’s first “Solar City”
Solar power plant being built in Victoria
Get the United Nation’s version of “the facts” about climate change at:
United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change
The CSIRO’s website on climate change
If you enjoyed this podcast, make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing to our feed.
The G’Day World Theme Song is “Save Me†by The Napoleon Blown Aparts.
by cameron | Nov 23, 2006 | climate change, Podcast
It’s my great pleasure today to have Doug La Follette on the show. Doug is a United States academic, environmental activist, and politician. He is the current Secretary of State of Wisconsin. Known as an environmental activist before running for public office, in 1970 he was a Wisconsin organizer of the first Earth Day for Gaylord Nelson, and co-founded Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade (now known as Clean Wisconsin) with Peter Anderson.
We talk about the history of the environmental movement, how you can figure out the global warming facts from the climate change disinformation, and what you and I can do to make a difference.
To get the facts, Doug recommends these websites:
STEPHEN H. SCHNEIDER, CLIMATOLOGIST
THE HEAT IS ON
by cameron | Nov 13, 2006 | climate change, Culture Jamming, environment, Melbourne
For those of you in Melbourne town, I’ll be taking my video camera down to the Bourke Street Mall on Nov 24 to cover “Buy Nothing Day“. Why not come along and join in the merriment?
According to Wikipedia:
Buy Nothing Day is an informal day of protest against consumerism observed by social activists. It was founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by the Canadian Adbusters magazine. Participants refrain from purchasing anything for 24 hours in a concentrated display of consumer power. The event is intended to raise awareness of what some see as the wasteful consumption habits of First World countries.
There’s a detailed explanation of the idea from our friends across the Tasman. Here’s an excerpt:
Why don’t you want people to shop?
We are saying we want people to think about what they buy, and whether consuming ever-more actually does increase quality of life. The effects of over-consumption on the environment (such as toxic pollution and climate change) are widely known. These mean we need to reduce consumption, especially in many Western countries like New Zealand that are consuming much more than their fair share of resources. We are also concerned with the role of advertising, the effects of global trade liberalisation and inequities between the developing and developed worlds.
Events:
The Melbourne Culture Jammers will be back in the Bourke Street Mall, cutting up credit cards. Join us. 11am-2pm, Friday November 24th.
