Posts by cindy baxter

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  • Hard News: The Greening,

    I've been in the UK for the past few weeks and have been hugely impressed with the way that people are taking on recycling, turning off appliances at the wall and all that gubbins that is easy to do but seemingly kiwis don't.

    And these are not my "greenie" friends - far from it.

    But "Green consumerism" - isn't that a contradiction in terms? Been seeing a lot of people with just one product for dishwash, laundry and other uses - instead of a myriad of bottles in the cupboard there's only one. We should be buying LESS not just keep on buying stuff but making sure it's green.

    etc.

    but on the subject of "greening the media" very interested to see your discussion on this Russell - the international media take on this issue in a far more meaningful way than anything I've seen in NZ. Senior environment and science reporters who know their shit, for example (rather than have the round thrown at the latest cadet)... a lot more and deeper analysis....

    auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 102 posts Report

  • Hard News: Breaking up the Band,

    I'm sure he took guidance from her, but I'm not sure that's the same thing as what Bassett alleges in the excerpt -- the woman who controlled a man too sick to form his own judgements, and in so doing brought down the glorious project.

    exactly Russell. It was a combination of a number of different factors, and while Pope didn't help, she wasn't the only contributor. As I said above, Bevan Burgess (thanks for the reminder Danyl) played an extremely dangerous role, thwarting attempts at conciliatory conversations between Lange/Douglas, for example.

    The widening - and almost inevitable gap between the Ministers like Lange with old-school labour social policy portfolios vs those with Rogernomics economic portfolios was hardly Pope's fault.

    auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 102 posts Report

  • Hard News: Breaking up the Band,

    In my recollection ( I was working in the Beehive at the time), there was a war going on between Margaret Pope and Roger Douglas's chief political advisor, whose name I can't even remember - Bevan someone.

    The war between these two certainly did nothing to help David and Roger meet and sort out their differences - their memos and advice to their bosses only exacerbated the situation.

    So while Pope did play a role, she was by no means the only one involved.

    auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 102 posts Report

  • Island Life: The Budget of All Mothers,

    erm... budget? i got utterly diverted by the Pitch Black ad on your page with free downloads of live tracks.

    it was free - so i guess vaguely relevant to this thread. more free downloads please Dr Cullen!

    auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 102 posts Report

  • Hard News: Sunday's Perfect Storm,

    Steve Abel's blog on The Wire sums up my views on prisons:

    "imprisoning people is terrible, it doesn’t work and is one of the starkest indictments of our societies failure to own our problems and make amends."

    Releasing Kuariki can only be a good thing.

    auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 102 posts Report

  • Hard News: Birthday Cheer for Ricky the…,

    Then again, as I've said here and elsewhere at great length, I don't see how we're going to raise the quality of reporting when scientific and statistical literacy doesn't appear to be valued in our newsrooms.

    agree with you entirely on this one Craig - since I've been back in the country I've been horrified at the utter lack of science reporters ... and the environment round getting chucked at the newest cadet.

    Having been dealing with the likes of the BBC's environment unit, and media climate specialists who've been going to climate negotiations since I have (91), NZ's been a bit of a shock.

    There was not ONE NZ journalist at the Bali negotiations... not one. When I asked someone in news about this he said it "wasn't on our radar". Says it all really.

    If your ends include telling porkie pies, you deserve to be exposed.

    yup, couldn't agree with you more.

    auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 102 posts Report

  • Hard News: Birthday Cheer for Ricky the…,

    Craig

    I think the difference between these guys and Greenpeace is that the sceptics operate on behalf of big oil and coal, whose core business is the very substance that is causing global warming.

    Their tactic is to dress up politics as science. Greenpeace does accept the science of the IPCC - but then so do 178 Govts.. and all the major scientific institutions around the world. Sure, Greenpeace lobbies but on behalf of stopping climate change, not to prop up big business.

    The first time this Heartland book's author, Fred Singer, appeared as a sceptic on global warming was when he was touted round by the Global Climate Coalition in the early 1990's - the GCC was a coalition of big oil, coal and car companies who were fighting against any regulation on climate change.

    Another example: the head of the GCC in the late 90's, William O'Keefe, was also Chief Exec of the American Petroleum Institute (API), and now heads one of the long-time sceptic groups, the George C Marshall Institute (which works closely with Heartland - and Fred Singer).

    O'Keefe was paid by Exxon to lobby the White House on climate change 2001-5, which was handy because his old colleague from the API, Phil Cooney, worked there. Cooney was the one accused of (well, caught out) watering down scientific papers. Cooney has since left the White House to go work for Exxon.

    Greenpeace operates on behalf of the environment... it's funded purely by individuals (40,000 of them in NZ). If the global warming issue was solved tomorrow, there would be plenty of other issues for it to be getting on with.

    auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 102 posts Report

  • Hard News: Birthday Cheer for Ricky the…,

    The reason Al Gore and his little Truth number appeared in the courts is that his doco wasn’t science in the strict sense of the term.

    erm, no.
    the reason he was in court was because, to quote the Guardian, the court case was

    funded by a Scottish quarrying magnate who established a controversial lobbying group to attack environmentalists' claims about global warming"

    "The case was supported by a powerful network of business interests with close links to the fuel and mining lobbies."

    Ultimately, the judge ordered some teaching aids to go with the film to clarify 9 points and denied the legal application to stop it from being distributed in schools.

    auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 102 posts Report

  • Hard News: Birthday Cheer for Ricky the…,

    re: Al gore

    Check out Vanity Fair on the truth behind the media claims.

    It looks in detail at the media's distortion of what he said. For example, he never said he "invented the internet" he actually said that he presided over the congressional cttee that made the internet public, so we could all use it. Al Gore did a huge amount for the internet as we know it today - but he never claimed to have invented it.

    auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 102 posts Report

  • Hard News: Birthday Cheer for Ricky the…,

    Re: Great Global Warming Swindle

    A great critique of the Swindle was the interview by ABC Australia's Tony Jones with documentary maker Martin Durkin. WELL worth a watch. There's a lot of scientific critiques as well, and UK TV watchdog Ofcom ruling due out soon.

    part 1 here
    and
    part 2 here.

    Re: Gore - judgment... the judge kept referring to "Alleged errors" and "so-called errors". Deltoid covered it well.

    auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 102 posts Report

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