Thank the ABC. This is the best comedy I’ve seen them do on “climate change” — albeit unwittingly. The ABC has a new comedy show on Wednesday nights called RoadMap to Paradise.
This is Big-Government Comedy. You’ll swear this was made by a skeptic. No really.
Unconvinced that ‘feel good’ environmentalism is making any real impact @mrcoreywhite sets out to come up with a fresh solution. Could incentivising greed and laziness for a good cause be just what this country needs? #RoadmapToParadise tonight at 9.35pm. pic.twitter.com/JJUqU4lblp
— ABC TV Australia (@ABCTV) June 20, 2018
Is he a skeptic infiltrator? Nooo. The same episode includes an interview with a CSIRO scientist, Kathleen McInnes, who drops in to tell us things are “pretty bad”. And one of Corey White’s big ideas is to treat Elon Musk’s business like a tax deductible religion. I don’t think he sees the funny side of that either.
What was he thinking?
It’s tough being a comedian.
I’m guessing Cory White wanted to expose the futility of individual voluntary action to change the planet’s climate, with the bigger aim of convincing the audience that only Big-Government regulation can save us!
Sadly for him, Big-government action is futile too, and worse, no matter what hair-shirt-hell you can make for yourself, the government can do it ten times better. You, personally, can only waste one life. The government can waste a nation — it can bankrupt good citizens, blow up assets, and jail people. (Like Tommy).
Crunch those numbers Cory — we can all leave Australia and a hundred years from now the world will be 0.0154 °C cooler. (At best!)
We could turn our entire GDP over to Elon Musk and … crickets! Celsius crickets. Crickets with zeros!
Seriously, White’s enviromental thesis goes like this: Elon Musk is going to get $6b in tax breaks in the US but Australians grant $20b in subsidies to religious institutions instead. Imagine what Elon Musk could do if he was “given” $20 billion? Imagine. Crickets in Space?
It’s a lecture dressed up as comedy, and so bad that it’s funny (in bits), but we are laughing at the wrong bits. It’s a naked advert for political action, which is fine, lots of comedy has a political point. But this one doesn’t wait for the punch-line to open your eyes. It’s an infomercial with light relief. Only on government TV.
Episode 8: Environmentalism
Series 1 | Episode 8 ENTERTAINMENT 16 mins
[All the episodes are on iview, available to Australians | crass language]
Twitter: #RoadmaptoParadise
White believes we can’t rely on altruism and goodwill, and we’re all greedy people who need government force to make us do the right thing. That says something about the people he hangs out with.
Time to stop hanging out at the ABC Cory?
For those who can’t see iview, try this (or not) — Episode 8 may appear here Episode 8? Perhaps someone out there can convert the tweet to youtube?
Let’s help Cory and the ABC get the word out…
It looks like I’m gonna be first comment here. So good luck on this one. They get less adult and more juvenile by the day sometimes.
212
Sad to say, you’ve made a good point there Roy. What’s worse, is that it doesn’t seem to be because we’re growing older, even though that correlates as well.
132
Sophocles,
I guess it really is true then, correlation doesn’t mean causation. 😉
What it does correlate with that would appear to be at least one of the causes is increasing desperation on the political left. But I can only speak with any authority about my own country, the good old USA.
00
As long as they arent in govt nor have access to firearms, were all good…
43
Agreed given this fit perfectly with a recent study related to psychopaths and where they tend to congregate..
“Once his team refined and crunched the numbers, it found .. (re) proportion of psychopaths. California, New Jersey, New York and Wyoming rounded out the top five.
The more relaxed states include West Virginia, Vermont, Tennessee, North Carolina and New Mexico.”
reference: Perth Now
The Aussie equivalent is of course Canberra and the ABC.. Makes sense really when you see why left leaning authoritarians might want to utterly restrict firearms and control people – since they’re surrounded by like-minded psychopaths.
60
I’m surprised Wyoming made it into the top five , it’s in the top three for firearms ownership in the USA but down in the bottom third for homicides . As Wyoming’s wide open spaces tend to attract the “I’m-not-keen-on-other-peoples-company” types , it may suggest that the method of analysis doesn’t differentiate between them and the “I-want-to-kill-or-crush-everyone” types .
30
Hi Byron,
I guess there’s a chance that Karlos might be able to interpret that.
10
Karlos,
I was with you until the firearms comment.
10
That’s cool, I’ll go semi-OT and explain myself – I was raised with the things as tools in a rural area and it’s not bothered me so much over the years but as I grow more infirm and less capable it’s bugged me. Up ’till the 1970’s Aus had more firearms per head than the US, firearms were seen more as the things you’d see Elmer Fudd carrying than Rambo – but things change. I qualified as a marksman twice, I was trained by both the Police and the RAN, and I’m not a fan of shooting anything but tin cans and paper targets.
What bothers me is a few things, First, police were originally designated citizens with the same power to enforce the law as anyone – they just got paid for it – beyond that they were ordinary citizens but they were not permitted to carry weapons and had to police the laws with the support and cooperation of the public, not with force and intimidation. Many serving police (the majority) do not have firearm licenses and yet they determine the legality of ownership.
Second, walk softly but carry a big stick. Even gentle cows have horns and no bear intent on violence will brave a cow. Sweden’s neutrality during the war was not respected purely because they were nice guys, but because they were armed to the teeth and anyone who failed to observe their rules met with terminal force – allies and axis alike – and their 200 year peace is testament to the adage that you are responsible for your own life..
Thirdly despite loathing killing things (haven’t shot an animal in 2 decades and never enjoyed it despite the need for food or pest eradication) if someone brings violence to you, what do you do? The law has been tested – not in the US, the UK or Australia is a police officer required to protect you. Think on that. Your are required to do what the poor sods had to do when Bryant went mad – call the police and hope for the best. First respondents took an hour to get there and then they hid and called for backup. Backup arrived and then they hid – and waiting all that day and night until the idiot set himself alight and ran to police for help. OK sure the Tasmanian government’s “rules’ on firearms were non-existent .. anyone could buy one – and that was the problem. For us in WA the rules were vastly more restrictive.
Now some stats from National criminal firearm seizures. 1/5 of firearms seized from crims were stolen from lawful owners – that’s not good. 1/5 are illegal imports meaning customs officer failures. fully a fifth are home made (yes, a drillpress and some files are all it takes, and surprise – most are machine guns as they’re the simplest to make) and the remaining 2/5 come via police, losses or ‘destroyed’ firearms that somehow weren’t. Bear in mind with the increase in firearm attacks post 1996, none of the crims handed back firearms, only lawful folk did. Now firearms are objects of mystique and macho BS instead of just tools for farmers and casual weekend plinkers. but notice 1/5 homemade and 3/5 via failure of The Authorities?
So despite never ever ever wishing to raise a fire arm in anger, I still desire to keep the things to feed myself should the need arise – but Authoritarians have decided no, those who complied with the law, passed tests, were assessed as legitimate are not to be trusted and are thus heavily restricted – while criminals are free to manufacture machineguns in back sheds. This disturbs me.
But I totally get that urban dwellers see no need for firearms, that they have no place in the Modern World. I just think they forget the modern world is only a few days of power shortage away from being the third world and it kinda frightens this old man a bit.
170
Hi Karlos,
Sorry, I see you are Australian. Thought you and Byron were team tagging from the US and about to bring up the second amendment.
We had a big session on guns a few months back and I expressed the view that in the present world anyone living in the country side or 20 minutes from the nearest police station probably should have a gun.
As you suggest, governments are not doing much of a job in keeping guns out of the wrong hands and I might add, politicians and courts do nothing to discourage criminal behavior.
There are a few suburbs in Sydney where I might not feel safe without a gun in the house.
This is a sad state of affairs.
In a perfect world people living in cities shouldn’t need guns, I dislike them and resent the fact that people feel the need to own guns: a big fail by politicians in creating a balanced community.
That said, living on farms or in isolated areas pretty much demands that you have a gun.
KK
20
Suffice it to say that where I live right now the probability that a good number of my neighbors have a gun in the house is very high. I don’t fear any of them. The ones I fear are called criminals and they are called that because they do not obey laws, including restrictions on gun ownership and possession.
And that is the heart of the matter. Generally the states, like Wyoming used in an example above, where gun ownership is less restrictive, the crime rate is lower. And even where I am right now where the police might be here in a minute or two, a minute or two could be a minute or two too late so a gun could literally save your life.
I’ve never advocated that everyone be armed. But those who want to be armed and who demonstrate adequate safety knowledge and skill should be allowed to go armed. No thug wants to get shot. So where do they go? They go to the gun free zones like schools, shopping malls and so-on, where they can do the most damage without a worry in the world about being opposed by someone who knows what he/she is doing with a gun.
Safety lies in the bad guy reasonably suspecting he’ll get shot, not in his actually being shot, although that’s good too if someone goes ahead with something stupid. The point is that you should expect to be shot if you try anything anywhere, including gun free zones.
I don’t know why this argument doesn’t persuade everyone. But it doesn’t.
50
I suspect that they could see themselves as doing dastardly things if they weren’t taught not to so, for example, they can’t see that harassing the whole male population for the crimes of a small percentage is stupid.
50
we have that one covered. Just in case.
32
The thing about firearms is that even in the midst of the demand for draconian gun control if not complete confiscation, the elites in and out of government still keep their armed bodyguards around.
Funny thing, that. 🙁
30
Yes,
If they really believed that they had produced the perfect society they would lead by example.
10
Sad part is there’s Australians that actually behave like this couple, the mattress line might be unintentional irony considering the bedwetter types portrayed?
172
Sad part is there are far too many Australians who actually behave like this couple and vote for left wing parties like the LNP, ALP and Greens.
82
Sadly, I sat through the whole fifteen minutes of this tripe. After the ‘own-goal’ intro about the stained mattress, it’s just one long diatribe of alarmist propaganda and disinformation.
This is yet another illustration of why the ABC should be reined in and its wasteful budget cut.
282
That’s why I wouldn’t watch anything on the MSM when it comes to the environment, especially climate change. I used to like the David Attenborough shows, but after he publicly went loopy, I just can’t watch any of them in good faith anymore.
I felt much the same about Anthony Bourdain after he said he’d like to poison Donald Trump.
262
Funny how things turn out.
90
So Bourdain wanted to poison Trump?
You should look up B*****s wife/girlfriends interest in ( ahem ) spiritual stuff….
it will make a lot more sense about B*****s reaction.
“Can two walk together, lest they be agrees?”
( Amos 3:3 )
“And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.”
( Acts 19:19 )
You know, my many years on this planet tell me that where there is smoke there is fire, even if it smoulders for years.
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them”
( Eph 5:11 )
81
Not to mention that he was
20
GD if you ever get rid of ABC, please let us in America know how you did it. We suffer under National Public Radio (lefties) and Public Broadcasting System (even more leftists) for TV. They are appendages of the Democrat Party and thus work to ruin our country.
Hurry up with the solution please.
70
There is nothing funny about doomsday.
Unless you’re laughing at the gullibility and out right stupidity of the people who are allowed to continue to perpetuate it …
There is a reason the Simpsons only make fun of one side of the debate …
Thank God It’s Doomsday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upy63RIRcrc
Homer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=28&v=9SLbEDMZMAk
Nostradumbass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2VWRsHve7o
Futurama: Global Warming – None Like It Hot!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cjx4gJFME0
Lol! Stop it! You’re killing me …
50
Ah good old Nostradamus.
Probably one of the first cases of homogenisation.
Fit the current occurrence to match the original Quatrain.
Tony.
120
Mark, great to see I’m not the only Futurama freak here: who could ever forget the Most UN-Reverend Albert Gorebull Junior voicing his own character in ‘A Terrifying Message From Al Gore’, derisively shot down by the incredulous Bender the robot –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Adq5DP99s
The scam of CAGW/CC taken down in 1′ 24″ of hilarious cartoon satire (or should that be animated wisdom?). Cheers!
61
O/T but Oh the irony – according to an article today in the U.K. Telegraph the UK government is in a panic because of, wait for it …..a CO2 shortage! Apparently some factories that manufacture CO2, used in the food and beverage industries, have shut down for maintenance, causing a shortage. Who would have thought that eeeevil CO2 might be essential?
241
Yes, and what is more they seem to have no comments section on today’s article. There is far too much scope for the likes of we sceptics to make comments about this essential but demonised gas!
82
You just cant make this stuff up, can you?
ROFL!!!!
71
Heineken is one casualty of the shortage, if I’ve read the article correctly. They can’t get enough CO2 to bottle at least one of their beers. Any beer which needs CO2 added to it during bottling, isn’t a beer I want to drink. Maybe that’s why I don’t like Heineken. My home brew was way better than that. It was all natural yeast generated CO2. I would lose the occasional bottle to too much internal pressure every now and then, but it was a darned tasty brew.
I didn’t get to drink much of it. My friends all agreed and drank most of it for me. 🙂
The fun was in the brewing …
71
White believes we can’t rely on altruism and goodwill, and we’re all greedy people who need government force to make us do the right thing.
Ummm. . . If we’re all greedy people, aren’t those people the government just as greedy? Only for power?
62
You can always trust governments to get things right…. But only after they’ve tried everything else first.
122
Governments are often the true representatives of insanity; keep repeating the same thing in the hope of getting a different outcome.
92
Governments are true representatives of the insanity of the voters who keep repeating the same voting patterns in the hope of getting a different outcome.
81
If only Cory could be a standup, he would turn our political world upside down.
ABC jurno: So you are saying carbon dioxide doesn’t cause global warming? And that coral bleaching is caused by sea level fall?
Cory: Yes.
72
Cory: …… and you may think increasing CO2 caused by humans is making sea level rise, when in fact its geothermal heat.
ABC jurno: Ummm …..
51
Climate change.Brainwashing on steroids.
41
What the hell are you talking about? Cory is the ONLY ONE who has stood up against the climate change nonsense. The rest of the parties either support the nonsense or are cowards who are not willing to stand up and admit the polices of both major parties are dead wrong. You are making it sound that Cory is standing for the Greens Party. Give it up mate; your hatred of Cory is better spent on Turnbull the real culprit.
50
Go over to Common Sense and look at Cory’s weekly dose, he doesn’t have a script, but not to worry the ginger group know where this is heading. They are on the move.
‘The former prime minister Tony Abbott has flagged crossing the floor to oppose the national energy guarantee, joining fellow conservative Craig Kelly, who telegraphed a similar threat three weeks ago in an interview with Guardian Australia.
‘Conservative critics of the policy are attempting to ratchet up internal pressure on the energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, before a critical meeting with his state and territory counterparts at the beginning of August.’
Guardian
32
Talcum is doing his best under pressure.
‘Malcolm Turnbull has taken aim at reporting by ABC journalists, accusing them of inaccuracy and bias.’
Oz
12
‘The latest skirmish on energy came when the Monash Forum, a group of pro-coal MPs including Mr Abbott, sent a paper to colleagues claiming there were 467 coal-fired power stations under construction in 35 nations around the world.’
SMH
21
To be fair and balanced, this from Cory Bernardi recently.
‘Clearly, the ABC’s much-promoted digital transformation can’t solve the fundamental issue of embedded bias and a culture of moral and intellectual superiority. Sadly, the public broadcaster has long surrendered any claim to be a trusted source of news and information.
‘Its arrogance, disregard for facts and shameless advocacy define it as a $1 billion-a-year green propaganda machine, certainly not fit to sit in judgment of complaints made against it. Its conduct is an affront to the taxpayers who fund it.’
50
Is Bernardi still in politics? I havent seen or heard of him months.
20
The MSM ignore him, he has to lift his game or go from nowhere to oblivion.
Australian Primaries: Albo against Shorten and Abbott against Talcum, Cory Bernardi needs to take the advantage on energy and immigration.
He should say outrageous things like Donald and feel the wrath of the MSM, better than being ignored.
20
Nope. Having endured a few minutes of mental root-canal listening to him massacre a joke on YouTube, I just could not go there. But, as always, I thank brave denizens of Jo Nova for monitoring the ABC so others may live.
To be patronised by giggly man-boys and matronised by smirking harpies while being fibbed silly. The ABC experience. Who wouldn’t want to shell out a billion a year for that?
But did I know that the whole network at 14 cents a day per Australian costs 1/25th of the daily cost of the top-line Foxtel package? Yes, I know all about comparing apples with lampshades to get a convincing statistic about oranges. It’s what passes for “science communication” these days. The ABC does a lot of that.
173
This might help if you are watching – or even if you’re not
“Friday Funny: ‘The Devil’s Dictionary of Climate Change’ ”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/06/21/friday-funny-the-devils-dictionary-of-climate-change/
40
Further down that thread
“Max Hugoson
Along these same lines, is this marvelous article by a company involved in “thermal analysis and measurement” methods and software. https://www.mentor.com/products/mechanical/engineering-edge/volume7/issue1/bitcoin-mining-a-thermal-perspective Yes, it’s a SPOOF! But it’s a good “test spoof” to use on “friends” (or enemies). It’s so smoothly done, it “looks real”. If you show it to someone, and they “bite”, you can then explain (note the paragraph as to why “Bitcoin Mining” is being done in Iceland!) “If you are taken in by this because it looks good…think Climate Change, the words and presentations on same.” ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD BITCOINS!”
41
Projection, all the way down.
61
I would not look forward to living in a country where the type and style of twisted logic, living and learning are like those propagated by the ABC. It would be empty of all the morals, ethics and good values we fought at two world wars to protect. One would lose all sense of what’s good and what’s evil. In fact there would be no distinction since they would push the notion that there is no such things in the perpetual pursuit for equality at all levels. There can be no doubt that the ABC has become the enemy of those good standards of decency, and it’s primary goal is to destroy them and the West that relies upon them. For that reason alone the ABC should be shut down as it stands for and represents an enemy we can’t afford to keep ignoring while it’s propagandising in our society and at the same time make jokes about what they believe in to appease the public. It’s actually a sign of an even more twisted and more evil form of ideology that that depicted in Orwell’s novel 1984 hell bent on turning us all into confused and mindless non-thinking modern age serfs empty of any kind of common decency.
1984 John Hurt How Many Fingers
112
That’s ironic, they think we are twisted and evil. Never before in recorded history have so many people been brainwashed on a single issue and the ABC is to blame.
‘In 2018, 59% of Australians (up five points) say ‘global warming is a serious and pressing problem’ about which ‘we should begin taking steps now even if this involves significant costs’. Almost all Australians (84%, up three points) say ‘the government should focus on renewables, even if this means we may need to invest more in infrastructure to make the system more reliable’.
Lowy Institute Poll
20
It demonstrates why both major parties won’t support coal fired power stations – they are afraid of losing massive numbers of votes if they did. So what’s the solution given coal for base load power is becoming less and less popular? Crash and burn is all I can see.
10
George Orwell knew what he was talking about in the end of 1984:
“If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – FOREVER.”
20
Our ABC = naked Greens Party propaganda.
Insane.
It is a religion, they admit it themselves.
Cory White self-described ex-methamphetamine addict.
93
That’s Cory White introducing himself on the show.
In case mentioning his past addiction and the likely effects is regarded as ‘below the belt’, I strongly disagree.
His preamble is a blatant example of an appeal to pity (argumentum ad misericordiam) or sob story: “… a fallacy in which someone tries to win support for an argument or idea by exploiting his or her opponent’s feelings of pity or guilt” (Wiki).
Otherwise why does he mention it at all.
83
Its all about playing the victim….Leftists excel in victimology…
My most hated phrase – “Dont judge me”….
In fact everyone makes judgement calls about things all day – when to cross the road, peoples behaviour….
There is a BIG difference between a judgement call and out right Judgement ( about being judge, jury and executioner ).
72
The extreme eco-globalist NZ propaganda font NIWA proclaims: Climate change effects are accelerating, driving the need for actions informed by sound climate knowledge deserves nothing but ridicule and laughter, though admittedly they have yet to advocate ‘holidays on stained mattresses in the back yard’. Never fear, this too is coming as the globalist surrogate of eco-stridency grows more desperate against the rise of populist nationalism and its explicit demand for cultural, social, economic and national security that will inevitably expedite the collapse of this hellish Marxist inspired ideology.
Yesterday was the shortest day. The pagans at post-modern secular globalist central, aka. NZ TV weather news, busily highlighted the winter solstice and the oddness of a colossal absence of sunshine across the country … eval for June. Sunshine hours were around 10 – 30% of usual mean values. For example: Christchurch is on track for its dullest June with just 18.2 hours so far, usual average for June is 117.1 hours. Wellington’s cloud cover has also prevailed with just 31.6 hours of sunlight this month, with a monthly average of 99.1 hours.
But not a whisper, not a murmur about the current solar minimum of cycle 24 seen at SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER NOAA, nor the consequences of increased cloudiness associated with galactic cosmic ray bombardment, nor the potential consequences for climate seen at Evidence-Based Climate Science ‘The Current Solar Minimum and Its Consequences for Climate’
Nothing must interfere with the programming, nor the journey required to the destination of depraved constraint, a stained mattress in the backyard. This is the real Green vision of a servile, dependent, impoverished collective.
The only answer is to ostracise these ideologues that daily become increasingly demented. Cut and cauterise them from the fabric of free society. Scorn and deride and laugh at them. Madness solicits no requirement for rational engagement.
81
The loons over at the Fairfax Collective will be citing this as a documentary before too long. Discussions there sometime feel like you are trying to talk sense to Sarah Hanson-Young.
115
“Do not give answer to a fool according to his foolishness, lest you also be like him.”
( Prov 26:4 )
71
We did once try to talk sense to Democrats party staffers in Canberra at a Saturday night party. Was entertaining, though depressing. “All interest payments on third world debt are wrong!”
I remember asking him to give me $50 that I would use interest free for 10 years and he wouldn’t….
82
If it was Canberra, his much do you think would have made it to you after admin?
40
Three red thumbs, that is a record for me!
30
GetUp! Man here needs one more red thumb for his record. And while you’re at it, give me a few. Soros and the ALP aren’t paying you to dawdle about. (I know, I know…They’re probably not paying the lowly foot-soldiers on red thumb duty at Jo Nova…but someone’s getting the slush.)
50
It would be interesting if when you hover over the thumb it would pop up a list of the voters IDs. That is the case on at least one other blog I am active on.
30
Well it must be school work experience time again….
10
There is no end of entertainment available from enforcing global warming. Mao’s ABC could run a thriller along the lines of Hunger Games, with nasty skeptics being hunted down and killed. What a great way to enforce the death sentences imposed on JoNova, Ian Pilmer, Donald Trump and others by Professor Corey Bradshaw of Flinders University in Adelaide and Professor Richard Parncutt, University of Graz, Austria.
http://joannenova.com.au/2015/01/climate-grief-believers-mourning-its-denial-and-anger-but-it-sure-isnt-science/;
http://joannenova.com.au/2012/12/death-threats-anyone-austrian-prof-global-warming-deniers-should-be-sentenced-to-death/
32
We’ve wasted trillions & trillions for nothing
The BP 2018 Statistical Review, electricity and CO2 emissions
“The just-issued 2018 BP Statistical Review contains a number of variables that were not available in previous reports, in particular electricity generation from oil, gas and coal since 1985.
Combining these variables with BP’s nuclear, hydro and renewables generation numbers and with BP’s CO2 emissions data reveals the following:
Via: http://euanmearns.com/the-bp-2018-statistical-review-electricity-and-co2-emissions/
21
followup about another BC:
21 Jun: The Hill: GOP senators call for probe of federal grants on climate change
By Jacqueline Thomsen
A group of Republican senators is calling for an investigation into National Science Foundation (NSF) grants designed to educate meteorologists about climate change, saying the program has moved beyond science and into political action.
Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Rand Paul (Ky.), James Lankford (Okla.) and Jim Inhofe (Okla.) requested the probe in a letter Wednesday to the NSF inspector general, saying the grants are “not science – it is propagandizing,” NBC News reported (NBC LINK).
The letter states that the foundation has “issued several grants which seek to influence political and social debate rather than conduct scientific research.” The senators say that issuing the grants might violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from taking public political stances, as well as NSF’s mission, according to NBC News..
Climate Central CEO Ben Strauss pushed back against the GOP senators’ claims.
“Climate Central is not an advocacy organization, and the scientific consensus on climate change is not a political viewpoint,” Strauss said in an email to NBC News…
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/393421-gop-senators-call-for-probe-into-federal-grants-on-climate-change
more details of the response at the NBC LINK.
31
20 Jun: EurActiv: ‘Natural solutions’ in focus as EU hosts climate summit with China, Canada
By Frédéric Simon
The Nature4Climate Initiative is officially being launched in Brussels on Wednesday (20 June) by a coalition of conservation organisations, business groups, the UNDP and other major environmental NGOs.
Leading ecologists and businesses have reminded policymakers about “natural solutions” to climate change as the European Commission hosts China and Canada today for the second Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA) (LINK) summit in the Belgian capital…
Nature4Climate.org aims to show the potential of 10 natural climate solutions to reduce and store greenhouse gas emissions – whether in rich or poor countries.
These include “blue carbon” stored in soil or biomass, promoting zero-deforestation supply chains, tackling food waste and and shifting diets away from meat…
“Nature-based solutions for climate are one of the most cost-effective approaches we have for achieving our climate goals,” said Achim Steiner, the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.
“They also provide multiple co-benefits for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals – investing in nature is not only the smart thing to do, it is the right thing to do.”…
The group brings together UNDP as well as Conservation International (CI), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Woods Hole Research Center, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), ***World Resources Institute (WRI).
https://www.euractiv.com/section/climate-environment/news/natural-solutions-in-focus-as-eu-hosts-climate-summit-with-china-Canada
***21 Jun: World Resources Institute (WRI): How the US Can Meet its Emissions Targets with a Carbon Tax
by Kevin Kennedy and Christina DeConcini
(Kevin Kennedy, Deputy Director, U.S. Climate Initiative, director of the U.S. Climate Initiative in the Global Climate Program; Christina DeConcini is WRI’s Director of Government Affairs)
This week’s creation of Americans for Carbon Dividends, a campaign created by former Senators ***John Breaux and Trent Lott, shows growing momentum for a serious bipartisan discussion about pricing carbon pollution in the United States…
Its endorsement by former Federal Reserve chairpeople Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen, in addition to major corporations from Allianz to Exelon to First Solar, reflects the fact that securing a strong economy and addressing climate change can go hand-in-hand…
A carbon tax sets a predetermined price for emissions of climate pollution, letting the market decide how to respond and ultimately determine how much emissions will be reduced…
Some have concluded that when it comes to benefiting the climate, carbon taxes don’t provide certainty on the magnitude of emissions reductions. However, as we detail are the new paper Achieving U.S. Emissions Targets with a Carbon Tax (LINK), this does not need to be the case.
A Strong Carbon Tax Can Deliver Meaningful Emissions Cuts
The best start for ensuring a carbon tax delivers on emissions reductions is to set the initial price high enough to prompt increased investment in low-carbon fuels, technologies and infrastructure…
http://www.wri.org/blog/2018/06/how-us-can-meet-its-emissions-targets-carbon-tax
WRI writers’ Bios:
Kevin Kennedy, Deputy Director, U.S. Climate Initiative
Prior to joining WRI, Kevin led the Office of Climate Change as Assistant Executive Officer at the California Air Resources Board (CARB). In this role, he oversaw implementation of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), including development of California’s cap-and-trade program and the range of other measures the state is using to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Before joining CARB, Kevin worked for the California Energy Commission, including time as Special Advisor to Energy Commission Chairman Joseph Desmond and then to Commissioner Jeffrey D. Byron. While at the Energy Commission, he also managed the 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) proceeding, which provided a comprehensive review of California’s energy situation. In the IEPR, the Commission adopted recommendations for policies to increase California’s energy supplies, reduce energy demand, broaden the range of alternatives to conventional energy sources, and improve the state’s energy delivery infrastructure.
Mr. Kennedy holds a Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at University of California, Berkeley, and has more than 20 years experience in energy and environmental policy…
Christina DeConcini, Director, Government Affairs
Prior to joining WRI in September 2007, Christina spent 20 years advocating for the rights of immigrants and refugees, serving as the as the Director of Policy and Advocacy in several national organizations seeking to change federal immigration laws, provide representation to indigent immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers and improve conditions of detention for immigrants. Christina has written and spoken frequently on issues related to immigration and refugee policies, has taught immigration law, served on a number of boards and been recognized for her work in this field.
Christina has a law degree from Northeastern University in Boston, MA and an undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego…
reminder re ***John Breaux and Trent Lott:
15 May 2015: Bloomberg: Trent Lott’s Firm Made a Fortune Lobbying for the Kremlin
by Matthew Campbell and Dawn Kopecki
The Kremlin and Big Oil are stuffing more money into Washington’s influence machine as Europe and the U.S. renew their commitment to Russian sanctions…
Consider that last year, the Washington, D.C., lobbying firm of former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott raked in $300,000 from Kremlin-controlled OAO Gazprombank, which was a target of sanctions. The Gazprombank billings for Lott’s firm are about double what Lott made in annual salary during any of his 18 years in the Senate.
Other high-profile ex-senators like John Breaux of Louisiana and Don Nickles of Oklahoma are also getting in on the Russian action, as is Haley Barbour, the former governor of Mississippi…
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Some of those Australian story episodes can be truly nauseating.
I think I am glad I missed that episode.
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21 Jun: Bloomberg: Climate Czar Tells OPEC to Pivot From Oil or Prepare to Suffer
By Jonathan Tirone
The world’s biggest crude exporters need to support the transition away from oil or prepare for growing climate-induced destabilization that could wreck their markets, the United Nation’s top environment official said.
“If we do not pay attention to this transition, their business is also going to suffer,” Patricia Espinosa said in an interview with Bloomberg News at a seminar ahead of an Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting in Vienna. “The conversation here is a lot about business and price. Very few people talk about sustainability.”
Scientists predict floods, famines and superstorms will become more frequent unless the world keeps temperature rises well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) this century. The risks posed by runaway climate change have mobilized trillions of dollars of investments by companies and economies transitioning to renewable energy, electric transport and more efficient technologies. Oil majors including Total SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc have increasingly shown interest in diversifying investments away from fossil fuels and toward greener energy.
“This is about the survival of their business and what are they going to do,” said Espinosa, the Mexican diplomat who opened talks with OPEC when she became executive secretary of the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2013. “They need markets and resiliency and that requires attention to climate change.”…
Espinosa said OPEC ministers and oil executives had mixed reactions to her speech. She’s encouraging oil producers to begin reinvesting their vast profits in renewable technologies as a hedge against climate risks…
“They need economies that are thriving and countries that are growing for business to work,” Espinosa said. “That will not happen if we do not pay attention to climate change. We will have global destabilization, crisis everywhere.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-20/opec-told-by-climate-czar-to-pivot-from-oil-or-prepare-to-suffer
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“…Scientists predict floods, famines and superstorms will become more frequent..”
Funny….it should read
“…Floods of leftist fairies/snowflakes and fools…”
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PC correct Qantas would love this. NOT! ‘Maybe buy some Carbon Credits and your conscience is clear, guys (that’s for David Morrison).’
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Sounds just like the sale of Roman Catholic Indulgences from the middle ages, yes?
Buying your way out of your greenist “sins”?
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a must listen:
AUDIO: 13mins16secs: 20 Jun: ABC Breakfast: “The ABC pays each other millions of dollars in bonuses from taxpayer funds” says Eric Abetz
The ABC has launched its fight back against those in the Liberal Party who want to see it privatised…
“They claim not be a commercial broadcaster, yet they pay each other millions of dollars in bonuses from taxpayer funds” says Abetz.
Guest: Eric Abetz, Tasmanian Liberal Senator
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/the-abc-pays-each-other-millions-of-dollars/9889160
rough summary:
Hamish pleads ignorance about ABC bonuses…makes out Abetz said individual staff members got a million dollars, when it’s “millions of dollars in bonuses” overall.
Hamish keeps asking Abetz which other broadcasters in Australia do not allow its journalists to express opinions ETC…?
repeats which other broadcasters don’t allow their hosts to express opinions?
Abetz doesn’t have a clue what Hamish is talking about.
Hamish: at the ABC, we’re not allowed to express our opinions.
Abetz: I wish that were true, Hamish. there are many people around Australia laughing…
Hamish: which journalists/hosts at ABC express their opinion?…We are not allowed to express our personal views as hosts of programmes on ABC… we must uphold the strictest journalistic standards. there is no other broadcaster blah blah. why?
Abetz: because you are the public broadcaster.
around 10mins30secs, Hamish moves on to the NEG after Abetz remarks that the entire interview has been about the ABC by the ABC.
Abetz says he will put the Australian pensioner ahead of the aspirational ideas of the Paris agreement.
Hamish: Tony Abbott claims he was misled about the Paris Agreement blah blah. why wasn’t he more diligent about the advice he was receiving?
Abetz: why is the world buying our coal, yet we can’t burn our own coal blah blah.
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John McCain’s man from the CT/sundance article:
WASHINGTON DC – […] In the full notes of an April 30, 2013, meeting, McCain’s high-ranking staffer [Henry] Kerner recommends harassing non-profit groups until they are unable to continue operating. Kerner tells Lerner, Steve Miller, then chief of staff to IRS commissioner, Nikole Flax, and other IRS officials, “Maybe the solution is to audit so many that it is financially ruinous.” In response, Lerner responded that “it is her job to oversee it all.”…
Wikipedia: Henry Kerner
Henry Kerner is an American lawyer who serves as the Special Counsel in the United States Office of Special Counsel…
Kerner received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles before obtaining his J.D. at Harvard Law School…
He was also staff director under Ranking Member John McCain at the United States Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. In early 2016, Kerner became Assistant Vice President for Investigations at the nonprofit Cause of Action Institute…
***In May 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Kerner to become Special Counsel at the United States Office of Special Counsel…
Special Counsel Kerner issued a statement declaring that “Kellyanne Conway, one of President Donald Trump’s top advisers, violated federal law in two television interviews last year by using her White House position to weigh in on a political race” on March 6, 2017.
THE SWAMP/DEEP STATE IS REAL:
11 Mar: WaPo: Jennifer Rubin: Distinguished person of the week: Someone takes his oath seriously
It was a small but brave blow for honest, law-abiding government. CNN reported:
“The US Office of Special Counsel announced Tuesday that White House aide Kellyanne Conway violated the Hatch Act…” …
“In a new report, the OSC special counsel, Henry Kerner, pointed to Conway’s TV interviews…”
Kerner, as required by law, referred the matter to her boss, President Trump — who will do nothing, we can easily predict. Ethics? Following rules? Separating political and personal concerns from the people’s business? Unheard of in this White House…
Kerner’s action is a reaffirmation that there are rules in place, although this administration continues to violate them. Like calling out Trump for more than 2,000 lies, the decision to call the White House to account for ethical violations (a tiny portion of them) reminds the country that Trump is not a king and his courtiers are not immune from the laws that govern everyone who chooses to serve. In doing so, Kerner implicitly raises the question: Why isn’t Congress, the Justice Department and/or the Office of Government Ethics calling out the raft of self-dealing, conflicts of interest and foreign emoluments that have turned this administration into an imitation of a Third World potentate?…
In addition, Kerner reminds us that one of the bulwarks against authoritarianism are dedicated professionals (both civil service and political appointees, as Kerner is) who serve in administrations of both parties and take seriously their responsibility to enforce a code of conduct…
For all of these reasons, we can say, well done, Mr. Kerner
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2018/03/11/distinguished-person-of-the-week-someone-takes-his-oath-seriously/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3392da6e5a85
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‘… there are many people around Australia laughing….’
Yep and we are also angry.
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as complex and complicated as “Spygate”, but the most important piece published online today. lessons to be learned. LENGTHY:
21 Jun: ConservativeTreehouse: sundance: Stunning Confirmation: Judicial Watch Obtains IRS Documents Showing McCain Staff Urging IRS To Target Tea Party Groups…
For those who remember the issues when the IRS, White House and DOJ organized the post 2010 election “shellacking” targeting of Tea Party groups, the latest discovery from Judicial watch is confirmation of a long-held opinion. John McCain was instrumental in supporting the weaponization of the IRS to target tea party groups…
The motives were simple. The GOPe leadership were being challenged by Tea Party primary candidates. Power was being confronted. The professional republican party was in full alignment with the Obama administration in removing the existential threat represented by the challenge to their political power and incumbency. McConnell, Hatch, Burr, Graham, McCain, Cornyn, Corker et al, were willing to do anything and everything to get rid of the challenges to their political power. Hence, the term “Decepticons” was born…
Overlay this Machiavellian web of deceit and power against the latest understandings of how John McCain dispatched another member of his staff, David Kramer, to act as a go-between and facilitator for the Christopher Steele dossier use against candidate Trump; and factor in how the entire intelligence apparatus was weaponized; and consider that both Democrat and Republican leadership were willfully blind in this effort; and a very clear picture emerges.
If you wonder why the entire corrupt DC political class is openly in opposition to President Donald J Trump…. well…READ ON
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/06/21/stunning-confirmation-judicial-watch-obtains-irs-documents-showing-mccain-staff-urging-irs-to-target-tea-party-groups/
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I’ve posted a reply/followup to the sundance/John McCain article to the ABC/Abetz comment by mistake.
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So if you come up with a undeniable argument that the data is fudged you’re labelked a sceptic infilltrator?
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Who the hell is “Cory White “?
I’ve never heard of him before!
I gather thats what happens when you can’t be bothered with the blah blah of the ABC.
You miss out on all the high level intellectual offerings such as the ABC’s staff theme song ; La dolce vita
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But like this bloke they used “cleaned up” Australiaised words?
As in Lili Marlene.
As noted by John Steinbeck in “Once there was a war”
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ABC’s “poor” cousin, SBS, is being hailed as the saviour – and winner – for rescuing the World Cup football from “Floptus”:
20 Jun: ABC: Optus hands rest of World Cup group matches to SBS after streaming debacle
21 Jun: ABC: Optus had ‘no choice’ but to offer free access after ‘Floptus’ World Cup streaming fail
21 Jun: news.com.au: Audience goals: SBS’ awesome free ratings kick thanks to #Floptus
21 Jun: news.com.au: World Cup 2018: SBS free ratings kick after Optus streaming fail
22 Jun: SMH: Optus World Cup fiasco a gift for free-to-air TV
19 Jun: Australian: How Optus scored its own World Cup goal, leaving SBS the winner
however, what is missing in many reports is the fact SBS sold the World Cup matches to Optus, even tho they receive something like $400 million annually from Australian taxpayer.
ABC would seem to be getting to the crux of the matter here:
AUDIO: 10mins15secs: 21 Jun: ABC Breakfast: Should SBS have sold some of its World Cup rights to Optus?
Guest: Michael Ebeid, Managing Director, SBS
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/should-sbs-have-sold-some-of-its-world-cup-rights-to-optus/9893312
rough summary: first, it is almost impossible to understand a word Ebeid is saying. I have never heard such poor quality sound on ABC in my life and there is no apology or attempt to stop and intereview to remedy the situation. is the interview being done on Skype? from Mars? who knows.
it’s all praise for SBs for the first 4mins 45secs, before Hamish Macdonald even brings up the matter of SBS selling the rights to Optus…and then it’s straight into “budget cuts” “budget cuts” …followed up by Hamish asking if “budget cuts” influenced the sale!
then Hamish follows up with another pro-public broadcasting question.
Ebeid: when you don’t have a lot of money…
more to come.
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not easy finding details of the SBS/Optus deal. however, here’s a few bits and pieces.
blame Abbott:
17 Jun: AFR Op-ed: John Stensholt: How Tony Abbott paved the way for the SBS-Optus World Cup deal
Wondering why you need to watch most World Cup games via a streaming service provided by a telecommunications company that is copping criticism for the quality of its coverage?
It goes back to the days when Tony Abbott was prime minister.
Why did this happen? Well, rewind a few years.
When Abbott led the Coalition to victory in the 2013 federal election, he promised not to cut funding to the ABC and SBS. But, by the time the 2014 budget came around the following May, he had changed his mind and, for two consecutive years, SBS boss Michael Ebeid told Senate estimates hearings the broadcaster’s World Cup coverage could be at risk thanks to reduced funding.
SBS had in 2011 clinched a deal with world governing body FIFA to extend its existing broadcast contract for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, having shown each tournament in its entirety since 1990.
The deals were reportedly for about $20 million for Russia this year and another $20 million for Qatar in 2022, up from about $30 million combined for the 2014, 2010, 2006 and 2002 tournaments.
But by late 2015, the soccer broadcasting market in Australia was to get a huge shake-up when Optus shocked all and sundry with a knock-out bid for English Premier league rights…
At the same time, SBS would have been looking for savings across the channel and the $20 million it was paying for the World Cup must have presented an opportunity.
So it emerged in May 2016 when Optus and SBS announced they had clinched a deal for Optus to sub-licence one EPL match a week to SBS, who in return would share the World Cup coverage with the telco.
It is a deal for which The Australian Financial Review understands Optus is paying SBS about ***$8 million, meaning the public broadcaster found some vital savings, enabling it to afford continuing with its coverage of the Tour de France cycling race – which begins this year on July 7 – as well as gaining some rights to the French Open and US Open tennis tournaments…
Social media criticism of Optus this weekend was vitriolic…
***SBS and Optus have jointly built an app for the World Cup and also a joint sales and commercial model for the tournament…
There is also an option for both parties to share the rights to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar…
https://www.afr.com/business/sport/how-tony-abbott-paved-the-way-for-the-sbsoptus-world-cup-deal-20180614-h11dxb
New Daily: Consumers cannot watch Optus Sport through a television via traditional methods, unless you have one of the company’s Fetch boxes…
What that means is you can watch it through your television – as long as you stream it from a compatible device in the first place…
And what is left for SBS?
SBS, which claimed to reach 10.7 million Australians during the coverage of the 2014 World Cup, will offer its 25 matches “live, free and in HD with exclusive commentary from Martin Tyler”…
Media expert Dr Sam Duncan said that fans had every right to be annoyed by the new deal…
22 Jun: AFR: John Stensholt: Optus World Cup soccer failure a big lesson for sports broadcasters
It was all down to the most unique broadcasting deal signed in Australian sports history, where for the first time a telecommunications firm in Optus telecast big matches exclusively via online streaming after clinching a ***sub-licensing agreement with SBS…
It was a public relations disaster and even Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who had been Communications Minister in the Abbott government when budget cuts at SBS led it to explore the on-selling of its World Cup rights, called Optus chief executive Allan Lew to ask what was going on…
“TV consumption is changing, says Colin Smith, chief executive of Global Media & Sports, a sports rights advisory firm. “Among younger people there may still be strong interest in sport but not necessarily watching just on TV.
“They are watching on their phones, their tablets, via catch-up and other streaming services…
WHAT COULD BE MORE FUN THAN WATCHING WORLD CUP FOOTBALL MATCHES ON AN IPHONE OR A TABLET! WITH THE ENTIRE FAMILY?
AND FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE DEVICES ON WHICH TO DOWNLOAD APPS? OR HAVE NBN WHICH ISN’T WORKING? FORGET ABOUT THEM. THEY DESERVE NOTHING FROM SBS’S $400 MILLION.
WHO OKAYS THE SBS DEAL WITH OPTUS?
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Waleed Aly showed his ignorance by blaming FIFA, who had nothing to do with the deal:
21 Jun: SMH: The Optus World Cup debacle is not just a technical problem
By Waleed Aly
The Optus debacle reveals a widespread failure to understand this. It is the natural outcome of applying narrow, free-market thinking to something that is deeply, indelibly social…
It’s also the story of a sporting body (FIFA) that was prepared to sell its biggest event to the highest bidder, with apparently little concern for whether they were up to the task, or even how many people would be locked out of it…
If local sporting bodies can take such a limited view of their social role, and be so prepared to limit their audiences for money, we should be completely unsurprised that FIFA can do the same in a market as small and distant as Australia…
That leaves only politicians to stand in the way. Currently Labor is attempting to blame the government for cutting SBS funding and limiting its capacity to bid more aggressively. But Optus was probably always going to be able to outbid SBS, just as it massively outbid Foxtel to snare the Premier League…
https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-optus-world-cup-debacle-is-not-just-a-technical-problem-20180621-p4zmtg.html
20 Jun: SMH: Benjamin Ansell: SBS to keep World Cup soccer games as Optus woes deepen
Australian Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John said the incident highlighted the importance of keeping public broadcasters in public hands.
Stefanovic seems blissfully unaware SBS sold off the rights:
18 Jun: news.com.au: James McKern: Football fans have continued to vent over Optus’s nightmare stream
KARL Stefanovic has torn strips off Optus, whose World Cup nightmare worsened overnight as fans were robbed
***“Now I’m racking my brain to think when SBS ever had a problem with the broadcasting of the World Cup ever.
“Optus, you are in telecommunications. If you can’t get your satellites together ***then let SBS do it, or Nine, or my uncle Rob who could do a better job hanging a coathanger from the Edmonton Bowls Club in far north Queensland…
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19 Jun: 2GB: Ben Fordham show: ‘She’s off the planet and she should apologise’: Mark Latham slams ABC journalist’s tweet
The Outsider Mark Latham has slammed a tweet sent out by ABC journalist and newsreader Juanita Phillips, calling on her to apologise.
In the tweet, Ms Phillips claimed “violence against women” is “integral” to the West:
TWEET: 17 Jun: Juanita Phillips, ABC: Perhaps any study of Western Civilisation could examine how and why violence against women is such an integral and accepted part of it…
AUDIO: 7mins51secs
https://www.2gb.com/shes-off-the-planet-and-she-should-apologise-mark-latham-slams-abc-journalists-tweet/
Updated 22 Jun: Daily Mail: ‘The ABC loathes us’: Taxpayer-funded newsreader on a $316,000-a-year salary under fire for suggesting violence against women is an ‘integral and accepted’ part of Western civilisation
•ABC newsreader Juanita Phillips suggested violence against women normalised
•The Sydney TV presenter claimed it was an ‘integral’ part of Western civilisation
•Her remarks in the wake of Eurydice Dixon’s park death have sparked outrage
By Stephen Johnson
Juanita Phillips, the face of ABC News in Sydney, tweeted her controversial views following the death last week of 22-year-old aspiring comedian Eurydice Dixon in a Melbourne park…
The 54-year-old, taxpayer-funded television presenter used the young woman’s death to weigh into the Australian National University’s decision to rebuff an offer from the Ramsay Centre to fund a course on Western civilisation…
Her remark to her 10,500 Twitter followers has sparked outrage with one man describing it as ‘another outstanding example of the ABC’s cultural loathing of the West’…
She has been the ABC’s Sydney newsreader since 2003 and last year bought a $2.7 million beach at Avalon, on the northern beaches, as part of her $316,000 salary, which was leaked to the media in 2013…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5868321/ABC-newsreader-Juanita-Phillips-slammed-suggesting-violence-against-women-integral-West.html
Juanita apparently not worried about the sea level rise at Avalon?
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I stopped watching TV in 2010, so I’ve probably missed something. Are they starting from the “incontrovertible fact” that human activity is destroying the climate and we’re all going to die unless all human activity is stopped (i.e. we’re all to be culled) so that we are not all killed by climate change? Or something like that? Green logic can be difficult to understand.
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