Following Jonathan Moylan’s ANZ hoax I wrote some days ago about whether his actions were justified. I was interested in critiquing some of the fatuous arguments against his act of civil disobedience and looking at the action through the lens of grassroots political activism. Now I’d like to consider the role Moylan has played, examined […]
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Tag Archives: climate
“Rules for Radicals”, Saul Alinsky: Organising and Power
January 13, 2013 
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I read Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals for the wrong reason: to get a job. I had an upcoming interview for a position as an Organiser and figured it’d be good to familiarise myself with the fundamentals, to seek the blessing of the Godfather, so to speak. I’d somehow missed out on Rules for Radicals […]
Read more On Jonathan Moylan’s ANZ Hoax
January 13, 2013 0 Comments
On 7 January Jonathan Moylan, an Australian pro-life (or ‘anti-coal’) campaigner, published a hoax press release purporting to originate from ANZ bank. The hoax press release stated that ANZ had “withdrawn its $1.2 billion loan facility to Whitehaven Coal, which was primarily intended to develop the Maules Creek Coal Project.” The media and the markets […]
Read more “Language Intelligence”, Joe Romm: Rhetoric
December 14, 2012 4 Comments
Language Intelligence is the latest book by climate blogger Joe Romm. It is a guide to rhetoric, “the art of persuasion through the systematic use of the figures of speech.” To be more precise, it is a powerfully written and invaluable guide to rhetoric. Whether you cross swords on Q&A with Nick Minchin, speak to […]
Read more “Long Walk to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela: Leadership, Apartheid, and Climate Activism
November 18, 2012 0 Comments
Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom is a stirring book. Autobiography already has something rich and intimate about it; in Long Walk to Freedom that is combined with the nobility and inspiration of a successful struggle against injustice. In reading it, I reflected upon a few things: leadership, apartheid, and climate activism. Nelson Mandela is […]
Read more Why is the Climate Movement Celebrating Obama’s Re-election?
November 7, 2012 2 Comments
Today Barack Obama was elected to a second term as President of the United States. Also today, as a consequence of global warming, our climate system gained an amount of energy equivalent to exploding 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. In the giddy celebrations following Obama’s success, climate activists jostled over a cursory mention given in his […]
Read moreAustralia can go from ‘Laggard to Leader’ on Climate
July 28, 2012 0 Comments
Monday July 23rd I popped along to Beyond Zero Emission‘s presentation on their recent report: Laggard to Leader: How Australia Can Lead the World to Zero Carbon Prosperity. The report was authored by Fergus Green and Rueben Finighan; Green and I attended COP 15 together (although, as I’ve written…I remember little of him). I’m a […]
Read more Book 21: “Madlands”, Anna Rose.
July 22, 2012 0 Comments
This was a very exciting book for me to read. Firstly, Anna sent me an advance proof digital copy. It was like I was an actual book reviewer. Secondly, Anna is a friend of mine and had published a book. This is exciting. Thirdly, I was conscious that this book could significantly influence the climate […]
Read more Madlands and Anna Rose in Albury Wodonga
June 16, 2012 0 Comments
Anna Rose is just getting in to her school talk. “Do you eat food?” she asks the audience of about a hundred school students, and hands shoot up. She smiles. “We all eat food,” she say, “which is why climate change affects all of us.” Albury Wodonga. A place familiar to me from family trips […]
Read more Melbourne, 11 Months In.
June 8, 2012 1 Comment
I’m packing my room to move to my second Melbourne Sharehouse. Gradually emptying my bookshelf, sticking big A4 things into a calico bag, I come upon an A4 envelope from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition’s Meet Your Member Finale, July 2011. The consequence of open slather of Kris Kringle style good vibes, it contains lovely […]
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