The savage irony of using image makers to win arguments

Cousins and his page limited colegues are losing the battle because they have forgotten where real credibility on the environment comes from . The real world is 3 dimensional, but most arguments about the environment are 2 dimensonal- superficial ( Julia G and G cousins speak on lateline in last few days )Labor would win hands down if they stopped playing dumb falt earth games on complex questions like earthscience- like even the incumbents do .

There is something deeply paradoxical about the Cousins crass campaign to overturn Turnbull over the Tamar -its not going to work because Cousins is playing a game that doesn't win hearts and minds. True converts to the big picture need to confess and repent of using the image game. While Turnbull may play a slightly different version of quick fix, it works better than a pile of mere words and makeover merchandise. - the section of the audience relevant to changing the mood only have to smell sus and they are off with thye cando merchants - esp when eco development is in the wings and the fearmongers are on the prowl .Nice picture but nasty cop hidden away! The emdia can talk up a earth issue as damngerous as a paper mill but if doesn't present facts of risk its bound to fail - even in this religiously media driven age.

Those who get labelled as anti -industry ( the above mentioned characters ) need to be seroiulsy countering the talk with competence , but do they ? The reactionares seem to throw away the really pointed arrows ( the risk scientists) and use the superficial- Geoffrey Cousins use of famous faces will carry about as much weight as their alterative: the very hot air stragegies .
The paradox is that, in being writers themselves they have allowed the 3 dimensional image to be lost to the more "common man" game of 2 dimensionsal arguments using "over the bar" beligerance - Both the left and the right are playing the same game and likely to lose to just one person who knows the real risk , makes decsions and stands by them .This not ought to be so -Conservation needs harder heads and better targeting- otherwise both sides of politics will fine tune nothing to work better( the real aim of consrevation )

Rudd and Garrett too , ought to dig a bit deeper before they hitch their sails to the superficial - what is said to be gospel on paper and is built largely on puffs of hot air in the media . Last election Labors eco credentials brought them undone - why won't there eco superficality bring labor undone again this election esp when the true 3d of environment is such a potential winner - esp when the libs can still play their simple silly old accountancy games on ecosytem management. Why ? - because the opposition don't seem to be able to do anything deeper themsleves.

Turnbull is winning the war of words on the environment, not because he is necessarily right, but because he make s decisions not points of order ;

The new /old left haven't worked out their own intellectual and process weaknesses on the deep matters of ecos - they prefer to win a point on a piece of paper and in doing so allow the crowd to lose sight of the purpose .the 3 dimensional purpose - The left, like last time, when latham left himself open down in tassie FORGET that economic credibility ( their well known weakness) is rightly linked to an even deeper eco credibility ( their unknown weakness-- though they may fool many by talking so much about it )

Rudd and Garret better watch out - One slip on envir talk is probably more damaging to their eco credentials than they realise !Copyright Emperors Academy

Midwinter Sunday night blues

It seems it takes a commercial rerun like midsummer murders to get ABC Tv management to stop preaching at us on sunday nights .
Great to hear the ABC public telling (ON 774) that they feel starved of substance on sunday nights ( and the traditional sat and sun nights) . Boy have we been waiting for a while!
Not a ABC limpit in the country has been happy with the stale old cynical church service preoccupations of the ABC left on sunday nights. No hope just grumpy old cynics? The sermons are always about "whats wrong with the world" ( the old world that is ; the predictable period drama that is revisionist history - mcluhan would turn in his grave at the media abuse );always the same old theology - "we know better than the past"( why buddhism is better etc etec ) Give us a break !!!!!

Robin hood was good - it raised the spectre of evil; a reality ABcchurch has yet to come to grips with.
As for midsummer murders - we love it ; we don't mind a bit of population control - No we are not finding new ways to deal with problems and reducate ourselves into a tis. We like to remind oursleves before we agian hit thge real world running on Monday about what our SOLID education has prepared us for the week ahead.