Monday, February 13, 2006

Australia Followed USA in Gagging its Scientists

The Australian government is one of the few countries in the world that supports the USA in not signing the Kyoto Agreement which seeks to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas.

Recently in the USA the Bush appointee to NASA, 24-year old George C. Deutsch, instructed his public affairs workers to limit reporters' access to a top climate scientist, to prevent them from obtaining scientific facts showing that the world's climate has gotten worse.

Then to ensure that silly stuff like science would be buried good and proper, he instructed NASA's Web designer to add the word ‘theory’ at every mention of the Big Bang. That's right, for him it just won't do to have the American people believing in crazy stuff like scientists and their science when intelligent design as drawn out by the Creator is available.

Deutsch had to resign after it was revealed that he lied about his Bachelor of Arts in journalism, allegedly obtained from Texas A&M University in 2003. In fact he did not graduate. Maybe that's why he disliked stuff like scientific facts, or just facts? His qualification of a university degree on his resume was definitely an 'unintelligent design', but certainly a 'creationist' effort.

Deutsch's appointment to an important post has not been unlike that of Michael Brown, the man Bush appointed to FEMA, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, which blotched the recovery of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and failed to provide timely or adequate aid for the victims.

Obviously Bush had been disgracefully appointing unqualified or inadequately qualified cronies to fairly important jobs. The result of his cronyism has already been felt severely by the inhabitants of New Orleans. What next for the American people in climate control?

But the Australia case is worse, where the government has effectively put a muzzle on its scientists, warning them not to talk about climate control and particularly the issue of reducing greenhouse gas emission. One irate scientist, who had worked for John Howard's Liberal Party, told Australia’s ABC TV-radio that his organization, CSIRO, had been so terrified that he would say something on greenhouse emission that contradicted government policy.

This censorship is absolutely disgraceful, unprecedented and only noticeable under the John Howard government. Australia has a strong tradition of not interfering with scientists and professional experts in their fields of expertise.

If Australia doesn’t watch it, soon it will be a case of no one daring to inform the emperor he has no clothes on. The government seems to have forgotten the western value of 'freedom of speech' especially scientific speech.

There are allegations that the Australian coal industry lobby have infiltrated the government to ensure that their products are not taken off or much reduced from the energy list in order for Australia to subscribe to the Kyoto Agreement. Some coal industry people have even write Cabinet briefing papers on the Kyoto Agreement and gas emission. These would be akin to those American Zionists writing policy papers on Israel-Palestine relationship for the Bush Administration.

However, only recently, Christians and Jewish groups in the USA abandoned support for Bush in the matter of climate control. They want the US to improve its efforts in enhancing the quality of the atmosphere. They put out a message titled ‘Caring for God’s Creation’ that says:

“Love and gratitude for God's creation lie deep within religious life. From mountaintops to forests, green pastures to still waters, stars in the sky and lilies of the field, we experience the grace of our Creator and the gift of our presence here.”

“With Earth in grave environmental peril, many religious Americans are seeking to respond through our faith. Through the many gateways and galleries of this website, we offer resources and accounts of how people of faith are acting upon God's mandate to be stewards of our precious Earth.”

I like to see President Bush ignore that in favour of his industry pals.

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