Well, fellow travellers, it's not surprising that planet hating reactionaries who lurk in the right-wing reaches of the blogosphere are all howling with laughter at this parody of Petula Clark's "Downtown". It just says sooo much about these nasty Gaia-phobes and what goes on inside their tiny minds.

Well, apart from being a complete misrepresentation of what Bob Brown and the Greens stand for it's also not at all funny.

And I am an expert in these matters, you know! Not only have I written an...
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Fellow travellers, one thing that we on the green left have to constantly put up with is this vile accusation that we don't care about the economy. Nothing could be further from the truth!

In the latest example of this the appalling Andrew Landeryou verbals the visionary Greens Leader in a pathetic attempt to confirm this accusation. Citing a recent interview on the 7:30 Report he takes just one small quote of Bob Brown's and implies that it's an admission that the Greens are economically irre...
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Fellow travellers, recently I wrote of the institutionalized hatred of crocodiles (and women) displayed in the right-wing smearing of Julia Gillard. Quite frankly I think some serious attitudinal reconstruction is in order. So from now on I will use the term "crocodile tears" to describe only completely genuine lachrymosity.

After all, these poor, misunderstood creatures continue to suffer greatly. Some were so traumatized by Cyclone Yasi that "they hid under water and stopped eating". And we ...
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Fellow travellers, reactionary right-wingers often claim that the mainstream media are completely dominated by liberals, environmentalists and left-wingers. But as is usually the case, the exact opposite is true.

Take this report about the impending demise of the McMansion in Perth due to fluctuations in the property market. The possibility that these immense, carbon-spewing excrescences have finally had their day in this city is seen as a bad thing. Can you believe it?

The piece is full of n...
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While I think that the choices for Australian of the Year and Young Australian of the Year are at least tolerable, I do have some reservations, fellow travellers.

My first one is general in nature, and is simply about the whole concept of the award. This idea that we celebrate one individual, as opposed to a collective, smacks more than a little of conservatism. It's also undeniably nationalistic. I mean, if we do have to laud an individual couldn't we nominate someone who does the whole Eart...
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Fellow travellers, a lot of people are saying that this story about Ted Williams, "the homeless man with the golden voice", is wonderfully uplifting; the first big feel good story of 2011.

But it doesn't make me feel good at all, just quite annoyed - and even a little depressed. You see, this upbeat approach relies upon many cultural assumptions that a compassionate and progressive person such as myself finds deeply suspect.

Firstly there is this idea that someone who is homeless is necessaril...
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Fellow travellers, as you well know I abhor violence. But I have to admit that in some cases it is justified. Here is a case in point: That cruel capitalist nation South Korea has decided to provoke atheist, communist North Korea by lighting up a giant Christmas tree near the border.

As one who is regularly driven to nausea by the orgy of greed and consumerism that is Christmas in Australia, I certainly know where my fellow travellers in Pyongyang are coming from.

Not only is this a case of re...
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Fellow travellers, even though it can be a very unpleasant experience visiting the loony right-wing reaches of the blogopshere - which are so rancid with the stench of sexism, racism, and climate change denialism that afterwards I always have to have a peppermint tea and a good lie down - it is certainly worth doing so on a regular basis. As they say, it's important to know your enemy.

(And when I say "enemy", I don't mean it in the "pro-war" sense, BTW. I am - like all of you, my fellow trav...
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The appalling Kyle Sandilands has declared war on beloved Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, claiming that she is trying to destroy the city's nightlife with her anti-capitalist policies. Note the various forms of hate speech in his on air rant about Ms Moore.

''I'll get rid of that woman, you watch. Eighty-year-old woman trying to run the town. Go to the retirement village, you old clown,'' Sandilands said on his program.

As well as the obvious sexism, note the appalling ageism in this disturb...
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Fellow travellers, as we all know, Gaia works in mysterious ways, so it is sometimes difficult to discern what She is trying to communicate to us. (Well, actually it's not that difficult for advanced souls like myself and my feisty feline fellow traveller Jocelyn to know. It's just a challenge for you and your friends. But don't worry, when that is the case we are happy to translate for you.)

But sometimes Gaia sends us a message that is completely unequivocal. This volcanic eruption in Icela...
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Fellow travellers, we all know that big business is full of appalling peenie-waving testosteroids who despise women and nature in equal measure. But most of the time they aren't overt about it. And if you do point out how sexist they are, they will invariably deny it. Sadly, most of the Great Unloofahed and even many in the media accept these furtive protestations as the truth.

But sometimes their appalling misogyny is so brazen and clear that no amount of obfuscation could possibly suffice! ...
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Fellow travellers, I am still appalled by the dominance of "rational" approaches to thinking that still pervade human "civilization" the world over.

Take this recent event in China: An elderly woman was shocked to find a snake with a claw in her house. She killed it, and the snake is now being examined by scientists.

No doubt they will come up with some "rational" explanation involving genetic mutation, or perhaps interbreeding with lizards. But these will be inadequate, and inaccurate.

The reas...
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