Australian Internet Censorship By Australian Government-Funded ABC
And Universities-Backed The Conversation
By Dr Gideon Polya
10 May, 2012
Countercurrents.org
Resolute inaction by the Australian Government and major Australian institutions over Internet Censorship by the taxpayer-funded ABC (Australia's equivalent of the BBC) via its Late Night Live (LNL) program and by the taxpayer-, Australian universities- and CSIRO-backed and Australian academic–based web magazine The Conversation means that Australia has joined the ranks of countries involved in “pervasive Internet Censorship”.
Wikipedia states “Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations at the behest of government, regulators, or on their own initiative. Individuals and organizations may engage in self-censorship for moral, religious, or business reasons, to conform to societal norms, due to intimidation, or out of fear of legal or other consequences' (see “Internet censorship”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship ).
An analysis of Internet censorship by country published by Wikipedia (see “Internet censorship by country”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_by_country ) asserts that there is “no evidence of censorship” in most of non-CIS Europe and the Americas (not so e.g. US Mainstream media notoriously censors and self-censors over the 12 million war-related deaths in the post-1990 US War on Muslims and the MSNBC-owned Newsvine while publishing views critical of Apartheid Israel has occasionally deleted such contributions); “pervasive censorship” in China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Central Asia; “substantial censorship” in Sudan, Ethiopia and Pakistan; “selective censorship” in Russia, the CIS, Turkey, Venezuela, Colombia, Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, Indonesia and India; and “under surveillance” in France, French-dominated Djibouti, French Guiana, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Egypt and Australia.
However as outlined below egregious Internet Censorship occurs in Australia , notably within organizations funded by the Australian Government e.g. the taxpayer-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the ABC, the Australian equivalent of the UK BBC) and by the taxpayer-, Australian universities- and CSIRO-backed and Australian academic–based web magazine The Conversation. Inaction by the Australian Government and major Australian institutions over Internet Censorship by the taxpayer-funded ABC and by the taxpayer-, funded and web magazine The Conversation means that Australia has joined the ranks of countries involved in “pervasive Internet Censorship”.
The Australian ABC has an appalling record of censorship, mal-reportage, lying by omission and lying by commission. ABC Radio National Late Night (LNL) program is an ostensibly "progressive", and "liberal" interview program compered by progressive and humanist Phillip Adams who while "middle of the road" also writes for the extreme right wing newspaper “The Australian”, the Australian national flagship of the pro-war, climate change denialist US Murdoch Empire that has secured 70% of city daily newspaper readership in Australia. However the ABC has censored out various listener comments to the program, presumably because they contain facts or opinions the ABC does not want its listeners to know about or think about.
After particularly egregious multiple censorship by the ABC of comments by me on Late Night Live (LNL), I responded by complaint to LNL, the ABC, media and MPs. However, when I adopted the course in the public interest of recording my comments on all LNL programs and indicating which comments were censored , the ABC simply blocked my ability to post comments. The common factor in this ABC Internet censorship was censorship of comments critical of the war crimes of the US Alliance and Apartheid Israel (for details and documentation of this egregious Internet Censorship by the taxpayer-funded ABC see “Censorship by ABC Late Night Live”: https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbyabclatenightlive/ ; “ABC Censorship”: https://sites.google.com/site/abccensorship/ ).
The Conversation is a very welcome initiative in Australian media. It invites and publishes articles by academic scholars and other experts and invites reader comments. The reader comments are typically non-anonymous and often from professional people with relevant expertise. Accordingly The Conversation is very welcome in enabling expert opinions in a country woefully served by the grossly deficient reportage and censorship of oligopoly Mainstream media (see "Boycott Murdoch Media": https://sites.google.com/site/boycottmurdochmedia/ and “Censorship by The Age”: http://agecensors.blogspot.com/ https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by-the-age and http://agecensors.blogspot.com/ ) and a woefully deficient , taxpayer-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the ABC; Australia's equivalent of the UK taxpayer-funded BBC; see “ABC Censorship”: https://sites.google.com/site/abccensorship/home ). Australia is a Murdochracy (Big Money buys public perception and hence votes) and a Lobbyocracy (Big Money buys public perceptions, politicians, parties, polices and votes) and unfortunately I soon encountered many instances of censorship by The Conversation of comments posted by me, the common factor in this ABC Internet censorship being censorship of comments critical of the war crimes of the US Alliance and Apartheid Israel.
I considered it likely that this abuse goes much further than censorship of just one widely published, 5-decade career Australian scientist. I have a resolute mantra “Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity and considered that I would be complicit in such censorship if I remained silent. Accordingly I created a website “Censorship by The Conversation” to systematically record such censorship in the interests of free speech, Australia , Humanity and indeed of The Conversation itself. However, when censorship by The Conversation became unacceptably regular it became more convenient for me, and more useful for a historical record in the public interest, to simply record what comments I had posted and then indicate what the Conversation had censored out, presumably for containing things it does not want its readers to see, know about or think about. However The Conversation evidently responded to this course of action by simply “locking my account” i.e. by preventing me from posting comments (for details and documentation of this egregious Internet Censorship by The Conversation see “Censorship by The Conversation”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by ) .
I responded to this egregious Internet Censorship by variously writing to The Conversation, the ABC, Australian MPs and media e.g. as follows:
Letter #1 : “Dear etc ,
Censorship by the ABC & The Conversation.
The taxpayer-funded ABC and the Australian university-backed and Australian academic-based web magazine The Conversation have both utterly betrayed a fundamental intellectual principle by egregiously censoring informed, scholarly views. As set out in the letter (below) which is being published worldwide and sent to Australian MPs, media and scholars, this unacceptable censorship has serious implications for the standing, public funding and both local and overseas student perception of universities and other institutions backing The Conversation, notably (according to The Conversation) the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Western Australia, RMIT, and CSIRO [the Australia's premier research body, the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization] .
Yours sincerely, Dr Gideon Polya.
Dear etc,
Rational risk management crucial for societal safety successively involves (a) accurate information, (b) scientific analysis (the critical testing of potentially falsifiable hypotheses) and (c), informed systemic change to minimize risk. However this is routinely perverted by (a) censorship, self-censorship, lying, intimidation and obfuscation, (b) anti-science spin involving the selective use of asserted facts to support a partisan position (e.g. re injustice, war and climate change denialism), and (c) blame and shame that inhibits reportage and hence increases risk of adverse events
Censorship, lying by commission and lying by omission subvert rational risk management but are dangerously entrenched in the Western Lobbyocracies in which Big Money buys public perception of reality, politicians, parties, policies and votes (e.g. it cost the Mining Industry a mere $22 million to remove a popularly elected Australian Prime Minister). However taxpayers and MPs must stop censorship by the taxpayer-funded ABC (notably by “Late Night Live”, LNL) and the Australian university-backed and academic-based webzine The Conversation which both censor informed, scholarly opinions.
For details Google “ABC Censorship”, ”LNL censors”, and “Censorship by The Conversation” (from which I have now been blocked from commenting). Why should overseas students attend Australian universities linked to censorship?
Yours sincerely,
Dr Gideon Polya (contact details).
PS “ABC Censorship: https://sites.google.com/site/abccensorship/ ; “LNL censorship”: https://sites.google.com/site/abccensorship/abc-late-night-live-1 ; “Censorship by The Conversation”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by .” End Letter #1.
No action was taken and in the public interest I have again written to Australian MPs and media about this egregious Internet Censorship from within organizations funded by the Australian Government.
Letter #2 : “Dear etc,
Internet censorship by the Australian Government-funded ABC and The Conversation.
Censorship is repugnant because it prevents basic human communication required for democracy and in particular short circuits risk management that is crucial for societal safety and which successively involves (a) accurate information, (b) scientific analysis and (c) informed systemic change to minimize risk.
Yet the taxpayer-funded ABC ( Australia 's equivalent of the UK BBC) has an appalling record of censorship, mal-reportage, lying by omission and lying by commission. The taxpayer-funded ABC program Late Night Live and the taxpayer-, Australian universities- and CSIRO-backed and Australian academic–based web magazine The Conversation have both repeatedly censored my informed, credentialed comments about horrendous, war-related civilian deaths, and when I publicized this censorship both blocked my posting of comments.
To anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish people alike, the fundamental moral imperatives from the WW2 Holocaust (from which only a dozen of my family survived) are “zero tolerance for racism”, ”zero tolerance for lying”, “bear witness” and “never again to anyone”. The censorship of anti-racist Jewish exposure of crimes against humanity is particularly repugnant and will certainly attract international censure against Australia , the Australian Labor Government, the ABC, The Conversation, Australian universities and CSIRO.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Gideon Polya (contact details).
For detailed documentation see “Censorship by The Conversation”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by ; “Censorship by ABC Late Night Live”: https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbyabclatenightlive/ ; “ABC Censorship”: https://sites.google.com/site/abccensorship/ .” End Letter #2.
The silence is deafening.
Conclusions.
Inaction by the Australian Government and major Australian institutions over Internet Censorship by the taxpayer-funded ABC (Australia's equivalent of the BBC) via its Late Night Live (LNL) program and by the taxpayer-, Australian universities- and CSIRO-backed and Australian academic–based web magazine The Conversation means that Australia has joined the ranks of countries involved in “pervasive Internet Censorship” (see Gideon Polya, “Oz censorship. Internet censorship by the Australian Government-funded ABC and The Conversation ”, MWC News, 9 May 2012: http://mwcnews.net/component/content/article/54-gideonpolya/18770-oz-censorship.html ) .
Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity. Decent people must respond to egregious Australian Internet Censorship by (a) informing everyone they can and (b) taking what action they can in relation to those involved.
Thus prospective Australian and Overseas students and researchers should ask themselves why they should have anything to do with key institutional backers of The Conversation (the University of Melbourne , Monash University , the University of Technology Sydney , the University of Western Australia , RMIT and CSIRO) .
Anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish people who accept the fundamental moral imperatives from the WW2 Holocaust of “zero tolerance for racism”, ”zero tolerance for lying”, “bear witness” and “never again to anyone” will protest the censorship of anti-racist Jewish exposure of crimes against humanity in which Australia, the Australian Labor Government, the ABC, The Conversation, Australian universities and CSIRO are variously complicit.
Australian taxpayers should demand why their hard-earned money is being used to subsidize Internet Censorship by The Conversation and the ABC, censorship which is against the interests of Australia and only benefits the racist, genocidal, anti-Arab anti-Semitic , nuclear terrorist rogue states like the US and Apartheid Israel.
Australia is governed Federally by Minority Government opposed by a Liberal Party-National Party Coalition Opposition and headed by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) which has ditched democratic socialism in favor of pro-war, anti-environment, neo-conservatism and has become an Alternative Liberal Party, Another Liberal Party, the Australian Laboral Party, an Apartheid Labor Party, an American-lackey Labor Party, an Apartheid Israel-supporting Labor Party, a consequentially Anti-Australian Labor Party and, terminally, the Australian Lying Party. The pro-war, pro-Zionist, pro-neocon America , pro-coal, pro-gas, anti-environment, climate criminal and war criminal Australian Labor Government has utterly betrayed Australia and in particular decent Labor voters who, in Australia 's compulsory and preferential voting system, will surely vote 1 Green and put Labor last.
Dr Gideon Polya has been teaching science students at a major Australian university for 4 decades. He published some 130 works in a 5 decade scientific career, most recently a huge pharmacological reference text "Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds" (CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, New York & London , 2003). He has published “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” (G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ); see also his contributions “Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality” in “Lies, Deep Fries & Statistics” (edited by Robyn Williams, ABC Books, Sydney, 2007: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s1445960.htm ) and “Ongoing Palestinian Genocide” in “The Plight of the Palestinians (edited by William Cook, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2010: http://mwcnews.net/focus/analysis/4047-the-plight-of-the-palestinians.html ). He has published a revised and updated 2008 version of his 1998 book “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History” (see: http://janeaustenand.blogspot.com/ ) as biofuel-, globalization- and climate-driven global food price increases threaten a greater famine catastrophe than the man-made famine in British-ruled India that killed 6-7 million Indians in the “forgotten” World War 2 Bengal Famine (see recent BBC broadcast involving Dr Polya, Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen and others: http://www.open2.net/thingsweforgot/ bengalfamine_programme.html ). When words fail one can say it in pictures - for images of Gideon Polya's huge paintings for the Planet, Peace, Mother and Child see: http://sites.google.com/site/artforpeaceplanetmotherchild/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/gideonpolya/ .
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