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“Peace, love, and ice cream”

I feel sorry for George Christensen. Having so many people to hate can be really wearing.

He really hates environmentalists who he describes as “gutless green grubs”, declaring in parliament that “the greatest terrorism threat in North Queensland, I’m sad to say, comes from the extreme green movement.”

George really hates groups like Greenpeace and GetUp!

“The eco-terrorists butchered the international tourism market for our greatest tourism attraction, not for the reef but for political ideology,” he said.

It takes a special kind of cognitive dissonance to ignore coral bleaching and blame a campaign to stop coal mining for a drop in tourism.

As soon as Tony Abbott’s government was sworn in, they announced their intention to make conservation groups seeking boycotts of products linked to alleged poor environmental practices liable for prosecution under consumer law.

Parliamentary secretary for agriculture Richard Colbeck told The Australian the move would prevent green groups from holding companies to ransom in their markets.

“We’ll be looking at the way some of the environmental groups work because we are very concerned about some of the activities they conduct in the markets,” Senator Colbeck said. “They have exemptions for secondary boycott activities under the Consumer and Competition Act. We are going to have a complete review of the act.”

Section 45D of the act prohibits “Secondary boycotts for the purpose of causing substantial loss or damage” but exempts people if their actions are “substantially related to environmental or consumer protection”.

George was very vocal about stopping any boycott campaigns so imagine my surprise (on more than one level) to find him calling for a boycott of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Their crime?

The company is supporting a series of events next week in capital cities across the country called ‘Scoop Ice Cream Not Coal’. The company is getting behind a ‘Stop Adani roadshow’ in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, giving out free ice cream as opponents of the mine hold public rallies.

This wasn’t the first time – the Newman government called for a boycott and referred the ice cream company to the ACCC over their “Fight for the Reef Scoop Tour” in 2014.

In response to this ecoterrorism, George posted on his facebook page

“The US-based Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company are continuing their fight against local jobs by opposing the Carmichael mine and Abbot Point coal terminal expansion.
If you want local jobs and prosperity, boycott Ben & Jerry’s. Get a good Aussie-owned and made ice cream like Bulla instead.”

This brings us to George’s next dilemma.

One thing George really hates is halal certified food. Bulla ice cream is halal certified and that would definitely not please his special friend, Kirralie Smith, champion of the boycott halal campaign, for whom George donated his time (or is that our time) to speak at an event raising funds to fund her defence in a defamation case brought by an halal certifier whom she accused of funding terrorism.

Ben & Jerry’s are also vocal advocates and active supporters of marriage equality and we all know how much George hates that.

Free speech, boycotts yes/no/sometimes, socialists, ecoterrorists, Muslims, gays….and now ice cream? It’s a hard life hating all the time George.

Perhaps you should take a fresh look at the world through the eyes of Ben & Jerry.

“Peace, love, and ice cream”

33 comments

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  1. Maeve Carney

    Environmentalists can hardly be described as ‘gutless’. They are among the very brave, they know the stakes and are constantly fighting for the very survival of the human race. We should all rise up and join the fight in a very loud and forceful way.

  2. townsvilleblog

    George Christensen/ Bob Katter/Warren Ensech our federal politicians give North Queensland a bad name, people think we are all like these people which is far from the truth. Why the slight majority elect these drongos I will never know, but at least we in Townsville electorate of Herbert elected a Labor lady Cathy O’Toole last election, the balance of N.Q. though are extremely conservative as they have roots in agriculture.

  3. townsvilleblog

    Maeve, I agree environmentalists are brave people as they operate in the oppositions territory, which is mainly agriculture and breaking into the trust of a conservative is very difficult, even though you are really trying to help them, they don’t necessarily see it that way.

  4. Jaquix

    Actually people who love to hate – dont find it wearing at all – in fact they get energised by it!

  5. Keitha Granville

    One day in thenot too distant future as the last tree is felled and the planet is poisoned by toxic waste and not enough oxygen, GC et all will be crying on the bare earth with thie rpockets full of useless money. Like the mythical unicorn who played while Noah built the ark and was too late to be saved, it wil lbe too late to save the planet.
    I am proud to be a Greenie and would be out there on the barricades if I was young and fit and healthy. They have more guts, more determination and more love for this country AND the planet than most of our pollies put together.

  6. townsvilleblog

    Does anyone know whether George is married?

  7. Zathras

    I’m one of those who don’t feel sorry for George and don’t want him to change his beliefs.
    I prefer to think of him drowning in his own hateful bile and living a miserable, haunted existence.

    Meanwhile somebody should tell George that tap water is Halal and we can watch him dry up and blow away.

  8. diannaart

    George Christensen is an adult male (I think, stand to be corrected). He makes his choices, therefore feeling sorrow, pity or even compassion is a lost cause from me to him.

    His effluent spray of insults spewing dreck to others, intolerance to others’ freedom of speech and POV (which makes any reasonable Christian cringe and consider atheism) means his will be a short time in the LNP – the use-by date for the LNP is fast approaching if it continues this unworkable, hostile and devoid of reality trail of stupid they continue to drag themselves along.

    I feel no sorrow for any of these dregs of humanity, partly because I know they would never show the likes of me any consideration, but also because they have (the Trumps, Bernardis, Abbotts et al) wilfully exercise their ‘freedom of choice’ to be the noisome excrement that will find its place as a warning of the banal.

  9. Kaye Lee

    Has George broken the law?

    Under s 45D acting “in concert” involves knowing conduct that is the result of communication between the parties and not simply simultaneous actions occurring spontaneously

    I think his facebook post is evidence of communication and he certainly wasn’t doing it to protect the environment or the safety of consumers.

    Section 82 of the CCA makes provision for the recovery of damages as a result of boycott conduct.

    And I don’t really feel sorry for him. He is out to milk the public teat for all it is worth and everything he does is with his own job in mind. George was in his mid 20s when he was elected to local government in 2004.

    He lives in an echo chamber blocking anyone who points out his lies and hypocrisy or even those who have other ideas. He needs total agreement and he belittles or blocks those who don’t give it.

    I find the idea of him making decisions that affect the life of me and my family, or anyone else for that matter, utterly galling.

  10. Alan Baird

    You could NEVER accuse George of being gutless. His precedes him by an indecent margin. He’d need a mirror to micturate. Obscene. Sad. Sorry. I just typed that accidentally. Yours in 18c.

  11. wam

    Kietha, that’s where you will find the women of the modern diludbransims.

    Only some icecream is halal:
    The online muslim community
    Muslim Suitability:
    Magnum Classic – Not suitable
    Magnum White – Not suitable
    Magnum Almond – Not suitable
    Magnum Ecuador – Not suitable
    Magnum Colombia – Not suitable
    Mint Magnum -Yes
    Magnum Double Chocolate – Not suitable
    Magnum Double Caramel -Not Suitable
    Magnum Caramel and Nuts -Not Suitable

    Solero Exotic -Not Suitable
    Solero Smootie Strawberry -Not Suitable
    Solero Smootie Blackberry -Yes

    Frusi Exotic/Raspberry -Yes
    Frusi Fruits of forest -Yes
    Frusi Pineapple/Raspberry -Yes
    120ml Cups Vanilla – Not suitable
    120ml Cups Strawberry -Yes
    120ml Cups Chocolate -Yes
    120ml Cups Mint -Yes
    Cornetto Classico 125ml – Not Suitable
    Cornetto Choco Disc 125ml -Yes
    Cornetto Mint -Yes
    Cornetto Classico 90ml -Yes
    Cornetto Strawberry 90ml -Yes
    Cornetto Mint 90ml -Yes
    Cornetto Chocolate 90ml -Yes
    Calippo Straw Tropical -Not Suitable
    Calippo Orange 150ml -Yes
    Chunky Choc Ice -Yes
    Milk Time Strawberry Pot -Not Suitable
    Milk Time Biscuit Stick -Not Suitable
    Mini Milk Strawberry -Not Suitable
    Mini Mlik Vanilla -Not Suitable
    Mini Milk Chocolate -Not Suitable
    Milk Time Strawberry -Not Suitable
    Frutie -Yes
    Strawberry Split -Not Suitable
    Simpson’s Sour Fizz -Not Suitable
    Lemonade Sparkles -Not Suitable
    Twister -Not Suitable
    Chocolate Feast -Not Suitable
    Viennetta Mint -Not Suitable
    Viennetta Vannila -Yes
    Cream of Cornish -Yes
    Vanilla Soft Scoop -Yes
    Vanilla Soft Scoop Light -Yes
    Mini Choc Chip -Yes
    Raspberry Ripple -Not suitable
    Neapolitan -Not suitable
    Chocolate -Yes
    CDO Spagnola -Not Suitable
    CDO Lavazza -Not Suitable
    CDO Greek Yoghurt & Honey -Yes
    CDO Strawberry & Yoghurt Delice -Not Suitable
    CDO Triple Chocolate -Yes
    CDO Crema di Mascarpone -Not Suitable
    CDO Vanilla -Not Suitable
    CDO Vanilla Light -Not Suitable
    ‘Please note that they have confirmed that the flavours and essences they use are alcohol based and trace amounts are present in the final product, you need to clarify this point with your Aalim.’

  12. Matters Not

    George will be in the news tomorrow – a cyclone (named Debbie) is about to hit and bring destructiont. Plenty of opportunities to be out and about and be seen to be of assistance in the face of adversity.

    For those familiar with the towns under threat and a broad ‘history’, the headline might be: DEBBIE DOES DAL – beg

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalbeg,_Queensland

  13. silkworm

    I have never been able to figure out what “diludbransims” means, so I googled it just then and it turns out that it is a term used exclusively by wam. So wam, would you do me the courtesy of telling me what it means?

  14. Miriam English

    I have to think being called “gutless” by that walking gut Christensen is almost a compliment.

  15. Miriam English

    silkworm, don’t worry about it, wam just uses it as a pointlessly insulting name basically for anybody who isn’t a die-hard Laborite.

  16. Johno

    How many jobs has Malcolm Boring Roberts created in FNQ.

  17. corvus boreus

    silkworm,
    ‘Diludbransims’ is a wamism concocted from an amalgam of DiNatale, Ludlum, Brandt and Simm.
    Wam has this fixated notion that these males from amongst the federally elected greens are actively engaged in a misogynistic (possibly Catholic) conspiracy to keep the female green parliamentarians back in the kitchen making sandwiches.

  18. corvus boreus

    Personally, I think Bulla Ice cream should sue George Christenson (or at least issue a cease and desist notice) for the negative publicity and associations generated by such a thoroughly repulsive individual endorsing their products.

  19. Miriam English

    Oh… wam is a Green? I’m surprised. I confess I’d stopped reading her posts because I so often couldn’t work out what she was talking about. :/

  20. Kyran

    In the category of ‘You can’t make this stuff up’, we now have the prospect of Georgie inciting boycott’s (didn’t he previously offer an inducement to vote? Does he, therefore, have form?) and appalling being accused of blackmail.
    How much sugar is there in ice cream, anyway? Must be a lot!
    Wilmar, a Singaporean government owned enterprise (we don’t have any of them anymore) has been upsetting the market, and politicians, for a while now.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-27/queensland-sugar-marketing-explainer-impact-on-national-party/8307794

    It’s ok though. Appalling to the rescue. In her most selfless act to date, she is ‘going on strike’. With any luck, this means we will not hear her shrill, banshee like, wail for a while. I’m unsure of the legalities of going on strike. I thought you needed permission first. Ah well, she’s a politician. They have never had the same rules as the rest of us.

    “”I’ve made a stance that myself and One Nation senators will not be supporting any Government legislation or any legislation before Parliament until the Wilmar dispute is sorted between the cane growers and Wilmar,” she said.”

    Needless to say, she didn’t consult anyone familiar with the English language before speaking. Nothing new there.

    “Senator Hanson wants the Federal Government to intervene to help growers have more of a say in the marketing and sale of their crop.
    “I believe that they need to actually have a code of conduct, a mandatory code of conduct,” she said.”

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-27/one-nation-strike-to-derail-government-agenda/8388258

    So, she want’s more regulation to enable our farmers chose between a ‘home grown’ and a ‘foreign owned’ retailer. And she and her ilk will be on strike until that occurs. At the risk of sounding meddlesome, the halal certification process may be just what the doctor ordered.

    Whilst Georgie may support her right to free speech (as it will never be used to defend the environment), he will never defend her right to strike. Surely?
    Thank you Ms Lee and commenters. Take care. Pass the popcorn, please.

  21. silkworm

    Adam Brandt? His name is Bandt!

  22. guest

    The problem with politicians in political parties is that they are supposed to toe the party line. So with George C.

    So also with the propaganda machine. Greg Sheridan in the WE Australian (23/3/17) continues to espouse the need for the Adani mine. The talk is about electricity supply and security, money and jobs. And it looks as if the ALP in Qld has the same myopic vision.

    What is ignored is the considerable body of analysis which tells us that the Adani mine is not viable – for all kinds of reasons.

    Yet we have had the spectacle of Parliamentarians passing around a lump of coal as if it was some sacred object. There is talk of resurrecting the Morewell mine, even though it is the French interests which are shutting it down. and we have these thought bubbles about hydro power or even nuclear some time in the future.

    Meanwhile private companies are gouging the populace with ever-increasing, unjustified increases in energy prices.

    It is very annoying to see the “agile and innovative” Coalition sitting on their conservative, collective backside with no real idea about what to do with renewables.

    On tv I frequently see masses of wind turbines in other countries, and other renewable technologies for generating power – and some of it here in Oz ready to go more and more, but hindered by a brainless, ideological constipation of ideas from the coal-ition.

  23. Miriam English

    A bit of good news:

    All around the world countries are pulling the plug on coal and because of that it is starting to look like we might be able to stop runaway greenhouse changes after all.
    http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/23/1646366/-Global-goals-on-climate-change-may-be-attainable-after-all-due-to-rapid-collapse-of-coal

    New coal power dropped by 60% last year. No new coal plants are planned for USA now. Scotland has gone coal-free. Work has been stopped on more than 100 new coal sites in China and India, and in China work has stopped on more than a 100 new coal-fired projects. Beijing city has permanently closed all its coal-fired power plants. China passed peak coal consumption in 2013 and it has been falling ever since.

    Now we just need to kill off that abomination, the Adani mine. And we need to stop gas fracking.

  24. Matters Not

    Beijing has pollution problems. But at least they are doing something about it.

    The closure of Beijing’s last big coal-fired power station, which had dominated the skyline of the city’s outskirts for 18 years, has been welcomed by environmental groups, who hope China will maintain momentum on its ambitious clean energy targets. The Huaneng Beijing Thermal Power Plant shut its coal-fired power generator on Saturday. The move was trumpeted in state media as making Beijing the first coal-free city for electricity and heating in China.

    Yes, ambitious clean energy targets .

    Three other coal power stations had already been replaced with natural gas.

    Huaneng said the shutdown of the generator, which had an installed capacity of 845,000 kilowatts and a heating capacity of 26 million square metres, would cut coal consumption by 1.6 million tonnes a year. Beijing has committed to reducing coal use by 11.8 million tonnes by the end of 2017, compared to 2012 levels. It will reach 70 per cent of the target after the latest closure.

    Another Long March? China goes forward. Australia goes backward. Our plan is to send money to the Cayman Islands and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

    http://www.smh.com.au/world/beijing-closes-last-big-coalfired-power-station-in-push-for-clean-energy-20170320-gv20hx.html

  25. Johno

    Miriam
    Yes, this is good news. Let’s hope this is going to continue exponentially.

  26. Kaye Lee

    As we go backwards…..

    India’s new draft National Electricity Plan for the two five year periods to 2027 unambiguously concludes that beyond the half-built plants already under construction, India does not require any new coal-fired power stations.

    India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) released in September 2015 and submitted for the Paris COP21 Climate Agreement aimed to achieve about 40% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030.

    The new draft National Electricity Plan calls for 57% of India’s total electricity capacity to come from non-fossil fuels (372GW of the 650GW total) by 2027, indicating a 42% uplift three years ahead of a schedule set only 12 months ago.

  27. Matters Not

    Adani isn’t in the ‘coal’ business. Rather, it’s in the business of getting ‘government subsidies’ which they can quickly ‘disappear’ into the Caymans And they’re rather good at it.

    It matters not wether such subsidies come from the States nor the Feds and they openly milk the so-called ‘political divide’. The ‘white trash’ of Asia are so very, very easy – particularly when it comes to being fleeced.

    Then there’s the refugee deal with Cambod .. Never mind. Only $55 million.

  28. Matters Not

    Adani will always respect you in the morning!

    Tell me again – your name? There’s been so many!

    While some are into ‘notches’, we have a preferences for ‘holes in the ground’. Or something like that. Look at the historical record.

  29. Miriam English

    Adani would probably have nothing to exploit if our politicians weren’t so corrupt and/or gullible.
    I’m truly surprised at and disappointed in the QLD Labor government.

  30. Matters Not

    There’s whether, weather and then there’s a castrated sheep. Used the wrong one above.

  31. diannaart

    Miriam – I share your disappointment.

    I guess, when selecting the lesser of 2 evils, we have to expect a little evil. However, I remain perplexed why a Labor government would not be 100% into promoting and maintaining its natural environment; properly managed eco-tourism is a long term employment and revenue prospect.

    …and what part of global discontinued use of coal do our pollies not get?

    Australia will be left behind holding its lump of coal.

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