Colin Long

unionist, earthworker

[Colin Long @clong8]

@elonmusk Musk once again proving that being rich doesn’t make you intelligent or knowledgeable. Clearly doesn’t understand the fiscal system or basic economics.

[Guardian Australia @GuardianAus]

As the Coalition goes nuclear, Labor is free to ensure fossil fuels are burned with abandon and little scrutiny | Greg Jericho https://t.co/liypoCWwYj

[Robert Horvath @RG_Horvath]

When Putinism lies in ruins, Russians will remember the fearless moral clarity of this prison letter from Darya Kozyreva, a medical student first expelled from university and then arrested for her antiwar actions.

'Russia is wrapped in a heavy, impenetrable cocoon, a cocoon of silence. How many crimes the Putin dictatorship has committed, how many foreign cities it has seized and devastated, how many killings and tortures it has meted out, and the response to all these outrages is a deafening silence.

Many prefer not to know what is happening, to close their eyes and stop listening. Many deceive themselves, wishing to be deceived - after all it is so easy to believe blindly what the television says, even if it is broadcasting the most monstrous lies.

But many know perfectly well what this vile regime is doing. They endure the burden of their dissent, their outrage, their anger. And all the same, they are silent.

Just as any crime is committed with somebody's tacit consent, so any dictatorship is maintained thanks to the people's silence. A colossus with feet of clay will be worthless if all the dissenters speak out.

But they are silent.

One person thinks that everything has been decided, and that there is no reason for them, a minor figure, to get mixed up in this. Another hopes that others will say everything - but those others also find excuses to remain silent.

The real reason for this silence is human fear, visceral fear. No dictatorship can make everyone believe in it - therefore it constantly resorts to fear, its first and last instrument for subjugating the people.

Germans in the era of Hitler obediently shouted 'Heil,' understanding the consequences of disobedience; Soviet people in the era of Stalin were afraid to whisper in their own kitchens for fear of being denounced. The steamroller of repression doesn't need to crush every dissenter, just a few demonstrative examples, and the rest will gag their own mouths.

The absurdity of Putinist repression has reached such heights that any trifle can become a pretext for persecution - and no one knows what one can say. The criminal in the Kremlin is satisfied; that's exactly what he needs. As long as everyone is silent, his own skin will be safe.

That is precisely why one cannot stay silent. No, human fear is understandable: it is very difficult to risk one's position, one's future, one's freedom. To say nothing of the fact that many have families - for these people, the fear is doubled. But will it be easier for these families to live under a dictatorship, under tightening screws, behind an iron curtain?

A dictatorship can continue to wreak its atrocities, its lawlessness, as long as it feels strength and power. Nothing will change as long as everyone remains submissively silent.

So perhaps the time has come to start speaking?

Everyone who can speak, must speak. The individuals who dared to speak up are now too few to move anything. Everyone must speak, who does not agree with the Moscow regime. Individuals can easily be put behind bars for their words, because they are individuals. But there are not enough prisons for everyone, for all the dissenters in Russia. Even if the regime builds just as many especially for them.

When, having overcome fear, everyone begins to speak out, it will time for Putin's gang to be afraid.

No evil lasts for ever, any dictatorship will inevitably collapse. It can collapse of its own weight, like the USSR, or thanks to the uprising of the people.

Don't let this dictatorship live any longer than it can. Speak out, people!

[Colin Long @clong8]

@JonesHowdareyou There is only 1 thing that Dutton gets right - a decarbonised electricity system has to be publicly owned. Nuclear is nonsense, but the market & private investors are not delivering & cannot deliver a 100% renewable energy system. #nuclearscam #auspol

[Renew Economy @renew_economy]

#Nuclear costs for large or small reactors would need to be reduced by two thirds for nuclear power to compete with firmed renewables. There is no reasonable expectation that this could or would ever occur https://t.co/wpeyBqMtrG

[Australian Conservation Foundation @AusConservation]

Let’s make one thing clear: nuclear isn’t right for Australia.

@PeterDutton_MP's #nuclear proposal isn’t just fanciful, it’s irresponsible.

Nuclear energy is dirty, and dangerous, and poses significant community, environmental and health risks.

#auspol

[Colin Long @clong8]

@PeterDutton_MP And here’s my concept plan for a unicorn.

[Luke Hilakari @lhilakari]

We do not support nuclear plants in our communities.

It is the most expensive form of energy, takes the longest time to build and there is no solution to remediate nuclear waste.

Join us in saying NO to nuclear energy and NO to Peter Dutton.

#auspol

[James Raynes @jimmyraynes]

There is no safe place for nuclear waste.

[Friends of the Earth @FoEAustralia]

Today the federal gov officially declared the Illawarra offshore wind zone 20 km off the coast of Wollongong in NSW.

Friends of the Earth welcomes the announcement, saying it's good news for action on climate change and job creation.

https://t.co/uMjkpykfQO

[Colin Long @clong8]

@ubi_works @PaulHBeckwith But aren’t we trying to stop pollution? Why fund a good thing from a bad thing you are trying to stop? If you’re successful in stopping the bad thing, then the good thing also stops.

[The AMWU @theamwu]

Australia, we can 🤝

[Colin Long @clong8]

This proposal could threaten the miracle Amazon Reef. We can’t let it go ahead - and here’s how we stop it: https://t.co/hJ6YN7JomK

[LabourStart @labourstart]

CANADA: 'Decades-long fight': MPs unanimously pass 'anti-scab' legislation https://t.co/SfB63XkOix

[Colin Long @clong8]

Join me in supporting the Australia must support ICC Campaign https://t.co/AtuSiE7tmd

[Colin Long @clong8]

@alwayscallj @FOXFOOTY That is absolute nonsense. What instruction was given? Keep trying mate. Officiousness and bad umpiring wrecks games every week of the season.

[Colin Long @clong8]

@alwayscallj @FOXFOOTY There was no hindrance to the umpire. If you want to take that literally, then every time a player gets up from contact with the ball, leaving it on the ground, has to be interpreted in the same way. I can’t wait for a grand final to be decided by such rubbish.

[Colin Long @clong8]

@alwayscallj @FOXFOOTY He had blown time off. The ball came almost immediately to him from Daicos. There was no delay. The ball was not thrown away. Players leave the ball on the ground all the time and make the umpire get it, which causes more delay. That would happen 20 times a game.

[Colin Long @clong8]

@alwayscallj @FOXFOOTY And you really think that rule was made for this situation? The ball was immediately provided by Daicos but anyway no time was being lost because he had blown time off. He was looking to give Freo a score and he found a way to do it. He made up a rule.