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His assertion that buying my children Christmas presents will be killing rhinos? Please. He ticks off a bunch of unrelated bad things that happen in the world a

His assertion that buying my children Christmas presents will be killing rhinos? Please. He ticks off a bunch of unrelated bad things that happen in the world as a result of consumption. He lists a bunch of stupid presents some people buy. And then he makes the illogical leap that if you give gifts you are guilty by association, trying to tarnish Christmas as it goes. This is almost perfect Guardian hard left sanctimoniousness. Do you not have a cell phone because they are evil? I just upgraded to a nice new iPhone 5. I won't be disposing of it for many years. I wasn't aware that people tended to. This shouldn't really be a HN story, as it is fundamentally political.

milfot 14y ago
Fucking everything is political! I am sure HNers have no problem discussing politics where it directly effected them - that's news. But where it effects others 'that's just politics'. This is relevant because it is related to your / our actions. It is relevant because these 'bad' things are actually related. There was a time when we in the western world could claim ignorance. And the reason he gets under your nose is he is a self described polemicist.
- cschmidt 14y ago
  > Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, ... unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Yes, he's a political polemicist, hence shouldn't be on HN. I wouldn't want to see a Fox News columnist on here either. (I don't like extreme politics of any shade. Yes, he is extreme, even if you agree with him.) A serious discussion of how tantalum's use in electronics is damaging to the people of Congo would be appropriate, this is not.
  - milfot 14y ago
    That's cool.. i get your point here. That is one thing I like about monbiot, he references his work. I check his facts. Not all polemicists are the same. I have never seen a fox 'journalist' reference facts.
    - tjmc 14y ago
      When a polemicist references another polemicist does that count as facts? I watched the "Story of Stuff" referenced in his article in a class this semester. At one point the claim was made that Chinese peasants are being “forced” into cities and leaving a lifestyle “that has sustained them for generations”. That’s not even a remotely balanced take on the situation. Urbanization in China has lifted millions of people out of grinding poverty.

milfot 14y ago

Fucking everything is political! I am sure HNers have no problem discussing politics where it directly effected them - that's news. But where it effects others 'that's just politics'. This is relevant because it is related to your / our actions. It is relevant because these 'bad' things are actually related. There was a time when we in the western world could claim ignorance. And the reason he gets under your nose is he is a self described polemicist.

cschmidt 14y ago
> Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, ... unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Yes, he's a political polemicist, hence shouldn't be on HN. I wouldn't want to see a Fox News columnist on here either. (I don't like extreme politics of any shade. Yes, he is extreme, even if you agree with him.) A serious discussion of how tantalum's use in electronics is damaging to the people of Congo would be appropriate, this is not.
- milfot 14y ago
  That's cool.. i get your point here. That is one thing I like about monbiot, he references his work. I check his facts. Not all polemicists are the same. I have never seen a fox 'journalist' reference facts.
  - tjmc 14y ago
    When a polemicist references another polemicist does that count as facts? I watched the "Story of Stuff" referenced in his article in a class this semester. At one point the claim was made that Chinese peasants are being “forced” into cities and leaving a lifestyle “that has sustained them for generations”. That’s not even a remotely balanced take on the situation. Urbanization in China has lifted millions of people out of grinding poverty.