Doctors chained together to protest about coal mine

[wayno]

Three doctors and a medical student have been arrested after locking themselves together as part of a NSW coal mine blockade, protesters claim.

A group of 13 medical professionals and students - dubbed Medics Against Coal - spent more than four hours chained together at the Maules Creek Mine site yesterday.

Protesters oppose clearing part of the Leard State Forest to make way for the new A$767 million ($820 million) mine, near Boggabri in the state's northwest. Medical professionals from around the country joined the action to highlight the mine's health risks but their protest was short-lived.

First-year medical intern Harry Jennens and Armidale doctor Sujata Allan, Adelaide doctor Ingo Weber and Melbourne student Lin Wang locked themselves together by putting their arms in connected pipes.

The group's spokesman, Ben Solity, said once police arrived, they voluntarily unlocked themselves as they had achieved their objective to highlight the health impacts of coal to the world.

Jennens earlier said the urgent health impacts of climate change had compelled them to take action.

- AAP

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/ar ... d=11249094

[creeping_moses]

I happen to know Harry quite well and meet Ingo at a conference earlier this year. Both great doctors passionate about our worlds future health. I admire their courage. Everyone at this protest is highly involved in Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) which informs most actions like this via its scientific committee. As an aside many other student and doctor members took their own action on the Friday just gone by divesting from the major banks which back coal developments.

[geoskid]

Why Is it that I fume at the title of this thread?..... I ask myself?

Being a Doctor means nothing in itself. I would like a Doctor of anything (one would do, but more would be better) to chime in and just acknowledge this one point.

[Strider]

Acting under the pseudonym "Medics Against Coal", I am guessing they wished they profession to be acknowledged in this protest.

[geoskid]

Acting under the pseudonym "Medics Against Coal", I am guessing they wished they profession to be acknowledged in this protest.

Ah , Strider, I know from experience that you are better than this .
That they are doctors is not relevant. I can elaborate but will save it until needed.
The point is, if what they are saying is true, it is true regardless of whether they are doctors or not.

The reason why it is important that people distinguish between the content of what people say, and the title of who said it, is because of our knowledge of history ( an example would be Dr Andrew Wakefield).

If what these guys are saying has merit, it has nothing to do with the fact that they are Doctors. That is the point of my post.
The title could be "People chained together to protest about coal mine". That they are Doctors does not necessarily add anything.
Am I pissing into the wind?

[Strider]

I agree with you, but think you may be missing my point.

Who said it is meaningless, but by giving themselves a topical title which happened to include their profession, what other logic might there be to this title?

[Empty]

If what these guys are saying has merit, it has nothing to do with the fact that they are Doctors. That is the point of my post.
The title could be "People chained together to protest about coal mine". That they are Doctors does not necessarily add anything.
Am I pissing into the wind?

[/quote]

Yes Geoskid

I think you may indeed get a spray of urine and a further dousing with a pail of semantics. Your point "The reason why it is important that people distinguish between the content of what people say, and the title of who said it, is because of our knowledge of history ( an example would be Dr Andrew Wakefield)." is a good one but I would say out of context in this case.

This is a story about doctors protesting about the health effects of coal. Why wouldn't mentioning the fact that they are doctors be relevant?

[geoskid]

what other logic might there be to this title?

That's a good question, and I look forward to your answer.

[geoskid]

If what these guys are saying has merit, it has nothing to do with the fact that they are Doctors. That is the point of my post.
The title could be "People chained together to protest about coal mine". That they are Doctors does not necessarily add anything.
Am I pissing into the wind?

Yes Geoskid

I think you may indeed get a spray of urine and a further dousing with a pail of semantics. Your point "The reason why it is important that people distinguish between the content of what people say, and the title of who said it, is because of our knowledge of history ( an example would be Dr Andrew Wakefield)." is a good one but I would say out of context in this case.

This is a story about doctors protesting about the health effects of coal. Why wouldn't mentioning the fact that they are doctors be relevant?

Not so fast Empty . I don't want to get drawn too far from my only point, and that was my objection to the title where 'Doctor' is not relevant, but is used to give weight to whatever follows. It's called gaming the masses, and I'm against it.

I'm for educating the masses so that they will see the title is gaming them, that the title of the person that says something is secondary to the substanceof what they say.

Besides which, too many people approach these questions as if they are questions of the type that have a correct/ incorrect answer. They don't. It is a question of judgement ( the hardest, most complicated type) that have answers arrived at by as many circuitous routes as there are people.

[Nuts]

I get your point. Not the best reporting? On topic here, are the doctors concerned about specific health issues in mining and using coal? The health implications of global warming? The other issues are important to them though is the protest 'specific'?

I seem to remember seeing some footage of the initial protests (last year) and all sorts of people were chaining themselves to stuff Perhaps a better news grab style account of the protest for the forest itself (and who is protesting, and the local issues)

Last edited by Nuts on Sun 04 May, 2014 9:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Nuts]

} :

http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/ ... te-Forest/

[geoskid]

I get your point. Not the best reporting?

If you think that is my point, you don't get my point.
The point I was trying to make, to me ,was more important than the fact that people dig coal out of the ground and burn it.
It was more important than some (medical?) doctors childishly chaining themselves to (what - didn't get that far) something.
That burning coal is harmful to our environment is not news.
The challenge now is changing the political environment , which involves changing who and what the masses vote for , which involves changing what the masses think is important, which involves.... never mind.

"Doctors chained together to protest about coal mine" - In my Mrs Brown voice - Thats Niiice.

I'm out - for now.

[Nuts]

No, I mean I get the point- of the acceptance of social hierachy in media, 'us'. If this is your point? Good point.

I was just trying to glean from that article what manner of protest the doctors had, not that it will matter to a wider discussion of the human condition but I (personally) was more interested in the content. 'Not the best reporting?' could have been also in agreement with your point though should probably have been a fresh paragraph. Over

maybe Wayno could tell us what he would like to say about the article he quoted?

[Nuts]

..As if you read it this way: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... ne-project
Indeed it does seem as much like this was a group of doctors protesting on behalf local area health concerns.

Last edited by Nuts on Sun 04 May, 2014 10:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[geoskid]

Change of mind, I feel the need to add something.

Further to my objection to the use of the word 'Doctor' , except where the use of the word is relevant.

Feel free to chime in Doctors, but it means no more (in simple terms ) than reaching a specified level of academic achievement in a specific field. ( feel free to modify that definition).
Importantly - being a Doctor says nothing necessarilyat all about the person. The public at large may not necessarily agree with this.
It is quite possible that Doctors ,Journalists, and any other activist for that matter , in their capacity as ordinary people, can actually hinder the causes they act for.
Why? Because they hav'nt peeled the onion back far enough. - and they won't teach you that in med school. Big call.

Read this.
On Activism.

'Change of Heart'
What Psychology Can Teach Us About Spreading Social Change'
By Nick Cooney

[icefest]

My 2c.

Dr Med. and Dr of philosophy (PhD) are often undifferentiated in the media. This often leads to people being quoted about issues unrelated to their field of knowledge.

In this case, the people protesting were medical doctors in various stages of training. IIRC, there were protesting both about the health effects of burning the coal and the dust that will be released by the transport thereof, but also about the effects of burning the coal. Climate change it expected to have a negative effect on human health.

For Australia that means greater spread of tropical diseases and greater morbidity due to heat stress.

In all, I think this use of 'doctor'in the title is legitimate, but could have benefited from a clarification in the initial paragraph.

[wayno]

well the article just begs more questions, is it about the coal or saving the forest or both?
if nothing else, it's a heads up that forest may be going to get deforested to a significant extent...
i'm not familiar with it as to how large or small the forest is or how significant it might be to bush walkers...

[GPSGuided]

Just read the news report on face value and it's not worthy of an analytical dissertation.