The www.mineyourownbusiness.org site was down but I saw the trailer on 
the www.thempi.org site. There is undoubtedly some truth in it, judging 
by the trailer; I have never trusted the ecopoliticians like Greenpeace 
(NOT environmentalists, Gordon!), which is specifically named, any more 
than I trust other politicians. However, even in the trailer, there were 
serious signs of vested interests which were confirmed when I learnt 
that the film was financed by a Canadian mining conglomerate. Also, on 
the same page, there was an obvious right-wing appraisal of the film in 
a Fox News reportage on the film.

I can hardly believe this is "the first documentary to ask hard
questions of the environmental movement" (please read "ecopolitical 
movement"). For example, I seem to remember a tough documentary 
lambasting Greenpeace activities leading up to French Government 
terrorism in the "Rainbow Warrior" affair in NZ and I'm sure there are 
others on whaling and other issues. There was a short made for a Swiss 
TV magazine about the events leading up to the severe physical attack of 
a Valaisan politician who was proposing three flow-run hydroelectric 
stations on the Rhône, by the WWF, if I remember correctly.

These ecopolitical NGOs do cause much harm with their extremist 
activities; that is undeniable and is the reason I have never supported 
any of them (except WWF in their very early days, when their mission was 
to help nature by practical means, before they started to engage in 
political activities. I stopped my subscription even long before the 
Duke of Edinburgh withdrew his patronage for the same reason!). On the 
other hand, they have been useful in whistle-blowing on some matters 
that deserved public attention. Nor have I associated myself with any 
right-wing anti-everything NGOs! In fact, I'm anti-extremists of any 
colour. There is no room for politicians in these matters and I dislike 
political or commercial propaganda, such as this film would appear to 
be, judging from the trailer.

Brian

Davy, Gordon wrote:
> A colleague whom I respect has just emailed me an invitation to
> screenings next week in Washington DC of a film Mine Your Own Business.
> The first screening will be with the House Natural Resources Committee. 
> 
> I have not seen the film, but according to the invitation, Mine Your Own
> Business looks at the negative impacts of environmentalism. It presents
> the views of some of the world's poorest people, who openly discuss how
> western environmentalists are campaigning to keep them in poverty,
> because they want to "preserve" poor countries' "quaint" and
> "indigenous" way of life. It is the first documentary to ask hard
> questions of the environmental movement. (It isn't difficult to detect
> elitism in environmental activists.)
> 
> To view the trailer and for more information on the film and the Moving
> Picture Institute, which produced it, visit: www.mineyourownbusiness.org
> <http://www.mineyourownbusiness.org/>   or www.thempi.org
> <http://www.thempi.org/> . Reservations are requested for each
> screening.
> 
> 
> 
> Gordon Davy 
>