And you did tear strips off me last week for failing to quite utterly and completely condemn Israel while I have published about their ‘ruthless blockade’ and conduct of ‘an open air prison’ like a latter day ‘Warsaw Ghetto’.

No these were not strong enough critique for you. But you have your platform on Truman’s site and you write very well, much better sub editing than my earnest attempts.

As to ALP Qld federal MP Bidwell this was not a flattering comparison: He made some very goosey comments about biblical “end of days” broadcast on the mainstream tv media in early December after daring to act like a citizen journo with pics of the Aminov stateless people in Canberra, cramping the style of said big media.

So I assume Truman in ‘true’ form ran tattle tale to tip you off about my reference to you and challenge? He is a serious machine type operator – no doubt. Smooth as.

Let the reader judge.

I felt compelled to register and get stuck in because I see my name taken in vain.

First, hi to Steve at Agmates. You have my respect, Steve, because while we probably disagree about lots, we seem to agree about some things – and you have the decency and guts to allow other people to present a different point of view and debate openly. If Agmates is doing well, I suggest that may have something to do with it. The more media diversity in this country the better!

Hi again Tom. You seem to think you know what I think – better than I do. It’s flattering, I guess, but can I take issue with what I apparently am supposed to believe?

Having recently enjoyed a celebratory mug of mango juice on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution, I’m a little puzzled by your comment that I’ve ‘moved to the right’ What on earth are you talking about? And no, I don’t take your meaning about Mr Bidwell. Actually, I have no idea what you’re on about. Why not send me an email?

I don’t think I’m up for debating land clearing tonight. Too bothered about the slaughter in Gaza. Where I’m sitting, it’s pissing down rain and the frogs are croaking in chorus. There’s wet greenery everywhere.

Deforestation? What deforestation? Are you sure?

Truman took issue with my assessment of his publication about a year back on the issue of land clearing:

http://www.sydneyalternativemedia.com/blog/index.blog/1698938/steve-truman-of-agmates-of-gympie-qld-the-2nd-hand-farm-machinery-seller-who-likes-land-clearing/

As he says he is “totally biased” and I would likely agree with that with another angle. No wonder Joyce and Boswell and Fielding – rednecks all – contribute. As for the others – who knows. Certainly my old colleague Syd Walker (former executive officer of NSW Nature Conservation Council, now FNQ based) has taken a lurch to the right on some geopolitical issues that would fit right in with such as Mr Bidwell MP’s views too – if you take my meaning. But Syd would come at the apologia for land clearing from Agmates. This might be to Truman’s credit to keep the nuance, don’t get me wrong.

And in the declaration of interest stakes – he takes advertising for farm machinery which depends on more landclearing.

Having said all that I’m impressed with his circulation and reach and presence in rural media sector. Obviously he’s a real player, just as Pauline Hanson was (?), and maybe a force for democracy in that variable sector of society. True enough, or at least I’ve heard that, on the polling booth the grassroots National voters end up talking to the Greens as the only others with a common language about natural resources compared to the Libs and Labs.

And there is no doubt Truman can hold a conversation. On a more subtextual note even Jim Carey discovered the end of his reality after reaching the (false) horizon in a boat:

The sea is rising I say. Meaning the sooty particulates from China and India’s hyper economic growth of the last 5 years have been masking the global warming embedded in the climate (ie enhanced global dimming), and the GFC means alot less air pollution into the global commons and thus removal of this global dimming effect.

2008 might have been a plateau in rising temperatures, still highest on record pre 1993, but methinks only a respite.

...] Global WarmingMargaret on 2008 Wheat Crop – A Lost Opportunity – Thanks Tony Burke & FriendsFairfax/Rural Press – Caught Out Again – The Content Makers on Agmates – PeopleFairfax/Rural Press – Caught Out Again – The Content [...

I was just in the middle of replying to your email, but see that I’ve missed your deadline. So I’ll respond here.

Agmates is an online rural & regional community, in fact Australia’s largest. At Agmates we are 100% biased toward anything that is good for rural & regional communities. We make no apologies for that.

Your article is correct in most instances. You are exactly right in saying that Agmates is in direct competition to Rural Press. We are to rural and regional Australia what Crikey is to the Urban Mainstream media. Agmates was founded because we were sick of the bias and manipulation of rural & regional news by the commercially driven rural press. The Agmates article that you have sighted above is part evidence of what the problem is.

Agmates started as a simple blog 2 years ago with no readers. Today we have over 10,000 registered members in Australia and just over 3,000 members in other countries with the USA being our second largest market, the UK our 3rd, Canada 4th and New Zealand our 5th.

As you correctly mention our growth has been entirely by word of mouth. We advertised for 3 weeks in the rural press publications The Queensland Country life and the Land before I received a phone call from QCL General Manager John Warlters who advised me that Agmates had been black banned by Rural Press across Australia.

John’s advice was that they saw us as competition and that they had taken a commercial decision not to take our advertising. At the time our membership was just over 1,000. It does not have appeared to have hindered our growth and has probably saved us a lot of money in wasted advertising.

Finally let me clarrify the issue of who is behind Agmates.

It would indeed come as a surprise to Dr Bruce Flegg and NSW Cattle Producer John Carter that they are ‘behind the site’. You have based that on the fact that both have written articles for Agmates. That is their only association with the site. If that is what you base your opinion on than you would also have to include the following people who also write articles for Agmates.

Senator Barnaby Joyce, Senator Ron Boswell, Senator Nick Xenophon, Senator Steve Fielding, GM Commentator David Tribe of Monash Uni, USA Cattleman Joel Gill, Economist Tim Curtain, Environment Activist Syd Walker, Journalist John Mikkelsen and dozens of farmers across Australia and the USA.

Agmates is an independent media owned by myself and a number of others (mostly farmers) across Australia. We have no political affiliations, no corporate backing, our ethos is that we are 100% biased toward rural & regional communities and we make no apology for that.

We support any organization or political party / politician be it Labor, Liberal, Green, National or independent who stands up for rural and regional communities.

In fact I make no secret of the fact that I voted Labor at the last federal election.

Thanks for your interest and coverage. If you wish you can join us in the Agmates community here http://www.agmates.com/register.php

It’s free to join and become a subscriber to our regular emails.

Happy New year,

Your Agmate – Steve Truman
Agmates Founder