Wellington - Mobil Oil New Zealand acknowledges today's protest action by Greenpeace and other organisations.

Mobil takes the potential for human induced climate change very seriously and supports the right of all interested parties to make their views known. However, these protesters are seeking to promote the idea that support for, or opposition to, the Kyoto Protocol equates to concern or non-concern about climate change.

This is simply not the case.

In recent weeks Mobil's parent company, ExxonMobil, has been attempting to stimulate a constructive discussion about the alternatives to the Kyoto protocol, seeking to achieve a 'win win' position by supporting economic growth while protecting the long-term interests of the environment.

Today's protest simply attempts to stifle that legitimate and important debate. It is unlikely to change the US Government 's position on Kyoto and we believe it is counter-productive to the cause that we all embrace - determining the most sensible way to protect the global environment for future generations.

(Ends)

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>