Spears fly over 'cannibal' expedition - National - theage.com.au
The pathetic behaviour of our rival low brow evening current affairs programs would surely make a good comedy movie. Sure, the genre was covered well on TV by "Frontline" in the 1990's, but this latest story of (alleged) dirty tactics makes me think there must be scope for a full length movie in this.
Some ideas:
* journalists from the opposing shows start a secret relationship; (probably been done well before, but I can't think where)
* the ex-spouses of opposing journalists start a relationship and sabotage their ex's shows;
* as a sub plot: youngish network head with interest in a fringe religion tries to get current affairs show to give the religion good PR.
Mind you, movie treatments of television shows often feel very unauthentic in the way they show a TV studio. It's a hard genre to do well. I've always liked "Broadcast News" though.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Shuttle sightings
Human Space Flight (HSF) - Sightings
The link above is to the list of shuttle/space station sightings for Brisbane over the next few days. Monday night at 6.19 should be a particularly long and good view.
The link above is to the list of shuttle/space station sightings for Brisbane over the next few days. Monday night at 6.19 should be a particularly long and good view.
About time
Robson and crew arrested in Indonesia - TV & Radio - Entertainment - smh.com.au
It couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of quasi-journos.
The report says:
The head of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Imron Cotan, confirmed five Australian journalists were being held in the Papuan capital and would be deported as soon as possible.
Can't the Australia government to send a top priority two word cable the Indonesians: "No hurry"?
It couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of quasi-journos.
The report says:
The head of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Imron Cotan, confirmed five Australian journalists were being held in the Papuan capital and would be deported as soon as possible.
Can't the Australia government to send a top priority two word cable the Indonesians: "No hurry"?
Christians: Embrace uranium
The Religion Report - 13September2006 - Ian Hore-Lacy
Hmm, how did this happen? A book that criticises the "irresponsible romanticism" that is the basis of much of the Green (and Christian) environmentalist movements gets a fair hearing by Stephen Crittenden on his "Religion Report" show.
From the transcript above, the author comments:
The basic motivation of the book is to really challenge some of the Green Christian stuff which has been written over the last 15 years and suggest that a Christian approach should not only respect God's handiwork in creation, that is to focus on Green and aesthetic aspects, but also encompass a practical understanding of the earth's resources, which are no less his handiwork, and that's an important point. And furthermore of course, those resources are needed to give all the six billion inhabitants a standard of living comparable with ours. And Christians seem to just lose sight of that whole second aspect altogether, and that has increasingly worried me....
'
Stephen Crittenden: Your book's full of wonderful pithy sentences like the following: 'Nuclear energy is a fascinating area for Christian reflection.' How is it a fascinating area for Christian reflection?
Ian Hore-Lacy: Well because it's a resource which is timely. It's a resource which requires a particular technology which has been developed over the last 50 years, and which is now available when we actually need it quite badly to replace fossil fuels, both for the reasons we've mentioned in respect to oil, and similarly with gas, and also because of concerns about global warming. And so when these concerns are at a peak, here is the technology that is available. And what's more it isn't a very abundant resource, not simply in the amount of uranium you can quantify right now, and divide by the annual rate of usage right now, that gives you a fairly false or misleading sort of answer, but also because with another step in technology, which is fairly well proven, we can get about 50 or 60 times as much energy out of that resource. Now you can't do that with any fossil fuels.
Just like the miracle with the loaves and fishes, isn't it?
[Previous line not intended to sound sarcastic; more designed to annoy Christian greenies.]
Hmm, how did this happen? A book that criticises the "irresponsible romanticism" that is the basis of much of the Green (and Christian) environmentalist movements gets a fair hearing by Stephen Crittenden on his "Religion Report" show.
From the transcript above, the author comments:
The basic motivation of the book is to really challenge some of the Green Christian stuff which has been written over the last 15 years and suggest that a Christian approach should not only respect God's handiwork in creation, that is to focus on Green and aesthetic aspects, but also encompass a practical understanding of the earth's resources, which are no less his handiwork, and that's an important point. And furthermore of course, those resources are needed to give all the six billion inhabitants a standard of living comparable with ours. And Christians seem to just lose sight of that whole second aspect altogether, and that has increasingly worried me....
'
Stephen Crittenden: Your book's full of wonderful pithy sentences like the following: 'Nuclear energy is a fascinating area for Christian reflection.' How is it a fascinating area for Christian reflection?
Ian Hore-Lacy: Well because it's a resource which is timely. It's a resource which requires a particular technology which has been developed over the last 50 years, and which is now available when we actually need it quite badly to replace fossil fuels, both for the reasons we've mentioned in respect to oil, and similarly with gas, and also because of concerns about global warming. And so when these concerns are at a peak, here is the technology that is available. And what's more it isn't a very abundant resource, not simply in the amount of uranium you can quantify right now, and divide by the annual rate of usage right now, that gives you a fairly false or misleading sort of answer, but also because with another step in technology, which is fairly well proven, we can get about 50 or 60 times as much energy out of that resource. Now you can't do that with any fossil fuels.
Just like the miracle with the loaves and fishes, isn't it?
[Previous line not intended to sound sarcastic; more designed to annoy Christian greenies.]
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
No prayers please
Canada: Orthodox Jew forced off plane | Jerusalem Post
I missed this story from last week, about an Orthdox Jewish man asked to leave an Air Canada aircraft for praying quietly and "lurching back and forth":
The action didn't seem to bother anyone, Faguy said, but a flight attendant approached the man and told him his praying was making other passengers nervous.
"The attendant actually recognized out loud that he wasn't a Muslim and that she was sorry for the situation but they had to ask him to leave," Faguy said.
Some left leaning commentators got all uptight about recent incidents where Muslim passengers were off loaded from aircraft. (You know, "poor Muslims being singled out" etc.)
This incident is evidence to show that concerns about behaviour on aircraft is non-sectarian after all.
I missed this story from last week, about an Orthdox Jewish man asked to leave an Air Canada aircraft for praying quietly and "lurching back and forth":
The action didn't seem to bother anyone, Faguy said, but a flight attendant approached the man and told him his praying was making other passengers nervous.
"The attendant actually recognized out loud that he wasn't a Muslim and that she was sorry for the situation but they had to ask him to leave," Faguy said.
Some left leaning commentators got all uptight about recent incidents where Muslim passengers were off loaded from aircraft. (You know, "poor Muslims being singled out" etc.)
This incident is evidence to show that concerns about behaviour on aircraft is non-sectarian after all.
Albrechtsen on the effect of 9/11
Janet Albrechtsen: Human rights not sacrosanct | News | The Australian
The first part of this column is particularly good, where Albrechtsen notes how no one complains about anti domestic violence advertising being targetted to men, because it reflects reality. Yet some complain that all anti terrorism action seems to be directed againt Muslims.
The first part of this column is particularly good, where Albrechtsen notes how no one complains about anti domestic violence advertising being targetted to men, because it reflects reality. Yet some complain that all anti terrorism action seems to be directed againt Muslims.
Lawrence Wright on the Master Plan
The New Yorker: Fact
Lawrence Wright was the author of the book reviewed in Salon and mentioned in my last post.
In the New Yorker he has a long article about Al Qaeda and its plans. Good reading.
Lawrence Wright was the author of the book reviewed in Salon and mentioned in my last post.
In the New Yorker he has a long article about Al Qaeda and its plans. Good reading.
Support from Salon
The road to 9/11 and beyond | Salon Books
When you dig past the weekly articles expressing the writers' ongoing horror of all things Bush, you occasionally find within a Salon article that a bit of support for the President somehow slips through.
For example, there is this week a review of a new book on the background to the 9/11 attacks which contains this line:
Today, from Bush and Cheney speeches to the nation's Op-Ed pages, we continue to be bombarded with declarations about whether the al-Qaida faithful hate America for its freedoms or for its policies. Wright's work reveals that the answer, clearly, is both.
Well, that seems close enough to count as support for the Bush "they hate us for our freedoms" speech of 20 September 2001. How nice of Salon.
You should read the review to see why the author argues this. It is interesting.
When you dig past the weekly articles expressing the writers' ongoing horror of all things Bush, you occasionally find within a Salon article that a bit of support for the President somehow slips through.
For example, there is this week a review of a new book on the background to the 9/11 attacks which contains this line:
Today, from Bush and Cheney speeches to the nation's Op-Ed pages, we continue to be bombarded with declarations about whether the al-Qaida faithful hate America for its freedoms or for its policies. Wright's work reveals that the answer, clearly, is both.
Well, that seems close enough to count as support for the Bush "they hate us for our freedoms" speech of 20 September 2001. How nice of Salon.
You should read the review to see why the author argues this. It is interesting.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Hitchens on fear
Remembering Ari Fleischer's reign of terror. By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine
Christopher Hitchens' latest Slate piece destroys a relatively small bit of ongoing anti-Bush administration mythology. Still, this type of lazy and careless journalism that this case highlights seems so common now. All rather reminiscent of the non plastic turkey.
Hitchens was on Lateline last night, but I missed most of it. Quite a pity, given this extract posted over at Tim Blair.
And to round up all recent things Hitchens (he has been busy), there was this one at Opinion Journal if anyone missed it.
Christopher Hitchens' latest Slate piece destroys a relatively small bit of ongoing anti-Bush administration mythology. Still, this type of lazy and careless journalism that this case highlights seems so common now. All rather reminiscent of the non plastic turkey.
Hitchens was on Lateline last night, but I missed most of it. Quite a pity, given this extract posted over at Tim Blair.
And to round up all recent things Hitchens (he has been busy), there was this one at Opinion Journal if anyone missed it.
Meteor boom in New Zealand
Readers report: Sonic boom in Christchurch - 12 Sep 2006 - National News
Reports are just coming in about a meteor over New Zealand causing a very loud "boom". First hand reports are at the link above.
No word yet on whether part of it hit the ground.
Reports are just coming in about a meteor over New Zealand causing a very loud "boom". First hand reports are at the link above.
No word yet on whether part of it hit the ground.
Funny Price
Matt Price: All sides cop a flegging | News | The Australian
Matt Price's column on the Queensland election is really very funny. The funniest line (out of many) is this one about weird independent Bob Katter:
To steal from Winston Churchill, the ex-Nat turned Queensland independent is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma swallowed by a joke covered in bananas sprinkled with peanuts dipped in ethanol.
If this is a bit puzzling to an overseas reader, well, you have to know a bit about Queensland to understand.
Matt Price's column on the Queensland election is really very funny. The funniest line (out of many) is this one about weird independent Bob Katter:
To steal from Winston Churchill, the ex-Nat turned Queensland independent is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma swallowed by a joke covered in bananas sprinkled with peanuts dipped in ethanol.
If this is a bit puzzling to an overseas reader, well, you have to know a bit about Queensland to understand.
Monday, September 11, 2006
About that Senate report
Power Line: Smiling Phases
I expect Hitchens will eventually write on this topic too, as he has already talked a lot about al Qaeda figures in Iraq. I'm sure there must a lot more on the internet about this, but I have not yet gone looking for it.
I expect Hitchens will eventually write on this topic too, as he has already talked a lot about al Qaeda figures in Iraq. I'm sure there must a lot more on the internet about this, but I have not yet gone looking for it.
Christopher Hitchens on the anniversary
Never again: America's new mantra - World - smh.com.au
Worth reading.
He was also interviewed on Radio National this morning. From the parts I heard, his points were generally along the lines contained in the article above. It should be available here later today.
Worth reading.
He was also interviewed on Radio National this morning. From the parts I heard, his points were generally along the lines contained in the article above. It should be available here later today.
Devils Tower has a birthday
'Close Encounters' rock prepares for centennial - United States - North America
So, the alien landing site celebrates 100 years as a National Monument. Congratulations.
North of Brisbane, Mt Coonowrin in the Glasshouse Mountains could substitute as a less symmetrical landing beacon. Just a little bit of blasting might create a nice flat top to give it added appeal.
So, the alien landing site celebrates 100 years as a National Monument. Congratulations.
North of Brisbane, Mt Coonowrin in the Glasshouse Mountains could substitute as a less symmetrical landing beacon. Just a little bit of blasting might create a nice flat top to give it added appeal.
A brief guide to EMP
How to survive global warming. By David Shenk - Slate Magazine
From Slate's odd, and barely useful, guide on how to survive various disasters, the entry about electro magnetic pulse is at least a bit informative in a general way.
I would also like to remind any new readers that I have previously discussed the possible use of EMP attack on Iranian nuclear facilities (not necessarily via nuclear weapons, but using the mooted "e bombs".)
From Slate's odd, and barely useful, guide on how to survive various disasters, the entry about electro magnetic pulse is at least a bit informative in a general way.
I would also like to remind any new readers that I have previously discussed the possible use of EMP attack on Iranian nuclear facilities (not necessarily via nuclear weapons, but using the mooted "e bombs".)
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