FTA sport broadcasting:
Ken Corbett writes: Re. “The great lie of anti-siphoning: it doesn’t work, and it rips off sports” (yesterday, item 16). Full support to Bernard Keane and his anti siphoning story. Cannot agree more. In Sydney Roy Masters keeps writing the same sort of story and that Fox Sports seeking broadcasts puts FTA viewers at risk or even that they may have to pay to watch. As if the later is simply unacceptable.
I am no supporter of Fox and News Corp in general but Fox sports does understand that sport should be live and as free of ads as possible in critical points of a game. Contrast Fox editing of PGA Golf for ad breaks compared to Ten’s ONE when they are broadcasting Golf. The ads (many more of them to start with) often end up broadcast at inappropriate times in play. FTA has forever treated the viewer poorly and often pretends that sport is live when it is not. As an AFL fan the coverage of AFL sport on Fox in the two northern states is way better than we ever had before and I am very nervous that new anti siphoning rules will stuff it up in the future.
Yes many of us sports fans are happy to pay for good sports coverage when the alternative is depending on the poor judgement of FTA programmers. This is never given any value by the print sports writers. Are they too close to FTA?
I am writing this on a business trip to America and reflecting how good our sports coverage is in Australia when we get the best of all sport around the world. In USA you simply get American sport, or sport that Americans are participating in elsewhere.
Bring on the true level playing field for sports rights.
Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School:
Terry Costello writes: Re. “At Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar, there was always pressure to pair with boys” (yesterday, item 6). Is the Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School homophobia a product of the religious values of the school?
In the 21st century where private schools get bucket loads of money from the state, these schools should be forced to respect the rights of its students and staff by having to comply with the Human Rights Charter which should force private schools to act in a non discriminatory fashion. If these schools refuse to do so they should lose all funding from the state. Discrimination should not be tolerated period. Perhaps if they do not comply with the Human Rights Charter they shouldn’t even be allowed to operate on the basis that they do not provide a safe and supportive environment free of prejudice and discrimination that is expected in the 21st century.
Former Victorian Premier John Cain removed discrimination from the Melbourne Cricket Club by tying funding of the MCC to allowing women to be members and the precedent of making funding to private bodies such as private schools conditional on complying with the Human Rights charter should be something the State Government should adopt straight away, in time for the start of the next school year.
The IGGS principal needs to take a good look at herself and her comments simply do not cut it in the 21st century. Her comment stating that she didn’t feel it was appropriate that the two young women felt discriminated against is discriminatory, appalling and unforgivable in that it is a disingenuous swipe against two students who have bravely asserted their sexuality and have copped a double dose of homophobia for their trouble. This act of homophobia also demonstrates that the school is a repressive environment that does not tolerate or celebrate difference and this cannot be tolerated in education.
Does the school have the same opinions about other oppressed minority groups i.e. Refugees, Aborigines, working people etc etc? IGGS now has the onus of proving that this is not the case. If schools are a microcosm of society then IGGS might reflect society as it was in the stifling 1950’s instead of in 2010.
So much for fostering tolerance and creating a safe environment for its vulnerable students, especially those who take a stand against arbitrary actions of the school administration. I hope students will vote with their feet so that clowns like the principal of this troglodyte establishment cop it wear it hurts — a sagging bank balance caused by an exodus of students not willing be subjected to an oppressive environment.
Who knows, if enough students walk the School’s board might have to replace the principal to prove its commitment to tolerance, the support of minorities and the creation of a safe and positive and supportive space for its students.
An anonymous Crikey reader writes: I was a closet gay, but the pressure to show up at the final year school dance with a “girlfriend” was enormous. I had dated a girl who worked at the corner milk-bar but two or three days before the big event, I couldn’t go through with it and I over-dosed on sleeping tablets. I didn’t quite succeed but well enough to be in hospital for the big night and about two weeks after.
Many young people are in a state of emotional turmoil, but young gay men and women are often too scared to come out, and physically and mentally sickened by the thought of living a never-ending charade.
Parents, teachers and older friends who could be mentors are all too often completely ignorant of the terror these young people feel every day just trying to happily live their young lives.
CPRS:
Niall Clugston writes: Re. “Bitar’s in denial as Gillard takes tentative steps on the vision thing” (yesterday, item 2). Bernard Keane himself is “in denial” with his statement that, “The decision to dump the CPRS smashed whatever remaining connection there was between Kevin Rudd and voters”.
Sorry to break it to you and your press gallery pals, but most Australians don’t have a clue what the CPRS was. The issue might have helped Adam Bandt’s win in Melbourne, but it doesn’t explain the swag of seats Labor lost in Queensland.
And while Keane correctly lambasts the ALP for failing to communicate, he ignores the role that journalists have played in misinformation — including him! After all, Rudd did not “dump” the CPRS. It was defeated in the Senate by the Coalition and the Greens!
Labor:
Vincent Burke writes: Re. “Labor’s identity crisis: why voters don’t know what Gillard stands for” (Tuesday, item 9). Like many Labor Party supporters, I was becoming increasingly disillusioned with many of the decisions in the final months of the Rudd Government, and notably its backtracking on so many of the promises it had made to the people at the 2007 election. But I remained reasonably confident that Rudd would realise he needed to remedy the situation. I was also reasonably confident there was time to do that, provided he didn’t rush to an election.
I was also an admirer of Julia Gillard, and gave her the benefit of the doubt when she decided to roll Rudd. I was very confident she would easily win the election, given the time she still had to overcome people’s doubts about the way she achieved the prime ministership. My dismay and ongoing concerns began the moment she rushed into the election. The party’s poor performance during the campaign and the lack of leadership on critical issues since Labor regained power have only added to my concerns.
A sense of injustice towards Rudd still permeates the air, and I’m sure there are many who would like to see this rectified — and soon. The Catholics talk of candidates for the Papacy as being palpable. I’m not sure Gillard has that aura about her, but Rudd still has it in spades
Fast food diet:
Tim Villa writes: Re. “Richard Farmer’s chunky bits” (yesterday, item 12). What an incredibly naive and poorly researched observation about Mark Haub’s “junk food” diet. Of course Haub would have lost weight if he decreased his caloric intake (or increased the output through exercise) regardless of what he ate, that’s not rocket science.
And significant health problems would be unlikely to surface after only eight weeks — although his “head felt like it was in a vice” (did Farmer read the actual paper or just a news headline somewhere?). And now Farmer is having a go at people who are trying to improve dietary education as if they were involved in some kind of sinister conspiracy.
Does he actually want our children to be fat and sick?
Channel Ten:
Peter Scruby writes: Re. “Ten rolls over to the One.Tel boys” (Tuesday, item 14). Now that they’re back together again perhaps James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch can rename the Network Ten-tel?
Climate change:
Tamas Calderwood writes: Re. “Climate Institute: foundations for a low pollution, clean energy economy” (yesterday, item 14). It was tough, but I managed to plough through John Connor’s piece. The usual “pollution” label was attached to CO2, even though it is essential for all life on Earth and nature produces 96% of this “pollution”. Then there’s the absurd policy goal of reducing CO2 emissions 25% by 2020 — just nine years. And his analysis blithely ignores the stance of China, India and the US, none of which intend to reduce their emissions.
But it’s weird how he just completely ignores the actual “science”. The UAH satellite temperature data show that 1998 was warmer than 2010 (up to October), so we still haven’t had any real warming for 13 years — or since 1995 if you believe Phil “hide the decline” Jones of the notorious CRU.
The warming spurts from 1860-1880, 1910-1940 and 1975-1998 were all of the same magnitude despite increasing CO2 concentrations, which means in the past seven decades the world has experienced warming for only two of them. Plus, The Royal Society recently admitted there is great uncertainty with temperature projections, ocean levels and the understanding of clouds — and don’t get me started on the IPCC’s errors
So until we see some data that actually supports the doomsday warming hypothesis can’t we just skip this “pivotal battleground for our polity, our society and our economy”?
Aaah Mr Calderwood, how I’ve missed “hide the decline” and “science”.
Actually – don’t come back. You’re really rather boring. And deluded.
@Sebster I continue to be amazed by his persistence, actually. He’s Crikey’s pet troll – constantly ruffling feathers by spouting the same nonsense repeatedly.
Interesting to watch, but pointless to engage.
I used to wonder what Tamas was on and how he failed to obtain a reasonable education during his formative years. In short, I hoped that he would become better informed about the physical world.
Then I realised that he is an intemperate campaigner for a lost cause and that there was no hope for his efforts. I hoped for Crikey to provide a little sub-editing in order to achieve moderation.
Then, slowly, I progressed to a belief that some sort of innate, blind, intentional self-delusion was happening. Perhaps an actual illness. Should Tamas be extended sympathy?
Now, whenever I see his by-line, have to concentrate on controlling a visceral gag response arising deep in my guts in order to keep my breakfast down. It’s so sad that this goose and his honking are repeatedly given space in an otherwise mostly factually correct newsletter.
Tamas Calderwood seems to line up ducks but some of them are decoys. He writes: “The Royal Society recently admitted there is great uncertainty with temperature projections, ocean levels and the understanding of clouds”. I take it that those are his words (not the Society’s) so leaving aside temperature projections and clouds, what is it about the specific matter of ocean levels that gives rise to this “great uncertainty”? Is Tamas Calderwood asserting that the measurement of sea levels is unscientific or is it that he can’t find a politically acceptable connection between scientifically measured rising atmospheric CO2 content and scientifically measured rising sea levels? Does he mean there is no connection or does he mean there’s only an inconvenient connection?
I am continually dismayed by people like Tamas Calderwood. However Hillary Clinton answered it all on Sunday to a question about climate change when she s said in despite the people who deny climate change it is still going on and we must do something about it. It poses a threat to the world in the future so in deference to those who come after me so I push for something to be done as does Professor Garnaud, It is pity we do not have another world to put Tamas on and let him go to his own end for the cause he supports.