ABC's child reporters cover Pine Gap

BREAKING NEWS: ABC's 8 year old reporters find "Pine Gap plays crucial role in America's wars, leaked documents reveal"

Australia's Pine Gap base has played an important role in aiding the security of Australia and the USA since its establishment in the 1970s. It is absolutely no surprise that its capability and objectives have changed since the early 2000s in response to the war against Islamist terrorism. The information the base provides includes targeting terrorists and providing information that limits civilian causalities in battle grounds around the world. 

That ABC find this "news" is a testament to their naivety and the interests and values of their juvenile reporters and the organisations they collaborate with. 

The report arises from classified NSA documents leaked by US traitor Edward Snowden. Snowden is a fugitive from US justice and has been living in exile in Russia since June 2013 and faces US charges of espionage and theft of state property.

The documents are mundane. One states the following in relation to potential challenges with the partner:

(U) Problems/Challenges with the Partner 

(U) None

Perhaps the headline : US/Australia Pine Gap relations run smoothly: leaked documents reveal a little too surprising for the ABC?

Another outlines critical functions of satellite monitoring programs to "identify and locate threat emitters. 

Perhaps the headline: US-OZ Gap Sat coverage protect the west from terror threats a little too factual for the fakers at ABC? 

ABC's report was written in collaboration with "The Intercept" a left biased news organisation funded by EBay founder Pierre Omidyar. The intercept was born from the illegal release of NSA documents by Snowden. This important information, along with indications that Snowden remains a fugitive is missing from ABC's poor quality sensationalist report. 

Missing News: ignoring Haset Sali

The Australian today reports (subscriber access) that ABC News failed to give wider coverage of calls to ban the Burka by Haset Sali.

A former president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils and one of its founders, Mr Sali told the ABC that the Koran did not require women to cover their faces.

“I don’t often applaud Pauline Hanson — whether it’s a stunt or an initiative to highlight something that’s unnecessary baggage that has been dumped in with Islam — (but) it’s about time the myth of the burka being Islamic dress was blown out of the water,” he told the ABC.

“The sooner Muslim women get rid of this hideous garb the better.”

But that, as far as the ABC was concerned, was that. Although the corporation published online reaction to Senator Hanson’s speech from Muslim leaders and community members, it didn’t publish Mr Sali’s comments.

This is a significant news story that once again highlights ABC myopic coverage of anything critical ofIslam.

One reader's comments caught our eye. Simon (presumably from Canberra) lists items covered by ABC TV News in Canberra:

• One story about homosexual marriage.
• One story about climate change.
• One story about Indigenous art, or homelessness and unemployment (both our fault), or their deep spirituality - superior to anything invented by white fellas.
• One story about Muslims in Australia or stuck on Manus Island.
• One story about Safe Schools and how it protects vulnerable students - it really should be how some young person in need of psychological help is denied that help because they are told they are normal.
• A 30-second segment showing Leigh Sales promoting her interview with Tim Flannery about his new Catalyst Programme.
• One story about how Four Corners is going to expose unfair treatment of young offenders who it turns out have caused millions of dollars of damage and are left to run free as Dad, if it is his Dad, is off shagging some other woman and Mum is at home drunk. The story will later be shown to be wrong/unbalanced/deceptive.
• One story about trans-gender parents and how they are so loving.
• One, or two, or three stories about how we don't like Tony Abbott, the Coalition Government, or right-wing extremists like people who go to church and disagree with abortion.
• Two or three or four stories about Bob Brown, Andrew Barr, the Greens, or how Philip Nitzchke is helping people.
• Four stories about Rugby Leaugue and Soccer.
• Thirty seconds of weather.

That will do for the ABC TV News here in Canberra with Dan Borscher, with bizarre basin haircut and slurring of straight forward words.
Don't we fit in a lot in 30 minutes!

cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance

noun

PSYCHOLOGY

1. the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioural decisions and attitude change.

Compare

LAWRENCE KRAUSS: You’re more likely to be killed by a refrigerator, in the United States, falling on you. — ABC Q&A, 22 May, 2017

MEHDI HASAN: You are also much more likely, as an Australian in Australia, to be killed falling out of bed in the morning than by a terrorist during the day.— ABC ONLINE OPINION 10/7/2017 Australia, your misplaced fear is giving terrorists exactly what they want

JAMES GLENDAY: But the regular attacks in Europe do have a cumulative impact. There's no longer any surprise when they occur.  — ABC NEWS "ANALYSIS" 18/8/2017 Barcelona: Terrorist attacks no longer a surprise in Europe

ABC: where 2 plus 2 = 5 and white vans drive themselves.

A white van has sped down a pedestrian zone in Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas, swerving from side to side as it ploughed into tourists and residents, killing 16 people and injuring 100 in what authorities are calling a terrorist attack.

This is what we know.

• A van mounted the street and drove into pedestrians

Why so hot: another lesson in lost history

ABC have a thing for climate catastrophe asking the question "Why so hot?" in this article reporting on recent above average August temperatures in eastern Australia. ABC's reporters have no sense of inquiry and poor sense of history.

August 1946 was another hot August in the nation's history, with many high weather records set, comparable to the temperatures mentioned in the article.
Casino reported 90F (32.2C) 11/8/1946
Yamba 36.1C 13/8/1946
Brisbane 32.8C 14/8/1946
Lismore reported 34.8C 13/8/1946

The conditions in Sydney summed up nicely in this SMH cartoon from 13/8/1946:

The Sun had this cartoon on the 9/8/1946:

Sydney had seen very little rain for the past month (hmm sounds familiar)...

 and there were bushfires in QLD.

ABC News once again demonstrates its poor sense of history and lack of curiosity. 

Sidenote: This SMH article from a few days ago caught our eye: Sydney sweats through warm night but cool weather is on the way

It includes this claim by BOM's Blair Trewin:

As 6am readings go, Sydney's 22.1 degrees pipped a reading of 21.8 on 24 August 2009 as the city's highest on record for that time of the day, Blair Trewin, senior climatologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said.

The following table was included in The Sun newspaper 12/08/1946:

Unfortunately it seems the 6am reading was not recorded but the remainder are well above the temps recorded for 16/08/2017 (see below and link). Fair to say the BOM's grasp of our weather history is quite slim.

Time	Temperature Sydney 2017	Temperature Sydney 1946
8:00am	21.2	23.1
9:00am	20.5	24
10:00am	21.1	26.1
11:00am	19.4	26.8
12:00pm	20.1	27.6
1:00pm	21.4	28.1
2:00pm	20.7	8
3:00pm	20.5	27.1
4:00pm	19.7	26.7

History repeating: dysfunctional RN repeats mistakes

Yesterday ABC's complaints division finally got around to publishing an upheld complaint made way back in May (wow, now that's a quick response!). The details are below:

Upheld complaints: 

The World , 16th May 2017
Summary published: 14th August 2017
Complaint:
A viewer complained that an interview with Max Bergmann from the Centre for American Progress was a “one-sided criticism of Donald Trump” and that the presenter failed to disclose the political affiliations of the Centre for American Progress.

Complaint Finding Status: Upheld
Upheld against 2.2 ABC Editorial Policies (11 April 2011)

Audience and Consumer Affairs response:
The ABC agreed that more information should have been provided about the Centre for American Progress. This information was relevant and important to the audience and its absence meant that viewers were not able to weigh Mr Bergmann’s observations and criticisms in their proper context. Accordingly, the broadcast was not in keeping with the ABC’s editorial requirement not to present factual content in a way that will materially mislead the audience. The complainant’s other concerns were not upheld.
Complaint finalised July 2017.

Now you'd think this may result in some ABC wide advice along the lines of: 

"When interviewing representatives from the Centre for American Progress don't forget to mention their political affiliations to provide listeners with the proper context in order to weigh the opinions and observations offered."

It seems Geraldine Doogue missed the memo, for last weekend she interviewed Max Bergmann from the Centre for American Progress, and once again listeners were given scant information about Mr Bergmann's background that would enable them to place his observations in their proper context.

ABC: the place where no one learns from history, and everybody ignores the complaints department.

UPDATE 28/8/2017:

On August 5, Saturday Extra host Geraldine Doogue introduced Mr Bergmann as “a former senior advisor, also a speechwriter for John Kerry”.

At the end of the interview, Ms Doogue referred to Mr Bergmann as “until this year, a senior advisor at the State Department under John Kerry, now a senior fellow at the Centre for American Progress, a think tank in Washington”.

In response to this complaint, Saturday Extra has updated his title on its website to specify that his time as senior advisor at the State Department was under Barack Obama's Presidency. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/dysfunctional-state-department/8775560

Ms Doogue also will make reference on air on Saturday August 26 to the Centre’s links to the Democratic Party.

Regards

Nerida

Radio National

Listener enquiries 

Governor Gummed up: Guam fact check

In light of recent threats from that nut job in North Korea, ABC post some info about Guam.

It makes the following claims about who is in charge:

Who rules in Guam?
Guam is run by an elected governor, currently Democrat Madeleine Bordallo.
The territory has a 15-member legislature made up of senators.

Hmmm, Madeleine Mary Zeien Bordallo is the Delegate from the United States territory of Guam to the United States House of Representatives.

The current governor is Edward Jerome "Eddie" Baza Calvo. The eighth and current Governor of the United States territory of Guam since 2011 and a member of the Republican Party.

Here's the governor's most recent address.

Basic facts...FAIL.

Updated: Took them a little while but it seems ABC have now corrected their article. Oddly they have left off the respective political parties.

Awaye with the truth

See update below
This weekend Radio National's AWAYE segment featured a tribute to Kunmanara Lester who died recently, aged 75.

The program 'We don't dream': a tribute to Kunmanara Lester opens with the following introduction:

"When the British tested a nuclear weapon, the first on the Australian Mainland at Emu Field in 1953 it permanently blinded a Yankunytjatjara boy living down wind with his family at Wallatinna. That 12 year old boy, Kunmanara Lester, went on to become a visionary and a cultural leader like few others. In the 1980s he agitated strongly for a Royal Commission into the British nuclear tests at Emu and Maralinga." 

It is clear from Royal Commission testimony that Kunmanara Lester believes his blindness was due to radioactive fall out from the so called "Black Mist" that passed over Wallatinna after the Totem 1 test at Emu Field. There is also no doubt about his important contribution to recent Australian history. However the Royal Commission agitated for by Lester paints a more complex picture about the likely cause of his blindness that would have been worth ABC's attention. The most likely cause according to the doctor who treated him in the 1960s being trachoma exacerbated by poor nutrition and measles rather than solely from exposure to fall out from the nuclear tests. This would have been useful information for ABC listeners, as the incidence of trachoma remains unacceptably high among aboriginal communities to this day, its cause is related to poor hygiene in remote communities. According to the Fred Hollows Organisation  Australia is the only developed country in the world where trachoma is endemic. 

Emu Field and Wallatinna, SA

The McClelland Royal Commission spent some time examining the fall out at Wallatinna and the cause of Lester's Blindness (see p174-194).  It determined that fall out likely did affect the Wallatina area, 173km from the test site, but found that likely levels of exposure were very low (ref P.187). 

The commission reports the following medical evidence in relation to Lester's Blindness (P.191):

6.4.79 Dr David Tonkin first saw Lester on 6 August 1965, [RC 552, p. 2]. 

In 1983, based on his own examinations of Lester, and other records which were available, Tonkin concluded that Lester had:

1. a long history of red, sore eyes since childhood (there is evidence of trachoma scarring inside the lids) 

2. blindness since the age of 14 years, following ulcers during a severe attack of measles (presumably when the sight in the right eye was lost) 

3. loss of the left eye in 1957, the eye having been blind for nine years previously. 

'The findings in the right eye, both before and during surgery, indicate a long-standing history of infection (trachoma), with dense (total) corneal scarring, iris adhesions, and cataract changes following a severe corneal ulceration which had perforated.  Although severe, such ocular manifestations are recognised complications of trachoma, and in this instance they were possibly accentuated by measles. I [RC 552, p.2] 

Oddly Point 3 suggest that Lester was blind in his left eye 5 years prior to the tests. Which seems to contradict Lester's own evidence:

6.4.76 Yami Lester, who was at Wallatinna when the Black Mist incident occurred, and who was aged about 12 at the time, attributes his blindness to the incident. Describing the mist, and how it made people ill, he said 
'When people first got sick my eyes got sore. I couldn't open my eyes. I got diarrhoea and a rash on my skin. I remember when this happened my mother asked me to stay in the shade. Because I couldn't see I was led around with a stick like a digging stick. You hold it at one end and the person walking ahead of you holds the other end and you follow along. I didn't have the stick for long, I don't reckon it was even a week. My left eye sort of came good again so I threw away the stick but my right eye was permanently blind after that. I could see with my left eye but it gave me a lot of trouble. I could not see 100% wi th my left eye.' [AB 11, pp.6-7] 
6.4.77 Lester went on to say that he lost the sight of his left eye in 1957 [AB 11, p.8]. 

The commission also looked at the potential interacting effects of trachoma and measles with low-level doses of radiation but could make no firm findings based on lack of evidence or relevant studies.

In the end the commission made the following conclusions: in regard to fall out at Wallatinna and Lester's blindness:

Conclusions 

6.4.92 (a) The differences in the details of Aboriginal accounts of the Black Mist are to be expected after the passage of over thirty years. The accounts are sufficiently consistent in general for them to have credibility. 

(b) An oral history of the Black Mist existed for many years before the incident became known to the general public. 

(c) Meteorological, mathematical and statistical modelling indicates that a black mist passing over Wallatinna and Welbourn Hil1 could have happened. 

(d) There is no reason to disbelieve Aboriginal accounts that the Black Mist occurred and that it made some people sick. Both radiation exposure and fear can lead to vomiting. At Wallatinna, the vomiting by Aborigines may have resulted from radiation. It may have been a psychogenic reaction to a frightening experience, or it may have resulted from both of these. 

(e) The Royal Commission believes that Aboriginal people experienced radioactive fallout from Totem 1 in the form of a black mist or cloud at and near Wallatinna. This may have made some people temporarily ill. The Royal Commission does not have sufficient evidence to say whether or not it caused other illnesses or injuries. 

(f) Given the historical uncertainties and the current state of scientific knowledge, the evidence presented does not enable the Royal Commission to decide one way or the other whether the Black Mist caused or contributed to the blindness of Yami Lester. 

From the Conclusions and recommendations report:
99. Given the historical uncertainties and the current state of scientific knowledge, the evidence presented does not enable the Royal Commission to decide one way or the other whether the Black Mist caused or contributed to the blindness of Yami Lester. (6.4.92-) 

It seems the truth is a little more complicated than the picture painted by the ABC.

Reply from ABC complaints 24/8/2017. Seems they are willing to ditch the truth.

Thank you for your email regarding RN’s AWAYE! ‘We don’t dream’: a tribute to Kunmanara Lester.

In accordance with the ABC's complaints handling procedures, your correspondence has been referred to Audience and Consumer Affairs, a unit separate to and independent of the content making areas of the ABC. Our role is to review and, where appropriate, investigate complaints alleging that ABC content has breached the ABC's editorial standards. The ABC's editorial standards can be found here: http://about.abc.net.au/reports-publications/code-of-practice/.

Audience and Consumer Affairs have reviewed the piece and assessed the contents against the ABC’s editorial standards for accuracy which states, relevantly, in part 2.2: Do not present factual content in a way that will materially mislead the audience. In some cases, this may require appropriate labels or other explanatory information.

The segment was designed to be an obituary for Mr Lester and not a news article considering the possible causes of his blindness or, as you have suggested, an investigation about eye health in Aboriginal communities.

The ABC has covered many aspects of Emu Fields and Maralinga over the years including extensive coverage of the McClelland Royal Commission.

The McClelland Royal Commission, while noting the various complexities surround a determination on the cause of Mr Lester’s blindness, did not make a determination on whether or not the Black Mist caused or contributed to Mr Lester’s blindness because of “historical uncertainties and the current state of scientific knowledge.”

We would further note, that while the report does quote Dr David Tonkin stating, based on his examination of Mr Lester, that he believed that trachoma and measles played a part in Mr Lester losing his eyesight, the report also stated that Dr Tonkin “has no expert knowledge of radiation. Tonkin’s views on Lester’s blindness assumed a direct radiation injury. He [Tonkin] did not profess to have made a study of the potential interacting or synergistic factors to which Pochin later addressed himself.”

Throughout his life, and as noted in the AWAYE! piece, Mr Lester maintained that the Black Mist was responsible for his blindness. And his experience with the Black Mist and the nuclear test formed a basis for his life-long activism.

Audience and Consumer Affairs are satisfied that in an obituary style piece it was appropriate to describe Mr Lester in similar terms to how he described himself. Furthermore, Audience and Consumer Affairs are satisfied that listeners would not be materially misled as to the findings of the McClelland Royal Commission or Mr Lester’s life.

Nevertheless, your comments have been noted by our unit and ABC Radio.

Should you be dissatisfied with this response, you may be able to pursue your complaint with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (www.acma.gov.au).

Thank you for contacting the ABC.

Yours sincerely,

Reena Rihan

Audience and Consumer Affairs