Brussels Bombing

NTA

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Rancid Schnitzel" data-cid="568031" data-time="1459215693">
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Same with ABC in Australia. If a commercial media player wants to go left or right I couldn't give a shit. But when a publicly funded broadcaster refuses to be balanced then that is a disgrace.
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</blockquote>
 
Depending on where you stand on the political spectrum, your view on "balance" is going to be coloured.
 
Partly because the political spectrum here doesn't really have a middle ground any more - a place where the parties could come together on more issues (outside offshore detention) and get a bit of progress happening. Like, I dunno, giving a shit about the people they're meant to serve? Either party tends toward spending the first half of any public engagement talking about how shit the other side are. Frustrating.
 
 
Rather than ignore some of the stuff Fox trots out, opponents go screaming about its bias. Kind of legitimises them and gives the whole thing oxygen. In contrast, networks like Fox are mostly dismissive of the rest, and fall back on arch conservative values, which are warm and cosy for their supporters. 
 
 
 
EDIT: and I realise we've extensively covered Q&A previously. There are some episodes, as I said at the time, that I had little time for, mostly due to the tone of the questioning. At least with the scientists on, there is the chance to learn something (Brian Greene was awesome), but with the politicians is the same slanging match every week.

canefan

An Egypt Air flight from Alexandria to Cairo has been hijacked with a suicide bomber apparently on board. Will be interesting to see if ISIS claims responsibility

jegga

Good to see the Egyptian authorities asked some serious searching questions of their security after the Russian airliner crash and ensured a similar thing could never happen again.*
 
 
 
 
 
*If it turns out he is a nutter pretending to have a bomb I probably wont take any of that back.

jegga

Now there's an Indonesian boat hijacked off the Phillipines .

Hooroo

Where did you see that, Jegga? Stuff is being slow to update.

taniwharugby

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="568139" data-time="1459235606">
<div>
Good to see the Egyptian authorities asked some serious searching questions of their security after the Russian airliner crash and ensured a similar thing could never happen again.*
 
 
 
 
 
*If it turns out he is a nutter pretending to have a bomb I probably wont take any of that back.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
I know it was a long time ago, I went to Egypt 2 weeks after Sept. 11, security flying out of Gatwick was scary from this fulla from Whangarei, leaving Luxor made me nervous with no x-ray scanners, people seemingly everywhere with access to anywhere....

jegga

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Hooroo" data-cid="568152" data-time="1459237955">
<div>
Where did you see that, Jegga? Stuff is being slow to update.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/03/29/indonesian-vessel-hijacked-crew-held-philippines.html'>http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/03/29/indonesian-vessel-hijacked-crew-held-philippines.html</a>

Hooroo

Prolly why I missed that... Tend not to check that website too frequently.......

jegga

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Hooroo" data-cid="568165" data-time="1459239885">Prolly why I missed that... Tend not to check that website too frequently.......</blockquote><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Hooroo" data-cid="568165" data-time="1459239885">Prolly why I missed that... Tend not to check that website too frequently.......</blockquote>
 
That was probably my first time too, Google news originally had a different source as its top story . Stuff is funny about how it updates .

Nepia

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="568160" data-time="1459239491">
<div>
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/03/29/indonesian-vessel-hijacked-crew-held-philippines.html'>http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/03/29/indonesian-vessel-hijacked-crew-held-philippines.html</a>
</div>
</blockquote>
The caption to that photo weirdly made it look like Abu Sayyaf were fighting the Moros. 
 
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="568157" data-time="1459238603">
<div>
I know it was a long time ago, I went to Egypt 2 weeks after Sept. 11, security flying out of Gatwick was scary from this fulla from Whangarei, leaving Luxor made me nervous with no x-ray scanners, people seemingly everywhere with access to anywhere....
</div>
</blockquote>
Kind of like Raro then? ;)

Tim

Tim

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said: "We are doing our utmost in order for everyone to be released and safe."
 
In response to a reporter's question about whether the hijacker was motivated by romance, he laughed and said: "Always there is a woman involved."
 
</blockquote>
 
Some good (no casualties) terror lulz today.

Mokey

Man, if I were the pilot of this plane, I'd be all "ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. The fucktard who made this flight hell for us all, has been duct taped to a seat. Before we disembark, those who would like to punch him in the face, please queue in an orderly fashion and go for gold."

jegga

I can understand hijacking a plane to get away from your exwife but not doing it in an attempt to win her back .

taniwharugby

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nepia" data-cid="568176" data-time="1459243447">
<div>
The caption to that photo weirdly made it look like Abu Sayyaf were fighting the Moros. 
 
 
Kind of like Raro then? ;)
</div>
</blockquote>
no idea, never been to Raro! But I'd expect Luxor to have a few more passengers through it's gates than Raro, plus they have had terrorism issues before.
 
But it was probably the most lax airport I have ever been to. On the way in, they made me declare what electronics I had with me (ie video camera) but no one asked me if I had it when I left....

NTA

<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/passenger-who-took-selfie-with-hijacker-identified-as-26yearold-brit/news-story/9959458c1124e32a6dfd8be326132991'>http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/passenger-who-took-selfie-with-hijacker-identified-as-26yearold-brit/news-story/9959458c1124e32a6dfd8be326132991</a>
 
Bloke takes selfie with hijacker :lol:

JC

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Baron Silas Greenback" data-cid="568014" data-time="1459212417">
<div>
Most TV outlets have a clear left bias IMO.
 
Look at the supposed derision Fox News gets, just because it has a right bias. Yet the stations that have a left bias get a much easier ride.
As for the BBC they have ZERO excuse to be biased, they are publicly funded. I would be pretty ticked off if I was a British tax [payer seeing what they have become. 
</div>
</blockquote>
 
I know a BBC journo pretty well and had a really interesting discussion with her a couple of years ago. Her take on it was pretty interesting, and IIRC the problems seemed to be (and these were generalisations):
 
BBC journalism was heavily unionised. When Murdoch broke the unions a lot of the displaced journos ended up at the BBC with any anti-capitalism and anti-Tory feelings they might have previously had only strengthened by the whole experience. They eventually became editors and managers.
 
Quite a few social justice types went into journalism and the BBC was seen as the plum employer. And there was an element of "provider capture" in the hiring process which meant that department heads, news editors at radio stations etc were more likely to hire people who thought as they did.
 
Journalists personally defined political bias in a very specific way. Being biased towards a particular party was an obvious no-go, but being biased towards a point of view was acceptable or even admirable. So being obviously pro-Labour was not OK, but being pro a policy that Labour happened to promote was OK.
 
The fact the BBC was the dominant broadcaster brought its own problems, because people didn't have to be just journalists, if they played their cards right they could become presenters and celebrities within the same organisation.
 
There may have been more (or less) but that was the gist of it.

Tim

Ah, "entryism".

dK

I found this article raises a number of questions in relation to the historical reasons behind the current ME state. I would make this compulsory reading for any who are interested in the Middle East, in addition to the history of the Ottoman empire.
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.politico.eu/article/why-the-arabs-dont-want-us-in-syria-mideast-conflict-oil-intervention/'>http://www.politico.eu/article/why-the-arabs-dont-want-us-in-syria-mideast-conflict-oil-intervention/</a>

Rancid Schnitzel

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="NTA" data-cid="568110" data-time="1459229664">
Depending on where you stand on the political spectrum, your view on "balance" is going to be coloured. 
Partly because the political spectrum here doesn't really have a middle ground any more - a place where the parties could come together on more issues (outside offshore detention) and get a bit of progress happening. Like, I dunno, giving a shit about the people they're meant to serve? Either party tends toward spending the first half of any public engagement talking about how shit the other side are. Frustrating. 
Rather than ignore some of the stuff Fox trots out, opponents go screaming about its bias. Kind of legitimises them and gives the whole thing oxygen. In contrast, networks like Fox are mostly dismissive of the rest, and fall back on arch conservative values, which are warm and cosy for their supporters. 
EDIT: and I realise we've extensively covered Q&A previously. There are some episodes, as I said at the time, that I had little time for, mostly due to the tone of the questioning. At least with the scientists on, there is the chance to learn something (Brian Greene was awesome), but with the politicians is the same slanging match every week.</blockquote>
 
No, it's due to the fact that the ABC is vastly overrepresented by Greens supporters and sjws. Their idea of the centre is left of the labor party.

The Silver Fern

Brussels Bombing