GERARD HENDERSON’S MEDIA WATCH DOG – ISSUE NO. 27
11 SEPTEMBER 2009
NANCY’S PICK OF THE WEEK
Guy Rundle Analyses Mohammed Atta
The short-list for Nancy’s pick-of-the-week is becoming longer each time. Which suggests that media types are trying harder to win this most coveted gong. In any event, this week’s prize was a no-brainer, in every sense of the word. Step forward Guy Rundle, who writes for the Crikey newsletter.
In Crikey yesterday, your man Rundle decided to analyse Mohammed Atta – the Egyptian engineer who led the Islamist attacks on the United States this day eight years ago. Rundle, who was inspired by two quite sophisticated articles in Slate by Daniel Brook, commenced his reflection in Crikey with something of a put-down of the al Qaeda brotherhood. Wrote Rundle, in quite unsophisticated mode:
One of the reasons there have been so few Islamist terrorist attacks on western targets post 911 is that most of the organisers of them are inept. Most attacks, trumpeted to the media on the arrest of their would-be-perpetrators are fearsome plots to blow up twenty-nine blah blah, are discovered to be in the “pre-planning” stage, i.e. the dumb schmucks are just talking about them in coffee shops. The sort of people who are attracted to the rigid simplicities of Wahhabi Islamism, are the sort of people who generally lack the ability to think round corners.
Mr Rundle’s analysis would have come as some surprise to the families and loved ones of the victims of the devastating Islamist attacks in Madrid on 11 March 2004 and in London on 7 July 2005. Those Wahhabists exhibited the ability not only to both think round corners but also blow them up.
Leaving aside Mr Rundle’s short term memory problems, why does he believe that Mohammed Atta led the destruction of New York’s World Trade Center, the damage to the Pentagon in Washington DC and the apparent failed attack on the Capitol Building?
Well, according to Mr Rundle – who recently advised Crikey readers that he graduated from Brighton Grammar in 1983 – Atta was really into antiquarianism. You know, the sort of bloke who – in Australia – would spend time in antique shops in Brighton and campaign for the preservation of the Camberwell Railway Station. That sort of thing. In Egypt, according to Rundle, Atta “was particularly exercised by an Egyptian government plan to turn an old quarter of Cairo into a historic theme park”. Moreover, he had a “passionate attachment to built form and historical ways of life”.
So what did Mr Atta do to demonstrate his commitment to antiquity? He and 18 (Islamist) mates decided to fly four planes into some of the United States’ main buildings. Or something like this. Let Rundle take up the story:
The possibility is that Islamism per se was not Atta’s main concern – that 911 was such a singular event because Al-Qaeda was used as much by Atta, as using of him. In this scenario, he employed the resources and ideology of that movement to strike a blow against what he saw as a more secular and material historical process by which a whole way of life and region of the world was under attack. Was Mohammed Atta simply the armed wing of the Arab National Trust? And if so, how grievously have we misunderstood the last decade?
So there you have it. According to Rundle, Mohammed Atta was simply a warrior of the Arab National Trust – intent on preserving the built (past) environment of Cairo’s old quarter by destroying the built (present) environment of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and, probably, the Capitol. Disclosure: Mr Rundle is a comedian in his spare time. Has anyone told Crikey?
GUSHTOBER AT THE WOMEN’S WEEKLY
▪ Pride Without Prejudice On Lake Burley Griffin
MWD wishes Helen McCabe all the best as she takes over as editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly. She faces quite a challenge to match the intellectual clout of the September 2009 issue – which contains a cover story titled “PM’s Wife Thérèse Rein – Inside the Rudd Marriage: She’s a Millionaire, Climbs Mountains And Is Madly In Love With Kevin”.
Good start, don’t you think? Turn to Page 26 and a truly moving piece by Michael Sheather, the magazine’s youngish news editor. By the fifth paragraph, Mr Sheather is in full gush-mode:
Thérèse Rein is clearly a very different prime ministerial wife. Never before has the country’s leader been partnered by a woman as independent, energetic or determined as Thérèse Rein. She is a devoted mum who climbs mountains, a self-made multi-millionaire with a moral compass and a PM’s spouse with a purpose. It’s a role that she comes to with a vast array of experience as a mother, a daughter and a wife, and achievements as the founder of a successful business empire that today straddles the globe.
There you have it. Most people who take start-up companies into successful international businesses are somewhat tough-minded types. But, then, perhaps the likes of Frank Lowy and Rupert Murdoch did not have access to what Mr Sheather has identified as Ms Rein’s “moral compass”. MWD was most impressed that the evidently metrosexual Michael Sheather actually took seriously Thérèse Rein’s apparent joke about Kevin Rudd and her being characters out of a Jane Austen novel.
Readers of this month’s Women’s Weekly learn that, according to Kevin Rudd, he met Thérèse Rein over lunch at the Australian National University cafeteria but that, according to Thérèse Rein, she met Kevin Rudd at a Christian Fellowship meeting. A conversation followed. Back to Mr Sheather:
That chat preceded almost two years of intellectual jousting between the pair, reminiscent of the literary sparks that flew between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy. “We disagreed on everything,” recalls Thérèse, “It was the best traditions of Jane Austen. Actually it was very Pride and Prejudice. We would get into these heated debates about politics, philosophy, films, the meaning of life. And, eventually, he asked me out.
Quite moving really. MWD buys the concept of Thérèse Rein as a modern day Elizabeth Bennett. However, MWD is still working on the idea of Mr Rudd as Mr Darcy. Moreover, as a reader of Pride and Prejudice, MWD recalls the accounts of the Bennett-Darcy literary flirtation, as they argued about not only the meaning of life but also films. [Are you sure about this? Ed].
▪ Jennifer Byrne Tunnels Into A Magical World
Turn to Page 68 and there is Jennifer Byrne’s profile of Governor-General Quentin Bryce titled “My First Year In Office”. Early in the magazine consulting editor Deborah Thomas reported a gushing Jennifer Byrne as having declared that spending a day with Quentin Bryce and her husband Michael Bryce in Canberra “was like being in a magical world – at the apex of power and in a place of beauty and calm”.
In fact, the Governor-General has influence but no real power – unless she decides to exercise the reserve powers to dismiss a government. That’s what the late Sir John Kerr did in November 1975 and it is doubtful if Byrne would support such a move. It seems that Ms Byrne got somewhat carried away during her time at Government House – especially since she interviewed the Governor-General in “the Chancery”.
It seems that Ms Byrne gets quite excited about life’s experiences – including even such mundane tasks as driving through Sydney’s Cross City Tunnel. In the September issue of the(Sydney)magazine, Ms Byrne was asked a question about the meaning of (Sydney) life. Namely: “Cross City Tunnel – yes or no?”. This is a big (Sydney) issue. Ms Byrne replied emphatically:
Yes, yes, yes. In fact, I hated it, campaigned against it. Now I realise it was built specifically for people who commute from the eastern suburbs to the ABC building in Ultimo.
How convenient is that. First Ms Byrne campaigned against the Cross City Tunnel on the ABC. Then, when it was constructed, she used the tunnel to travel to the ABC. Come to think of it, this is similar to the behaviour of broadcaster Alan Jones. He campaigned against the construction of a new apartment block at Circular Quay on Sydney Harbour. Once the building went up, Mr Jones moved in. But MWD digresses.
▪ True Love Sometimes Is Forgotten
Then turn to Page 87 where Sue Williams’ article “Balibo The Truth… Finally” appears. This consists of Sue Williams’ report of her recent interview with Shirley Shackleton, the widow of Channel 7 journalist Greg Shackleton who was killed in Balibo in October 1975. The killing of Greg Shackleton and five other Western journalists is the subject of Robert Connolly’s recent film Balibo.
In fact, the Women’s Weekly article does not reveal all the truth about Mr and Mrs Shackleton. This can be found in Jill Jolliffe’s book Cover Up: the inside story of the Balibo Five (Scribe, 2001) which has been re-issued as Balibo (Scribe, 2009). Greg (1947-1975) was the son of Olwyn Dryden and Hogg. He changed his name to Shackleton. Greg married Shirley, who was 14 years his senior, in 1965 and they had a son.
In early 1975 Greg Shackleton formed a relationship with Madeleine Feller, a Melbourne University student. Around five months before he left for Balibo, Mr Shackleton and Ms Feller commenced co-habitation. Greg Shackleton phoned Madeleine Feller before he flew out of Darwin for East Timor. It appears that this was the last personal call which he made to friends and family in Australia. All of the relatives and loved ones of the journalists would have been traumatised by the events of October 1975 in East Timor. It’s just that Ms Feller’s grief is rarely recorded – and certainly not, so far at least, in the Women’s Weekly. MWD looks forward to a Women’s Weekly follow-up titled, say “Balibo: The Truth…Eventually”.
THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT ALMOST WAS
▪ The Man In Black Forgets
Saturday. It was great to see Phillip Adams with a brand new spot in the revamped Weekend Australian.
Alas, there was no surprise when the Man In Black commenced his new slot (The Weekend Australian Magazine, 5-6 September 2009) with the usual put-down of Sarah Palin and her ilk. But it was not long before Adams returned to his favourite topic, HIMSELF, with the following claim:
My book Emperors of the Air was an insider’s view of local shock-jockery, its pages suppurating with transcripts of their transgressions –their fear and loathing of Aborigines, women, homosexuals and trade unionists.
Strange that. MWD recalls that the tome in question was co-authored by Phillip Adams and the academic Lee Burton. Interesting that, when bagging the likes of Rush Limbaugh for his attitude to women, Mr Adams conveniently forgot his female co-author. The book was actually titled Talkback: Emperors of Air (Allen & Unwin, 1997). The acknowledgements sections referred to many researchers and also made the point that research carried out by Lee Burton had been incorporated into Phillip Adams’ chapter “Emperors of Air”.
▪ Stephen FitzGerald’s U-Turn With Pike
Tuesday. The Age runs an article by Stephen FitzGerald titled “A relationship in trouble”. Dr FitzGerald is deeply upset about the relationship between Australia and China and he blames Kevin Rudd for the problems which exist between the leaders of the two nations.
Dr FitzGerald’s solutions turn on the creation of a “leadership dialogue” between Australians and Chinese, substantial government funding (up to $25 million) for a China Studies Centre and the creation of a “high powered body to advise and assist the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister on China policy”.
No doubt this will thrill ex-academics and retired diplomats alike. People like Dr FitzGerald, that is. MWD would be happy to nominate Australia’s inaugural Ambassador to China for all of these gigs. There is one problem, however. In his 1989 George Ernest Morrison Lecture, FitzGerald condemned the governments led by Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke for being too close to China and asked: “Do we want to be lap dogs of China?”
▪ ABC702 – Read 70snob
Wednesday. Alison Carabine has just taken up the gig as ABC Radio National’s political correspondent. A fitting appointment, to be sure. After all, Ms Carabine seems to fit the fashionable leftism which pervades RN.
Right now AC has a gig on Deborah Cameron’s morning program on 702. On Wednesday she was happy to join in the bagging of Independent Senator Steve Fielding who was mocked by some journalists because he mispronounced, and later, misspelt, the word fiscal. [Presumably also because he does not agree with the ABC’s in-house eco-catastrophists – Ed]. Let’s go to the tape:
Deborah Cameron: Now, Alison, to the matter of Senator Steven Fielding; If he can’t tell the difference between a fiscal stimulus and a physical stimulus…what are you meant to do with the bloke?
Alison Carabine: Well, you know, we live in a democracy and he was elected by the good people of Victoria. But we all now know that “fiscal” is spelt with an “f” and a “c” not a “ph” and a “k”. Now Steve Fielding, a renowned mangler of the English language, my personal favourite a couple of months ago when he was talking about the upcoming United Nations Climate Change talks in “Cupanhoogen”. Now when you hit the translation button it’s Copenhagen. So, look he, he, he, he enjoys a reputation of being a bit of an odd-ball but he did reveal yesterday that he had a learning difficulty as a child I think he got a “g” for English. Now you’ve got to admire anyone who can overcome such a setback, earn an engineering degree, aN MA and also be elected to Parliament…
And so it went on with Ms Carabine – in condescending mode – mocking Senator Fielding’s various stunts. She should do well at the public broadcaster. After all, The Chaser Boys (average age 36) made a small fortune out of mocking poorly educated, low-paid janitors and the like. Ms Carabine and Ms Cameron have the skill to extend this mocking to educated types with learning difficulties who are inclined to do unfashionable stunts. ABC types prefer Chaser-style stunts.
▪ David Speers Channels Kevin Rudd
Thursday. David Speers is in the PM Agenda chair again. This time he dismisses Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey’s claim that some of the nations in the G20 are led by left-of-centre or left-wing governments and, as such, might not be good precedents for Australia to follow on economic policy.
Overlooking the fact that such a label might be accepted by Gordon Brown in Britain and Barack Obama in the United States, Speers implies that Hockey believes that the G20 is a “left-wing conspiracy”. This line was run earlier in the day by the Prime Minister in Question Time. Interviewing Opposition Deputy Leader on the program, Speers asks Julie Bishop: “Do you think there is a left-wing conspiracy in the G20?” Perhaps Sky News could cut cost by letting the Prime Minister’s media office ask the questions on PM Agenda direct.
UN-SEALED SECTION – MELBOURNE LETTERS
The good news is that Media Watch Dog is being read on Fridays by at least one person in Legal Aid Victoria. It seems that Nancy’s picks-of-the-week and other MWD highlights help to relieve the burden of those who take on the mantle of counsel for the defence. A certain Lorne Clements even found time to email MWD on late Friday afternoon while still at work. Ms Clements was so engaged in the correspondence that she even responded to MWD outside office hours. The correspondence is published here in the public interest, the right to know, freedom of information and other excuses.
▪ Email To Gerard Henderson From Lorne Clements, 28 August 2009
“It is one of the ironies of media life that there is more genuine debate and discussion on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Channel in the United States than on the taxpayer funded ABC in Australia.”
Would be if it were true. You really have lost it if you genuinely believe that.
▪ Email To Lorne Clements From Gerard Henderson, 2 September 2009
Dear Ms Clements
Re your note of last Friday. I do not know whether your apparent busy employment in the Victorian Government gives you much time to watch Fox News on Pay TV.
If you did watch Fox News, you would know that it engaged many liberal (in the American sense of the term) commentators on a regular basis. I am not aware that the ABC engages any conservative commentators on a regular basis on any of its key TV or radio programs. If you are aware of someone – anyone – who fits this description, please forward me the name or names.
I will probably give this correspondence a run in the next edition of Media Watch Dog. I’m sure that Victorian taxpayers would be interested in a case study of their taxes at work.
Best wishes
Gerard Henderson
▪ Email To Gerard Henderson From Lorne Clements, 2 September 2009
Dear Mr Henderson
I have watched Fox News here and there, just for laughs. They don’t engage “many” liberal commentators. There’s a few token liberals who act as punching bags for the conservatives. That’s all. I imagine that’s so that conservatives have something to cling to in the pretence that Fox is balanced or something. It’s certainly not out of some editorial respect for liberal points of view.
I have no interest in arguing with you about whether or not the ABC is biased. I’m aware that it has been an obsession of yours for many years and I imagine it will be for years to come. Honestly, I don’t care what you think about the ABC, or anything else for that matter.
You say that you “will probably give this correspondence a run in the next edition of Media Watch Dog”. I bet you don’t. I don’t work in the media, so how would this correspondence rate a mention? Also, be sure to mention that my email was sent to you at 5.20pm on a Friday. I am not as sure as you are that Victorian taxpayers will be as outraged as you seem to be at the idea that a public servant isn’t still hard at it at 5.20pm on a Friday. Really, Gerry, I think it will reflect worse on you than it does on me if you publish this correspondence. I mean, I can see a fair proportion of Media Watch Dog’s many readers thinking it sad that you would consider it productive use of your time to even respond to a two-sentence email tossed off by someone you don’t even know. Have you considered that?
Regards
Lorne Clements
▪ Email To Lorne Clements From Gerard Henderson, 11 September 2009
Dear Ms Clements
Re your email of 2 September. Apologies for the delay in responding but I have had other priorities of late.
I do not know what intellectual standards apply – before or after 5.20 pm – at Victoria Legal Aid. However, I note that you have made an assessment about Fox News without actually viewing it – you maintain that you watch it “here and there, just for laughs”. And you claim that you do not care what I think about the ABC – despite the fact that you emailed me from work on 28 August about this very subject.
In relation to your final paragraph, you may or may not be aware that I am not all that fussed concerning what my sneering critics – like you – in the Victorian Public Service think of me. So I am inclined to take up your “bet” that I will not publish this correspondence. So keep viewing Media Watch Dog during office hours on Friday.
If you ever come up with any names of regular conservative presenters/commentators on the ABC to match the numbers of left liberals on Fox News – just send one more (taxpayer funded) email.
Best wishes
Gerard Henderson
****
Until next time – when “History Corner” resumes – provided no more correspondence is received from Legal Aid Victoria.