Questions for discussion

Afghan election

Bushfire report

Animal rights

EPISODE 23

25TH AUGUST 2009

Mummies

Kid critics

Focus Questions

Film reviews

Related Research Links

EPISODE 23

25TH AUGUST 2009

Learning Area

English

Key learning

Students will

analyse the

purpose and

content of film

reviews and create

their own.

Reflection

Focus Questions

In the name of science

EPISODE 23

25TH AUGUST 2009

Learning Area

Society and

Environment,

English

Key learning

Students will

develop a deeper

understanding of

the animal welfare

debate, focussing

on scientific

testing on

animals.

Peer assessment

Further investigation

Related Research Links

BtN: Episode 23 Transcripts 25/08/09

On this week's Behind the News:

Changing the rules to save lives in bushfires.

Should animals have rights?

And getting inside an ancient mummy.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley welcome to another week of Behind the News.

Also on the show today – kids handing out awards at an international

film vestival.

We’ll get to those stories in a sec., but first, let’s have a look at some

breaking news in the Wire.

The Wire

Environment groups are worried about whales and other sea life after

an oil rig started leaking huge amounts of oil and gas into the ocean.

The rig is in the Timor Sea off the coast of Western Australia.

The spill started Friday morning and now stretches 14 kilometres long

and 30 m wide.

Chemicals are being dumped on the oil slick by plane to try to break it

down and authorities are working to try to stop the leak.

But they warn it could take 8 weeks because they have to bring in

another rig to get to the bottom of the ocean to plug the hole.

********

A potentially deadly virus that affects horses has broken out on a farm

in Queensland.

Three horses have died from the virus - called Hendra virus, but

worryingly one of the horses' vets has also contracted it and he is now

in a coma.

Hendra virus is particularly deadly to humans and domestic animals

like horses and usually is caught from fruit bats.

The farm is now under quarantine to try to stop the virus spreading.

Afghan Election

Reporter: Catherine Ellis

INTRO: Now to our features, and the focus of many Australians has

been on Afghanistan over the past week as people there voted for a

new president.

The election attracted a lot of violence and there are lots of Aussies

over there who were in danger.

So why are they there and why are things so turbulent? Here's

Catherine to explain.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: It's certainly not something you

see before an Aussie election,but last week donkeys helped deliver

ballot papers and voting equipment for Afghanistan's big vote.

You see the land in Afghanistan, which is here in Southern Asia, has

lots of steep, rocky mountains, so getting places by car isn't always

possible.

Also in the lead up to the vote many kids and adults were really

excited.

But there was a lot of fear and praying for peace.

That's because there's a war and rebels were threatening to cause

trouble on voting day.

CATHERINE: Now to explain why there's a war in Afghanistan, who

this group of rebels are and what Australia's got to do with it, we'll

have to go back eight years. So I've pulled out a few tapes from our

BtN library and we'll start with this one.

It was the 11th of September 2001, terrorists hijacked planes in the

United States and crashed them in to the World Trade Centre and the

Pentagon. Three thousand people died, including ten Australians.

CATHERINE: Now shortly after those attacks, this video was

released.

This man, Osama bin Laden, who is the leader of a terrorist

organisation called Al-Qaeda says they were responsible for the

attacks.

Now the US believed Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda had been

running training camps in Afghanistan.

So they demanded Afghanistan hand them over.

But the Taliban - who were in charge of Afghanistan at the time -

refused and so the United States invaded their country and the war

began.

Very quickly other countries joined the US, including Australia.

They overthrew the Taliban and helped the country get a new leader,

a new parliament and new set of rules.

But not everyone was happy. The Taliban and its supporters preferred

it the way it was and kept fighting.

CATHERINE: And after eight years, the war in Afghanistan is still

going.

A lot of soldiers including eleven Australians have died in the fighting

along with thousands of Afghans and when the country went to the

polls the Taliban launched more deadly attacks.

As well as the troops there are also Aussie doctors, engineers and aid

workers in Afghanistan. They're trying to help because many people

are poor and struggling to get good health care and education.

The election is seen as a really important step to try to solve all those

problems and move forward, but the Australian Government says

Aussies will remain in Afghanistan for a long time yet, trying to help

rebuild the war-torn country.

Presenter: Now it'll be almost a month before the new president is

named, meanwhile let's do an Afghanistan quiz.

Quiz 1

What is the capital of Afghanistan.

1. Islamabad

2. Baghdad

3. Kabul

Answer: Kabul.

Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and Baghdad is the capital of

Iraq.

Bushfire Report

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: It's been more than six months since devastating bushfires

tore across Victoria, killing 173 people.

Since then we've brought you news of the recovery efforts and more

recently the investigation into what went wrong, called a royal

commission.

Well now the commission has released its first report and it contains

a whole lot of plans they hope will stop something similar ever

happening again. Let's take a look.

KHYLE (March): The house was on fire so we had to get out so we ran

out the door and we got to the door and the roof fell down. So we ran

down the street for three k's with exploding cars and gas bottles

exploding everywhere.

REPORTER: What went wrong?

BRUCE ESPLIN, EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMISSIONER: I

think that is a question that will trouble everyone involved in this

incident.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: In a bushfire, survival can all come

down to choices.

Choices made by residents; choices made by fire fighters and police;

choices made by government.

After the Black Saturday fires, a special inquiry called a Royal

Commission was given a huge task.

To work out which choices worked and which didn't.

For 35 days it's been questioning people involved in the fire, from the

head of the fire service to locals in community meetings.

This report is some of what they've learnt.

NATHAN: Okay so what's actually in this report? Well all up there are

51 recommendations in here, though many more will be released

further down the track. First up, let's look at some important ones

that relate to a controversial policy called 'stay or go'.

At the moment, people are told by fire fighters to have a bushfire plan

ready in which they've already decided if they want to stay with their

homes and fight, or evacuate to a safe area.

During the Victorian bushfires, many people were under the

impression they would be safest if they protected their homes and hid

inside them.

But many of those who died had tried just that.

Taking that into account, the report says people should now be

warned of the dangers of staying to fight and encouraged to relocate.

NATHAN: But where would they go? Well one big idea in the report

looks at just that problem.

You might remember seeing images like this during the fires - people

gathered on football fields or open spaces, hoping to escape the

flames.

Well this tactic worked pretty well, so the Royal Commission wants

every community to now have a space like that they can access in a

hurry.

They also want fire fighters to defend the spaces too.

NATHAN: The final few big recommendations in here are all about

giving people enough warning on what the fire is doing to help them

make the best choices possible.

The report throws up the idea of using a 1 - 5 scale to rate the danger a

fire poses to people, just like they use during cyclones.

On the ground they also want to get information to people more

quickly, because some people caught in the fires said they were given

little warning.

So in the future mobiles and home phones could be sent warning

messages and sirens could sound if a fire is coming.

So they are some of the ideas this Royal Commission has come up

with, but it is still going to need a lot more evidence from a lot more

people.

Its final report is due in July next year.

Quiz 2

Ok, next we’re going to talk about something called animal rights –

but let’s warm up with an animal quiz.

Which animal was domesticated first?

1. Sheep

2. Dogs

3. Cattle

Answer: Dogs.

There's lots of debate about this but most scientists think dogs were

the first and they were bred from wolves

Animal Rights

Reporter: Catherine Ellis

INTRO: A while ago we told you about some controversy over

intensive farming - that's where farm animals are kept in cages.

Now Woolworths has announced it will scale back the number of

eggs it sells that are produced with this method - instead it will sell

more free range eggs.

They're doing that because they think more people are worried

about the welfare of animals - and that they're prepared to pay for

it.

Sarah has been looking at the issue of animal rights.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: We share the planet and a lot more.

Animals have been part of humans' lives for thousands of years, and

they still are.

There's wool, from sheep, your shoes are leather, the hide of a cow,

some paintbrushes use real animal hair - then there's the meat in your

sandwich.

But while modern humans have always used animals to make their

lives easier, over time we've come to look at them differently.

REPORTER: A hundred years ago lots of people thought animals

couldn't feel pain or fear. If you'd suggested we should be kind to

say,a cow or a chicken, they'd have thought you were mad!

Now we know a lot more about how they behave. Scientists reckon

many can communicate and even feel emotion.

Countries like Australia now have rules to look after the welfare of

animals. Cruelty, in most cases, is against the law.

But while most Australians agree they shouldn't be deliberately hurt

or made to suffer, some want to take it further.

There are people who want to stop intensive farming where animals

like chicken and pigs are kept in cages. They also want to stop live

exports where shiploads of live animals are sent overseas.

There are also some who'd like to see us stop eating meat altogether!

Some animal rights campaigners believe animals should have similar

rights to humans when it comes to health and well-being. They also

reckon we shouldn't use animals for sport, or entertainment,or

fashion

It's pretty controversial. Most of the people who work with animals

say they look after them well.

Farmers say what they do is a really important part of the economy

and some things they do are necessary to keep food prices

competitive.

Others argue that we're just assuming animals think like people,

which isn't true.

Another big issue is scientific research on animals.

It's done for all sorts of reasons, from testing new drugs to making

sure the chemicals that go into food and cosmetics don't have any

harmful effects.

It sometimes means exposing them to germs or chemicals that can

hurt them, and afterwards many are killed.

Aussie scientists have to follow rules to make sure they cause as little

pain as possible, but many animal rights campaigners want it stopped

altogether.

Scientists say there are some sorts of research they can't do without

animal testing and some argue that if it saves human lives it's worth

it.

These are really difficult questions. But one thing's for sure, we

humans will continue to debate it - as only humans can!

Presenter: Really interesting debate there, and a controversial one

too so it'll be perfect for this week's poll.

Poll

The question is: Should animals be used to test cures for human

diseases?

If you want to vote go to our website at abc.net.au/btn.

Mummies

Reporter: Sarah larsen

INTRO: We got a lot comments about that one and you can see them

all on our website.

Think of ancient Egypt and you'll probably think of a few things -

pharaohs, pyramids, and mummies.

The Egyptians were brilliant at preserving human bodies and from

their mummies we've learned heaps about how they lived.

But in the past it was hard to study the ancient remains without

damaging them.

Now technology has given us a way of unwrapping the secrets of

mummies –without unwrapping them. Sarah has more.

With their art and artefacts they left us a window into the past. But

maybe the most amazing relics the Ancient Egyptians left us were

themselves; preserved for thousands of years as mummies.

REPORTER: It's not very often you get to see a bloke who's a couple

of thousand years old you can't help but wonder who he was, and

what his life was like.

Here's another mummy who's been keeping people at Sydney

University guessing for a long time. His name is Horace or, at least, it

is now. Horace was the Egyptian god of the sky. The word was found

on piece of papyrus in the child-mummy's bandages. But what his real

name was no one knows. The museum knew he was an important kid

who lived about 2000 years ago but apart from that his life was a

mystery - they didn't even know if he was a he.

REPORTER: In the old days if you wanted to find out more about a

mummy you had to unwrap the bandages. But by doing that you

risked wrecking the mummy or even unleashing ancient germs.

Now to find out about a mummy you just have to send it to hospital!

Errr, I don't think he's going to make it! Horace is getting a CT Scan,

which is like an x-ray that can take really detailed 3D pictures of

different parts of your body. It shows things like bones, blood vessels

and muscles.

JANET DAVEY, VIC INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC MEDICINE: We can

do all sorts of amazing things. We can look at the teeth. We can fly

through the body to see what's still inside.

Michael, the museum curator, is really hoping to finally find out if

Horace was a boy or a girl.

MICHAEL TURNER, ICHOLSON MUSEUM CURATOR: It's a bit like

waiting for the birth.

RADIOGRAPHER: There it is. There it is there - the head, the chest

and the legs. There's the head coming up now. Look there's the

cochlear. How amazing is that.

From the pictures of Horace's bones and teeth the museum can take a

guess at his age - probably 5 or 6. They also give clues as to how he

died.

DR SHELLEY ROBERTSON, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: This child has

a skull fracture in an unusual position. This is an area that

traditionally embalming techniques removed the brain. What we are

seeing is the hole that was made probably by the embalmers.

REPORTER: Embalmers were the people who made mummies. They

treated the body with salt and oils and removed all the internal organs

except the heart which they thought contained your soul. The brains

were pulled out with a hook straight up the nose!

Mummification stopped the natural process of decay where bacteria

and other germs eat away at bodies leaving only the bones behind and

it means all these years later we can see details like hair and skin and

even...

RADIOGRAPHER: It’s a boy! It’s a boy!

Yep, Horace is a boy.

The work here isn't done. Horace may still have many secrets to

reveal but with the help of science he'll be telling his story for

generations to come.

Presenter: Sarah might just appear in the next mummy film after

that!

The Score

OK, I've been trying to delay this as long as possible, but we may as

well get the pain over and done with.

Australian cricket lovers might want to look away now as we head into

the score.

************

England cricket fans are going berserk after they beat Australia in the

final Test to reclaim the Ashes.

They won the game by 197 runs which means they took out the series

2-1.

The defeat means Australia slips to fourth in the test rankings.

************

And it wasn't much better news in rugby with the Kiwis wining the

Bledisloe Cup again.

They rolled the Wallabies by one point when their fly half kicked a

penalty goal in the dying minutes of the game.

It's the seventh consecutive year they've won the cup.

*************

But there was some good news in the world athletics championships

in Berlin*.

Sydney's Dani Samuels won a surprise gold medal with a mighty

throw in the women’s discus.

And Olympic champion Steve Hooker overcame a thigh injury to get

another gold in the pole vault.

*************

No words can express my disappointment. Let's take our minds off it

with a story.

Kid Critics

Reporter: Catherine Ellis

INTRO: For kids who love going to the movies being a film critic

would be an awesome career - getting paid to watch films and give

your opinion.

Well some kids in Queensland recently got the chance to experience

life as a movie critic at a big international film festival.

Catherine thought she'd find out how they got this fantastic

opportunity.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: If you're a movie critic, it doesn't

matter what age you are, you still get to watch cartoons! Along with

action movies, romance, comedy, sci-fi and thrillers.

And give your opinion.

As well as shows like this, film reviews can be found in magazines and

newspapers.

Story lines, characters, film techniques, actors and soundtracks are

often discussed and it can help us decide what we want to see at the

cinema.

Recently a group of kids got the chance to see what it's like to be a

film critic at the International film festival in Brisbane.

They entered a writing competition and were chosen from across the

state.

Now just like any big International film festival - this is the Cannes

Festival in France - movies from right around the world are shown so

they're a great chance to see stuff that hasn't just been made in

America. Believe it or not, there are actually big film industries

outside of Hollywood!

In fact the largest in the world is the Indian film industry.

CATHERINE: Of course films made in other parts of the world, are

often in foreign languages so subtitles are added.

But that didn't bother the kid critics in Brissie.

FELICITY: Before I came here, as far as I was concerned the only

good films that were made were from Hollywood and then I came

here and I'm seeing all these films made in countries that don't even

speak English and I'm starting to realise that I actually really like

these films.

Their job was to watch four films, write reviews and select a winner.

SOLOMAN: It's hard to decide between four very different films.

They're not within the same category. We had a documentary.

FELICITY: There was a Japanese one and then there was a Swedish

film.

They even got to present awards.

SOLOMON: It's definitely good for a cultural experience because the

world today it's you know western. It's a western world.

HANNAH: I think that's why international films are so important

because it lets you glimpse a part of life that you've never heard of or

had any idea of what it was like before.

Regardless of whether they want to be movie critics, directors or

actors, they've all learnt a great deal more about film.

Closer

Wonder whether you can claim popcorn and choc tops as a business

expense?

Sounds like my kind of job!

If you want to check out the kids reviews or find out more about the

competition there's a link on our website.

Don't forget you can tune in every Monday to Friday at 5 to 6 for an

update of kids' news in BTN Daily. Catch you later.

*Transcript corrected 25/8/09