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Today's Topics:
1. CBS pleads censorship over 9/11 show (George Antunes)
2. iTunes FairPlay DRM is cracked (Monty Solomon)
3. Public Expresses Frustration Over Broadcast Media (George Antunes)
4. Senator Snowe Puts Brakes on Toll Lanes on Internet
(George Antunes)
5. 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin dead (Greg Williams)
6. Weather favorable for Wednesday shuttle launch (Greg Williams)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2006 23:39:06 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] CBS pleads censorship over 9/11 show
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed;
x-avg-checked=avg-ok-4FD6542C
September 3, 2006 ? Last updated 1:35 p.m. PT
CBS pleads censorship over 9/11 show
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_CBS_9_11_Film.html
NEW YORK -- Broadcasters say the hesitancy of some CBS affiliates to air a
powerful Sept. 11 documentary next week proves there's been a chilling
effect on the First Amendment since federal regulators boosted penalties
for television obscenities after Janet Jackson's breast was exposed at a
Super Bowl halftime show.
"This is example No. 1," said Martin Franks, executive vice president of
CBS Corp., of the decision by two dozen CBS affiliates to replace or delay
"9/11" - which has already aired twice without controversy - over concerns
about some of the language used by the firefighters in it.
"We don't think it's appropriate to sanitize the reality of the hell of
Sept. 11th," Franks said. "It shows the incredible stress that these heroes
were under. To sanitize it in some way robs it of the horror they faced."
Actor Robert De Niro hosts the award-winning documentary, which began as a
quest to follow a rookie firefighter on an ordinary day but resulted in the
only known video of the first plane striking the World Trade Center and
horrific and inspiring scenes of rescue, escape and death. CBS will show it
on Sept. 10 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT, profanity intact.
Carter G. Phillips, a lawyer for Fox Television Stations Inc., cited the
decision by several CBS affiliates to replace the documentary or show it
after 10 p.m., the time at which the Federal Communications Commission
loosens restrictions, when he spoke last week to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals in Manhattan.
Phillips addressed the court as part of a hearing on whether the FCC rushed
to judgment in concluding that "NYPD Blue" and three other programs
violated decency rules.
Saying the FCC was chilling free speech rights, Phillips mentioned the
documentary to show the court how timid broadcast companies had become
since the FCC toughened its position toward profanities after the 2004
Super Bowl halftime show on CBS, in which Jackson's breast was briefly bared.
Congress recently boosted the maximum fines the FCC can impose for
indecency from $32,500 to $325,000.
So far, about a dozen CBS affiliates have indicated they won't show the
documentary, another dozen say they will delay it until later at night and
two dozen others are considering what to do.
On Friday, Sinclair Broadcasting became the latest company to say it was
delaying the broadcast until after 10 p.m. on its stations in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, and Portland, Maine, saying it was concerned it could face fines.
The announcement came as the Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family
Association readied its 3 million members to flood the FCC and CBS with
complaints after the documentary airs.
"This isn't an issue of censorship. It's an issue of responsibility to the
public," said Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the group,
which describes itself as a 29-year-old organization that promotes the
biblical ethic of decency.
The documentary first aired on the six-month and one-year anniversaries of
the Sept. 11 attacks on the trade center and the Pentagon. This latest
showing, on the eve of the five-year anniversary, includes new interviews
with many of the firefighters featured in the original, describing how
their lives have changed.
Franks said it was an easy decision not to edit the language in the
documentary, especially since it has won a George Foster Peabody Award,
among others. "It was a much more difficult decision five years ago when
the emotions were much more raw and fresh," he said.
Franks said it seemed "dishonest somehow" for the network to cover up the
real language five years later because of the current regulatory environment.
However, he said he understood the difficulties of small stations that fear
the huge FCC fines. "We're not twisting arms," he said.
FCC spokeswoman Tamara Lipper said the commission routinely takes context
into account in any decency analysis.
"We don't police the airwaves. We respond to viewer complaints," Lipper
said. "We haven't seen the broadcast in question. It's up to individual
stations to decide what they should air or not air."
She noted that "the historical context of 9/11 is important to the context
of the broadcast" but said she could not predict how the commission might
view the show if it receives complaints.
Sharp promised on Friday that his organization would flood the FCC with
complaints, saying nearly 198,000 people already had told the FCC they want
the agency to "enforce the law should CBS decide to break it."
CBS is feeling the heat. "Even if all 206 stations decide between now and
the 10th to air the program live, what we have gone through for the past
two or three weeks is overwhelming evidence of the chill facing
broadcasters," Franks said.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2006 11:28:51 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] iTunes FairPlay DRM is cracked
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
iTunes FairPlay DRM is cracked
By Macworld staff
August 31, 2006
Anti-copy protection activists have released a new solution that
breaks Apple's FairPlay DRM, which secures iTunes-purchased tracks.
The solution, QTFairUse6, comes from the same activists who this week
unleashed FairUse4WM, which can strip copy protection from Windows
Media files.
...
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=15725
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2006 15:06:49 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Public Expresses Frustration Over Broadcast Media
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed;
x-avg-checked=avg-ok-4FD6542C
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fcc4sep04,1,3888365.story?coll=la-headlines-business
Public Expresses Frustration Over Broadcast Media
Two FCC members hear calls to boost standards and end consolidation of
station ownership.
By Meg James
la Times Staff Writer
September 4, 2006
Deep frustration over the media's often frivolous and occasionally
insensitive broadcasts bubbled over late last week in Los Angeles as a
parade of speakers spent 4 1/2 hours imploring two federal regulators to
enforce higher standards and halt any further consolidation of radio and
television station ownership.
Nearly 250 people showed up for a hearing at USC , one of several across
the country that will be held as the Federal Communications Commission
embarks, yet again, on an overhaul of media ownership rules.
"We are right back to square one," said Michael J. Copps, one of two FCC
members at the meeting Thursday.
In 2003, the agency voted 3 to 2 to allow companies to own more TV stations
across the country and to control both a station and a newspaper in the
same market. After an outpouring of protest from consumer groups and
others, Congress weighed in, undercutting the FCC's action. Separately, the
U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals called the new regulations unjustified
and sent them back to the agency for revision.
"It was a near-disaster for the United States of America, and we cannot let
that happen again," said Copps, who, along with the other Democrat on the
commission, Jonathan S. Adelstein, had voted against the rules.
The full FCC is expected to vote on the media ownership rules next year.
The issue is considered a test for FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin, who took
the helm last year in the wake of the controversy.
On Thursday, Copps and Adelstein were the only two FCC members to attend
the hearing, organized by the National Latino Media Council. All five had
been invited.
The hearing brought into focus high levels of dissatisfaction with the media.
The two commissioners received an earful from dozens of speakers, who
asserted that the consolidation of station ownership had led to a
pronounced decline in in-depth news reporting, diversity of viewpoints and
quality children's programming.
Speakers, who included members of Congress, labor leaders, librarians and
even a limousine driver, accused the major corporations that own
broadcasting outlets of abrogating their responsibility to serve the public
interest in their pursuit of profits.
Mona Mangan, president of the Writers Guild of America, East, accused the
broadcasters of pandering to "the lowest common denominator" in their quest
to find a large enough audience to drive ratings.
"Local television is one of the most lucrative parts of the networks," she
said. "It is the source of so much money."
Mangan said strong reporting could benefit the community, citing the
investigative coverage of unsanitary kitchens by KCBS-TV Channel 2 in 1997
that led to the A, B, C grades that now hang in restaurant windows.
"Local stories are expensive, and that type of investigation is not done
anymore," she said.
One speaker, Dave Adelson, said that searching for substantial programming
on TV was like trying to get a balanced meal from a vending machine.
"The machine is filled with products made by conglomerates," Adelson said.
"You can get anything you want, except nutrition."
The hearing was the first of four that Copps and Adelstein are planning to
specifically address the concerns of Latinos. Los Angeles is home to the
nation's largest Latino population, ? 1.8 million households, according to
Nielsen Media Research. The two FCC members plan other such hearings this
year in New York, Chicago and Austin, Texas.
Several Latino speakers decried the practices of Spanish-language media.
Major Spanish-language broadcasters typically buy much of their
entertainment programming from production firms in Mexico and other Latin
American countries. This practice, several speakers said, denies Latino
producers, actors and writers in Los Angeles a valuable source of employment.
A few others said they were offended by the vulgarities and crass content
they sometimes hear on Spanish-language radio programs. They asked the FCC
to do a better job of monitoring the Spanish-language airwaves.
The most impassioned group was one affiliated with a charter school in El
Sereno. In June, a talk show host on KABC-AM (790) alleged that the
school's leaders were racist separatists and called for its closure. The
school received a bomb threat and had to be evacuated.
The school's co-founder played an audio tape of the KABC broadcast, and
demanded that the FCC revoke the station's license. One father accused the
station of spreading hate and lies.
"They threatened the lives of our children," he cried out, his booming
voice filling the conference room.
KABC executives did not return calls seeking comment Friday, and executives
at parent firm Walt Disney Co. declined to comment.
On Friday, Adelstein said he was alarmed by what he heard and would
investigate the matter further. He said he was impressed by the turnout and
the variety of issues raised at the hearing.
"This was a powerful statement of the deep level of concern within the
Hispanic community about the state of the media in Los Angeles," he said.
"The frustration is understandable."
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2006 15:18:34 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Senator Snowe Puts Brakes on Toll Lanes on
Internet
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed;
x-avg-checked=avg-ok-4FD6542C
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-snowe4sep04,1,2170769.story?coll=la-headlines-business
Snowe Puts Brakes on Toll Lanes on Internet
By Jim Puzzanghera
LA Times Staff Writer
September 4, 2006
WASHINGTON ? Olympia J. Snowe is an unlikely Internet heroine.
The 59-year-old Republican senator from Maine isn't among the 170 Capitol
Hill lawmakers who occasionally meet as part of the Congressional Internet
Caucus. Her home state has no major technology company headquarters. In
fact, she cops to not even being proficient at surfing the Web.
But Snowe has emerged as one of the key leaders in a legislative battle
over toll lanes on the Internet.
Bucking her own party leadership, she has championed the push by Google
Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and other Internet giants to prohibit
phone and cable TV companies from charging websites for faster delivery of
their data. The issue, known as network neutrality, threatens to kill a
wide-ranging telecommunications bill that Senate leaders hope to pass this
fall.
The legislation would make it easier for phone companies such as Verizon
Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. to offer TV service. Supporters say the
ability to package voice, video and data would encourage phone companies to
spend more on their networks. They say cable TV companies would be forced
to do the same, with the increased competition lowering bills and expanding
high-speed Internet access nationwide.
At least that's the hope.
Snowe acknowledges that Maine desperately needs more broadband access, but
says those lines won't be worth much if network operators can dictate whose
data flows through them ? and at what speed.
Without new regulations, she fears that phone and cable executives would
create an Internet class system. Wealthy companies would pay to send video
and other data-heavy applications on the Internet's fast lane, she said,
while start-ups would be relegated to something that resonates with a
lifelong Maine resident ? an online dirt road.
"We don't want to curtail the innovation that has emerged on the Internet,"
Snowe said. "We want to continue to encourage and nurture and cultivate
that innovation and entrepreneurial spirit."
Small companies are important to Snowe, who chairs the Senate Small
Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. The online fates of those
companies, not Internet giants, have motivated her push for
anti-discrimination regulations, she said.
"The Googles and Yahoos will take care of themselves," Snowe said. But
small entrepreneurs looking to launch innovative Web services, such as
YouTube, would be at the mercy of phone and cable companies, who could
charge "a mighty fee" for fast content delivery, she said.
Snowe and Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) have sponsored legislation to
prevent broadband providers from charging companies for preferential
treatment of content. The pair failed in a tie vote in the Senate Commerce
Committee in June to add the prohibitions to the telecommunications bill.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and other top
Republicans strongly oppose the anti-discrimination regulations, arguing
that they would prevent phone and cable companies from recouping the costs
of expanding their networks.
Some online activists praised Snowe for a forceful and plain-spoken speech
advocating for anti-discriminatory regulations during the committee's
deliberations.
"This is a little more rocket science than a lot of the other issues they
work on, but I've been extremely impressed by her articulateness," said
Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a digital rights advocacy group
that supports the regulations.
Eschewing technical descriptions, Snowe focuses on the effect on average
Web users if phone and cable companies get their way.
"Consumers will have all the choices and selection of a former Soviet Union
supermarket," she told her committee colleagues. "They'll have access to
that supermarket, but what will be on the shelves will be limited and dismal."
Snowe's 15-minute speech didn't deliver victory for her and Dorgan, but it
still had an effect. Stevens responded with a rambling rebuttal in which he
called the Internet "a series of tubes." The statement has been roundly
ridiculed online, fueling opposition to Stevens' bill.
With most Senate Democrats insistent that the telecom bill must contain the
anti-discrimination regulations, Snowe and Dorgan appear to have enough
support to block the legislation this year unless a deal is struck.
Snowe's views put her in a difficult but not unusual position ? at odds
with the Senate's Republican leadership. A two-term moderate, Snowe has
opposed her party on the size of tax cuts and efforts to privatize Social
Security. That doesn't hurt her in Maine, said Chris Potholm, a government
professor at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
"The Maine voter has been conditioned to like independent candidates who
stand up to their party and their president," he said.
Snowe has been in politics most of her life. She became a state legislative
staffer after graduating from the University of Maine, then was elected to
office after personal tragedy struck. Her first husband, state Rep. Peter
Snowe, was killed in a car accident in 1973. She was elected to fill his seat.
Snowe moved up to the U.S. House of Representatives five years later as the
youngest Republican woman and first Greek American woman elected to
Congress. She served there with John R. McKernan Jr., another Maine
Republican. He was elected the state's governor in 1987 and the two married
in 1989.
Snowe says McKernan is the proficient Web surfer in their home, where they
have a high-speed connection and a wireless network. She's more adept at
using her BlackBerry portable e-mail pager.
Snowe dipped into high-tech issues in 1996, the last time Congress passed
major telecommunications legislation. She was a sponsor of the federal
E-rate program, which subsidizes Internet connections for schools and
libraries. Her motivation then, as now, was to make sure that there was a
northern onramp for Maine on the information superhighway.
"For those of us in small states, we don't want to be left behind," she said.
Her experience with the E-rate program led Snowe to seize on the issue of
Internet content discrimination when her staff first raised it earlier this
year, she said.
Snowe faces reelection in November, and telephone and cable companies have
been running TV ads in Maine to pressure her to support the
telecommunications legislation.
"Net neutrality is nothing more than a scheme by the multibillion-dollar
Silicon Valley tech companies to get you, the consumer, to pay more for
their services," says one ad by the National Cable and Telecommunications
Assn. airing in Maine and elsewhere.
The strategy is unlikely to work, Potholm said. A poll in July showed Snowe
leading her Democratic challenger, Jean Hay Bright, 68% to 10%. But Snowe
may have some explaining to do to voters if she ends up helping to kill
legislation that could increase high-speed Internet access in Maine.
Although the percentage of households that have Internet connections in
Maine exceeds the national average, its mountains and far-flung rural
communities leave it lagging behind in high-speed access. A 2006 study by
Leichtman Research Group Inc. found that 31.2% of Maine households have
broadband connections, compared with 35.1% nationwide.
"It's no longer a desire or a want, it's a necessity," said Sam Elowitch,
executive director of the Rural Broadband Initiative, a nonprofit group in
Farmington, Maine. "If you're going to compete in the global economy, you
need access to high-speed Internet or you're gong to lose out to your
competitors."
He agreed with Snowe that network operators should not charge for
high-speed content delivery. But Elowitch isn't sure whether the issue is
worth killing telecommunications legislation that would expand broadband
deployment. "That's a terrible dilemma," he said.
Potholm said Maine voters probably wouldn't penalize Snowe for her
position, as long as she explained it in a way they could understand.
"That image of the superhighway and the dirt road would resonate in rural
Maine," he said. "It's one that would fit her personality."
Snowe believes that she's on the right side of an abstract high-tech issue
? one of the few she's tackled during nearly 12 years in the Senate.
"Once the ramifications are known, I think that people will really be
outraged that all of a sudden you're going to have private entities
controlling the content and services that will be available to consumers on
the high-speed Internet," she said. "Consumers will not have free choice
any longer."
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2006 19:22:02 -0400
From: Greg Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin dead
To: Media News <medianews@twiar.org>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Steve Irwin, the enthusiastic "Crocodile
Hunter" who enthralled audiences around the world with his wildlife
adventures, died Monday morning after being stung by a stingray while
shooting a TV program off Australia's north coast.
Media reports say Irwin was snorkeling at Batt Reef, a part of the Great
Barrier Reef about 9 miles (about 15 kilometers) from the town of Port
Douglas, when the incident happened.
Irwin, 44, was killed by a stingray barb that pierced his chest,
according to Cairns police sources.
Irwin was in the area to film pieces for a show called "The Ocean's
Deadliest" with Philippe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques, according to
Irwin's manager and friend John Stainton. But weather had prevented the
crew from doing work for that program, Stainton said, so Irwin decided
to do some softer features for a new children's TV show he was doing
with his daughter, Bindi.
"He came over the top of a stingray that was buried in the sand, and the
barb came up and hit him in the chest," Stainton said.
Wildlife documentary maker Ben Cropp, citing a colleague who saw footage
of the attack, told Time.com that Irwin had accidentally boxed the
animal in. "It stopped and twisted and threw up its tail with the spike,
and it caught him in the chest," said Cropp. "It's a defensive thing.
It's like being stabbed with a dirty dagger." (Read the TIME.com obituary.)
Ambulance officers confirmed they attended a reef fatality Monday
morning off Port Douglas, according to Australian media. (Gallery: The
life of the "Crocodile Hunter")
Queensland Police Services also confirmed Irwin's death and said his
family had been notified.
Irwin was director of the Australia Zoo in Queensland. He is survived by
his American-born wife, Terri, and their two children, Bindi Sue, born
1998, and Robert (Bob), born December 2003.
"The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist
and one of the proudest dads on the planet," Stainton told reporters in
Cairns, according to The Associated Press. "He died doing what he loved
best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would
have said, 'Crocs Rule!' " (Watch a remembrance of Steve Irwin -- 1:58)
"Steve was a larger-than-life force. He brought joy and learning about
the natural world to millions and millions of people across the globe,"
said Discovery Communications founder and chairman John Hendricks in a
statement. "We extend our thoughts and prayers to Terri, Bindi and Bob
Irwin as well as to the incredible staff and many friends Steve leaves
behind."
Irwin's "Crocodile Hunter" show aired on the company's Animal Planet
network.
Cousteau's office issued a statement that he is "still in Australia with
the family of his friend, Steve Irwin. It was a tragic ordeal for
everyone on the boat that morning. All of our thoughts are now with
Steve's family."
Discovery Communications said it will rename the garden space in front
of Discovery's world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, the "Steve
Irwin Memorial Sensory Garden."
The company also is looking at the creation of a Steve Irwin Crocodile
Hunter Fund. The fund will support wildlife protection, education and
conservation, as well as aid Irwin's Australia Zoo and provide
educational support for Bindi and Bob Irwin, the company said.
Australia Prime Minister John Howard said he was "shocked and distressed
at Steve Irwin's sudden, untimely and freakish death," according to AP.
"It's a huge loss to Australia."
Irwin became a popular figure on Australian and international television
through Irwin's close handling of wildlife, most notably the capture and
relocation of crocodiles.
Irwin's enthusiastic approach to nature conservation and the environment
won him a global following. He was known for his exuberance and use of
the catch phrase "Crikey!" (E-mail us: How will you remember Steve Irwin?)
"His message is really about conservation: He really wants to leave the
world a better place for everybody," Animal Planet's Maureen Smith told
CNN.com in April.
"It's unbelievable, really," Jack Hanna, the host of "Jack Hanna's
Animal Adventure" and director emeritus of the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo, told
CNN. "You think about Steve Irwin and you think of people who are
invincible."
Hanna, a friend of Irwin's, noted that Irwin's persona of the Crocodile
Hunter was no act. Irwin grew up around crocodiles, snakes and other
animals at his parents' Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park and had been
handling such creatures since he was a child.
"Steve really knew what he was doing. He was one of the finest reptile
people in the world. He knew more about reptiles than anybody did. He
was raised that way," said Hanna.
Though stingrays can be threatening, their sting -- usually prompted by
self-defense -- is not often fatal. The bull ray that apparently stung
Irwin was "a one-in-a-million thing," Cropp told Time.com. "I have swum
with many rays, and I have only had one do that to me." (Watch a marine
biologist talk about the dangers of stingrays -- 3:48)
"A wild animal is like a loaded gun -- it can go off at any time," Hanna
said. "You have to be careful of that." But, he added, it's not the
animals who are inherently dangerous, but the way they may react around
humans. "People use the word 'dangerous,' and that sometimes is a word
that's not fair to that animal, because that animal is only using the
defenses that God gave it," said Hanna.
Rise to popularity
Irwin became popular with his show "Crocodile Hunter," which first aired
on Australian TV in 1992. Eventually, the program was picked up by
Discovery in the United States, establishing Irwin worldwide.
His popularity led to a film, "The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course"
(2002).
Irwin was caught in a minor flap in January 2004 when he held his then
1-month-old son while feeding a crocodile at his Australian zoo. (Full
story)
In 2003, Irwin spoke to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.'s "Australian
Story" television program about how he was perceived in his home country.
"When I see what's happened all over the world, they're looking at me as
this very popular, wildlife warrior Australian bloke," he told the ABC.
"And yet back here in my own country, some people find me a little bit
embarrassing. You know, there's this ... they kind of cringe, you know,
'cause I'm coming out with 'Crikey' and 'Look at this beauty.' "
At Australia Zoo at Beerwah, south Queensland, floral tributes were
dropped at the entrance, where a huge fake crocodile gapes, the AP
reported. Drivers honked their horns as they passed.
"Steve, from all God's creatures, thank you. Rest in peace," was written
on a card with a bouquet of native flowers.
"We're all very shocked. I don't know what the zoo will do without him.
He's done so much for us, the environment and it's a big loss," said
Paula Kelly, a local resident and volunteer at the zoo, after dropping
off a wreath at the gate, according to the AP.
"He has left a legacy: That people do love some of the unloved animals
like crocodiles and reptiles that people wanted to kill," Stainton told
CNN. "He's actually put a position in their hearts for them. I want that
to continue. ... I want people to really go out there and remember Steve
Irwin for what he really was, which was a great conservationist, saving
wildlife and actually promoting wildlife that people didn't love."
--
Greg Williams
K4HSM
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.twiar.org
http://www.etskywarn.net
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2006 19:31:19 -0400
From: Greg Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Weather favorable for Wednesday shuttle launch
To: Media News <medianews@twiar.org>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/09/04/shuttle.launch/index.html
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida (CNN) -- The weather looks favorable for a
Wednesday launch of Atlantis, which storms have delayed several times,
the shuttle's launch weather officer said Monday.
Thunderstorms could arrive in the area after launch time, which is set
for 12:29 p.m. ET Wednesday.
Atlantis was set to lift off August 27 but was delayed while engineers
checked the spacecraft for possible damage from a lightning strike. The
approach of Tropical Storm Ernesto then forced another delay.
"We do have favorable conditions expected for launch time," said Kathy
Winters, the launch weather officer. "We always have a chance of
uncertainty."
If the shuttle does not launch Wednesday, then a liftoff later in the
week is possible.
The launch will be the first shuttle mission to deliver a major new
portion of the international space station since the 2003 crash of Columbia.
--
Greg Williams
K4HSM
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.twiar.org
http://www.etskywarn.net
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End of Medianews Digest, Vol 21, Issue 1
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