Your ABC of bias

Monica Attard says bias is more about the views of the complainers. Not so fast, sister. Not all opinions are equally valid, writes Andrew Bolt.

They can change the hosts of ABC's Media Watch, but they can't change its taxpayer-funded agenda. The show is now hosted by Monica Attard, who follows five Leftist predecessors, and on Monday it did what it always does in our war on Islamist terror. That's right: it ignored or excused a savage media bias that makes the West seem the real villain in this war. Here are examples of that bias from just the past fortnight -- not one of which Media Watch mentioned:

A REUTERS photographer has been sacked for doctoring pictures (one run by the ABC) to make Israeli attacks on Lebanon seem worse than they were.

HARROWING pictures from Qana, bombed by Israel, seem now to have been staged for the newspapers, with the corpse of a dead girl being paraded by several men at several locations.

THE Age gave over part of its opinion page for a piece by a spokesman for the Hezbollah terror group.

CHANNEL 9 reported from a tour of Beirut bomb sites, which a CNN reporter said was a "heavily orchestrated Hezbollah media event" -- and made the very points about civilian casualties Hezbollah wanted made.

But the rankest example of this bias came from Sunday Age columnist Terry Lane. Two Sundays ago Lane wrote he'd seen video evidence of a former "US Army Ranger", Jesse Macbeth, who had "served in Iraq for 16 months" like someone "who joined the SS" and had "orders" to "do whatever it takes in the field to make them (civilians) fear you". Macbeth had said he'd gone into basements during raids to "make sure everything was dead": "Whether they were women or children . . . we had to finish them off." But a quick check on Google confirmed that this anti-war porn was, of course, a hoax. Explained a mortified Lane: "I fell for it because I wanted to believe it." And of course he did. Lane is a Marxist with such loathing for America and its allies that during the Iraq war he wrote: "I want the army of my country, which is engaged in an act of gross immorality, to be defeated".

How deeply this loathing affects his judgment still. By last Sunday, Lane's apology had morphed into this bizarre defiance: "The Macbeth fraud is plausible because it fits the facts." Really? Which facts could possibly fit this tale of SS-style US death squads with orders to shoot civilians? Said Lane: "In the place of Macbeth's lies about shooting survivors in basement bomb shelters, I should have quoted from the BBC report in March: Recent figures from the campaign group, Iraq Body Count, put the minimum number of civilians killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion three years ago at between 33,710 and 37,832."

Oops. You did it again, Terry. In fact, Iraq Body Count in no way says what you imply -- that mass-murdering US troops, just like Jesse Macbeth, have killed 37,000 Iraqi civilians. Look at the IBC's website to see its own description of how those people (and not only civilians) died. You'll find pages of accounts like these: "street sweepers (killed by) roadside bomb", building laborers killed by "suicide minibus bomb", a Baghdad University security chief shot dead, worshippers at the Al-Qubaisi mosque killed by a bomb and even a "sheep seller killed by booby-trapped head of girl".

Terry, are you so hate-blinded that you can't even see that the overwhelming majority of these deaths are caused not by US troops, but the terrorists they fight? US soldiers have orders not to kill civilians, but save them. We couldn't get a better example of how bias messes with a journalist's grasp of the facts -- one that helps us understand so much of the coverage of this war. Yet Media Watch ignored Lane and -- typically -- tried instead to defend the bias of the ABC's children's program Behind the News.

BTN had tried to "explain" the fighting in Lebanon to children like this: "When Israel was created in 1948 many Palestinians were forced from their land and some went to southern Lebanon. This led to the formation of groups like Hezbollah . . . Hezbollah has been fighting with Israel to reclaim lost land and to remove foreign troops from Lebanon."

Attard on Media Watch at least conceded this report contained "mistakes" which were "profound". For a start, Hezbollah is Lebanese, not Palestinian, and was formed in the 1980s, not the 1940s. But she then smacked the ABC for saying these "mistakes" meant BTN "failed to meet the requirements of balance and impartiality". What was bias anyway, Attard seemed to ask. And she got several commentators to give conflicting views on the bias of BTN, as if all their views were equally valid. She concluded: "Complaints of bias often say more about the views of the complainer than the media". So no bias at BTN then. Just "mistakes". Like Lane's?

But not so fast, sister. First, not all opinions are equally valid. And certainly not the views you sought. You see, to prove the BTN report could also be seen as biased against Hezbollah, Attard put on Keysar Trad -- but didn't tell viewers things about him that might make them doubt his judgment. Attard didn't say Trad was the former spokesman of the pro-Hezbollah Mufti of Australia, the extremist Sheik Taj Al-Din Al-Hilaly. She also failed to say he had been a translator for the pro-Osama bin Laden and pro-jihadist Nida'ul Islam magazine, where he wrote: "The criminal dregs of white society colonised this country . . . and the descendants of these criminal dregs tell us that they are better than us." If viewers knew that, would they think Trad's view of "balance" was . . . balanced?

But is Attard's view any better? If she criticises any reporting on Islamist extremism it is to attack those who at least ask hard questions -- and to defend those trying to dodge them. It's bad enough that Media Watch long ago stopped being -- or never was -- an impartial judge of media sins. But far worse is that it now serves as an apologist not just for bad journalism, but for the toxic ideologies such journalism defends with its shameless "mistakes".

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Rogue union caves in

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has paid tens of thousands of dollars to a building firm to avoid being sued for urging its members to take unlawful industrial action. The union has paid the money to John Holland Construction but is refusing to reveal details of the out-of-court settlement.

John Holland launched Supreme Court action last year claiming the union was responsible for workers calling in sick en masse, a practice that is commonly known as 'blue flu'. The company's human resources manager, Stephen Sasse, says the industrial landscape has changed and he doubts the company will have to take similar action in future. "It's unlikely given that we now have a comprehensive legislative regime in place that affectively prevents this sort of unlawful action," he said. "If it occurs it's now policed by the ABCC [Australian Building and Construction Commissioner], so I can't see any need for us, in our capacity as an employer to take that sort of action again."

IR laws 'working'

The Federal Government says the case is proof its new workplace laws are working. Senator Ian Campbell says it is rare for the union movement to make such a payment. "It shows they feared a worse consequence if it went further in court," Senator Campbell said. "It's not unusual for settlements but it's very unusual for the CFMEU to settle. "I think it demonstrates the Howard Government's workplace relations legislation is working, these major projects are not delayed by the sort of blue flu and other outrageous rorts that this rogue union has practised over the years."

But the union's West Australian secretary, Kevin Reynolds, denies the compensation payout is a victory for John Holland or the Federal Government. "I concede we won it," he said. "We saved a lot of members' money from arguing in court. "The people who paid an absolute, hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs was John Hollands."

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Lying do-gooder

Former Federal Court judge Marcus Einfeld is the subject of a NSW police inquiry that could lead to perjury charges and end his legal career. The inquiry will consider if Mr Einfeld, an eminent Queen's Counsel who has practised as a barrister since retiring from the bench in 2001, should face legal action over evidence he gave to a Sydney court that enabled him to avoid a $77 speeding fine.

Mr Einfeld, 66, gave sworn testimony that he had not been driving his silver Lexus on Sunday, January 8, when a police speed camera detected the car travelling at 60km/h in a 50km/h zone at Mosman, on Sydney's north shore. He told the magistrate at the Downing Centre Local court on Monday that he had loaned the car to a friend, Teresa Brennan, a visiting academic from Florida. It has since emerged that Professor Brennan had in fact died three years earlier.

"It was either being driven by her or by a friend or family member of hers," Mr Einfeld said in a letter to the court. "She did not tell me where or with whom she had been driving or that she had been photographed speeding before returning to the US where she was unfortunately involved in a motor vehicle accident and died, so I cannot get any more details."

Police said yesterday that prosecutors would prepare a brief on the case for the director of police legal services, Assistant Commissioner Lee Shearer. "The prosecution has been asked to provide a briefing to the director of legal services confirming the evidence given before the court prior to making a determination on whether the matter should be further investigated," a NSW police spokeswoman said.

One of the nation's leading authorities on the ethics of lawyers, Ysaiah Ross, said that if the inquiry led to perjury charges, it could end Mr Einfeld's career. Mr Ross, who is the author of Ethics in Law, said former US president Bill Clinton had been struck off the roll of legal practitioners in Arkansas for perjury over the Whitewater affair. "The same thing could happen here," Mr Ross said.

Mr Einfeld had named Professor Brennan as the person driving his car when he gave evidence in court on Monday. But when later confronted by Sydney's The Daily Telegraph with the fact Professor Brennan had died in 2003, Mr Einfeld said he had been referring in court to another Professor Brennan. He said this Professor Brennan had also died since returning to the US. The first name of the second Professor Brennan was Therese or Terese and he was unsure of where she lived in the US. He did not know her occupation "except that she was in academia".

During Monday's hearing, Mr Einfeld gave evidence that he had completed a statutory declaration saying his car had been on loan to Professor Teresa Brennan of Florida at the time of the offence....

Outside the courts, Mr Einfeld enjoyed a reputation as one of Australia's leading human rights activists and was foundation president of the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. He is the senior member of the legal team seeking at least $10 million in compensation for wrongly deported Australian woman Vivian Alvarez, who was sent to The Philippines by the Immigration Department in 2001 after suffering amnesia in a car accident....

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More food dictatorship in Melbourne schools

What's the point of restricting the diet of the great majority of the kids who are NOT overweight by any criterion? And ideas about what is "healthy" change all the time. Carbohydrates were really bad for a long time. Now they are really good. It is food fads that are being enforced, nothing else. And don't forget that salt is good for you

Fast food has been banned from a school to stop up to 20 parents delivering it to their children each lunchtime. The school's ban covers McDonald's, pizzas and other calorie-laden meals, including those from outlets such as KFC and Red Rooster. The school has also brought in a fitness instructor to help teachers keep healthy, and is reviewing the canteen menu.

Principal Leonie Fitzgerald said the ban was proving successful, drawing a positive response from parents and children. Ms Fitzgerald said the school had decided to ban fast food after it became a serious problem. "We had an issue with parents dropping off fast food, like McDonald's, KFC and Red Rooster, for treats for their kids," she said. Ms Fitzgerald said at one point up to 20 parents were coming to the school a day.

She said time-strapped parents often got fast food for their children because it was more convenient. "Sometimes they've been too busy in the morning . . . so they get something quick and easy," Ms Fitzgerald said. She said she also approached parents when they came into the school foyer with fast-food lunches. "That was the most effective way to explain it."

Ms Fitzgerald said parents had responded very well to the ban, taking the school's advice to prepare healthier lunches. "We have turned it around," Ms Fitzgerald said of the problem. "It only happens very rarely now, which is great." The school has other initiatives, including a fitness program for staff before and after school. A nutritionist will also talk to students, staff and parents next week.

Australian Medical Association president Mukesh Haikerwal praised Dandenong South PS. "It has been brave and changed people's eating habits and attitudes to food," Dr Haikerwal said. He called on the Government to ban fast food from all primary schools. "In the current climate of obesity in the community, all steps must be taken to make people aware of wrong food choices," Dr Haikerwal said. "There a lot of reasons to ban junk food at primary school, because children at that age are often unable to make informed food choices."

The State Government has already announced it will outlaw soft drink from schools and is looking at restricting the sale of lollies and chips. But a spokesman for Education Minister Lynne Kosky said there were no immediate plans to ban all high-calorie fast food from schools.

Nutrition Australia spokeswoman Kelly Neville said over a third of a child's food intake is consumed in school hours. "A healthy lunch, snacks and drinks are therefore very important," Ms Neville said. Victorian Principals Association president Fred Ackerman said the Government should help by funding programs and nutritious canteens. Parents Victoria's Gail McHardy said it was great to see school and community working together. Statistics show about 10,000 Victorian children become obese or overweight every year. The Department of Human Services said that up to 25 per cent of Victorian children are overweight or obese.