Episode: 33
Date On-Air: 14th September 2004
Jakarta Bombing
Terrorism has struck a direct and deadly hit against Australia.
A powerful bomb exploded outside our Embassy in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
9 people are dead, 180 others, wounded.
Reporter John Hill is in Jakarta.
John, I understand Indonesia has no doubt who is responsible?
John Hill: Yes, that's right. Police here raided premises on Jakarta's outskirts and found explosive traces similar to those used in the Embassy blast. Police have interrogated captured terrorists and say it's likely they were all trained by the militant group, Jemaah Islamiah.
The words "Jemaah Islamiah" mean 'Islamic community.' 'JI' wants Islam to be the dominant global belief.
It's led by the cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.
JI is secretive, working in small groups or "cells" scattered throughout Southeast Asia. It's known to have ties with other radical Islamic groups and Al-Qaeda and of course was responsible for the 2002 Bali bombing which claimed more than 200 lives, most of them Australians.
In Jakarta, rebuilding has already begun. Damaged cars have been towed away, they've started to re-secure the Embassy's perimeter fence and there's a big hunt going on to find those behind the attack.
But the people here say it will be a long time yet before they forget, or forgive, this terror attack.
Chechnya B’Ground
Just days earlier, the world was stunned by that brutal attack on a Russian school.
Hundreds of people, mostly school children, were killed.
Russia says many of the terrorists are from Chechnya, which has been fighting against Russian control for centuries. Emily's been investigating why.
Chechnya is situated in the Caucasus (car-ke-ses) mountain region in southern Russia. Its fight for independence stretches back centuries.
Talent: the people there are quite different than most people who live in Russia. They're Muslim, where as most Russian's are Christian, and they also speak a different language and have a different cultural tradition.
Where Chechnya is, is important too.... the pathway Russia wants to use to send resources like oil, to Europe.
Chechnya fought Russian advances into their territory in the 19th century, but lost. By 1859, it was part of Russia's Imperial Empire, under the Tsars.
In 1944, Russia claimed Chechnya had co-operated with Nazi Germany and asserted its control.
The entire population was exiled, that is banned from living in their homeland. More than a quarter of them died before they were allowed to return in 1957.
In 1991 the Soviet Union, then known as the USSR, collapsed, and 14 countries became independent of Russia.
Chechnya declared itself independent. But Russia again disagreed.
Talent: The Russians are afraid that it might start a domino effect in that you would have other regions where there are other non-Russians living in Russia asking for their independence as well.
In 1994 the Russian President at the time, Boris Yeltzen, sent troops into Chechnya to take back control.
At least 80 thousand people, most of them Chechens, were killed.
In 1999, terror attacks in the border region of Dagestan (Dug-ess-starn) and the Russian capital, Moscow, provided then Prime Minister Putin with an excuse to attack.
And this year, more violence.
Talent: In May the Russian supported president was assassinated and then in August they had an election which many see as being unfair and that brought to power another Russian supported president.
On September 1, dozens of armed guerrillas seized a school in Beslan, a Russian town near the Chechen border. Less than one week later, the worst possible outcome.
In the Russian capital, tens of thousands mourned the senseless loss of life.
Talent: I think that by taking and killing children they are sending a message to the Russians that they'll willing to do absolutely anything to gain their independence.
But who is responsible?
Talent: Well it's fairly certain that Chechens are involved. There have also been efforts by President Putin to connect these Chechen terrorists to the larger Al Queda world wide terrorist network.
People around the world are expressing their grief and support in all sorts of ways.
Children in Australia can help too. An organisation called SchoolAid has already raised funds for East Timor. Now they want to help the children of Beslan.
Talent: I sort of think with the 10 thousand schools we have nationally, if they all put in $100, that generates a million dollar aid fund.
Talent: I just think to myself who would want to hurt kids that have done nothing to them but they just go out and blow everyone up. It doesn't make sense.
School Aid's appeal is about three M's:
for Minutes of silence or prayer,
for Money to help the community of Beslan, and
for Messages of hope from Australian children.
Talent: I'm just going to say don't give, up just keep praying.
Your class can send a message to the children of Beslan via the School aid website,
Talent: Yeah, we're really lucky to be away from violence and in a nice country.
Talent: When you do see horrible things happen, you need to recognise how lucky we are and say what can we do to help them.
Kids Review: Thunderbirds
That's good advice. Okay, something a bit lighter now….have you ever wanted to be a movie critic?
We asked a group of students to try their hand at reviewing the latest blockbuster, “Thunderbirds", in an exclusive preview screening for ttn.
Going to the movies... it's a tough job but someone's got to do it!
This is no Sunday picnic, though. Being a film critic is serious business.
How well a film does may hinge on whether the reviewers applaud it or pan it.
Talent: This is our Theatrette and this is where we screen the films to the media. They watch it here and the reviews you'll read in the newspapers or hear on the radio or see on the TV; this is where the journalists will sit and watch the films and make their decisions"
The Theatrettes are also used for test screenings.
Thunderbirds was test screened 6 months ago.
If the reaction at a test screening is bad, the film may actually be changed.
Once it gets to this stage though, a week out from the official release, it's in the reviewers hands.
And this tale of the international rescue organisation, the Thunderbirds, who are based on a tropical island hideout in the South Pacific, struck a chord with critics.
Talent: It was very exciting because you didn't know what was going to happen.
Movie dialogue: Wrong switch, warning engine sequence, oh could this day get any worse, Alan, my office now.
The adaptation from the old TV series seemed to work.
Talent: For one thing there's the puppets and all that and cause of the time difference there's a lot of new technology being used.
It appeared the baddie, played by Ben Kingsley was convincing.
Talent: I think that man, he's pretty cruel.
And the audience loved Alan Tracy's struggle to become a Thunderbird, just like his dad and four brothers.
But some of the violence was a bit much for the younger guest reporters.
Movie dialogue: The monorail is down, repeat, the monorail is down.
Talent: I didn't really like it cause it looked like someone was dying.
All up, the film's distributors were left pretty confident as release date approaches.
Talent: The kids we've shown it love the film so it's everything they want, they look at those characters and think yeah, I could fly rockets, I can save the world.
So, for the final verdict:
Various Talent:
I give it ten out of ten,
I give it ten out of ten,
I give it 9 and a half,
Same,
I give it an 8,
I give it ten out of ten,
I give it 3 out of 10.
Well you can't please everyone.
Movie dialogue: "It's going to be dangerous.. I'm in"
Lleyton US Open
Lleyton Hewitt's winning run has come to an end in the final of the US Open.
After losing the first set 6-love, Lleyton fought back to force a tie break in the second set.
But when Roger Federer took the tie break 7 points to 3, he stepped it up another gear.
The world number one racking up 40 winners for the match as he swept through the final set 6-love.
Roger Federer: I still can't believe I've done this year so great, 3 Grand Slams out of 4, it's just fantastic and now to win the US Open, it's incredible.
Missy Higgins Studio
Now for many of the you name Missy Higgins may ring a few bells. She's a young up and coming singer/song writer from Melbourne. Her single ‘Scar’ debuted at number one on the national aria charts and she has just released a new album.
Emily: Welcome to ttn.
Missy: Thank you.
Emily: How did it all start for you?
Missy: I won a competition called Triple J unearthed and I got a record deal from that so that's pretty much how that started.
Emily: Have you always been into music as a kid?
Missy: Yeah I started learning the piano when I was about six and I picked up the guitar when I was 13.
Emily: I believe you also played the Oboe
Missy: Yeah I did for a while
Emily: Did you have any inspirational people going through your schooling life?
Missy: Yeah I had, when I was at high school I had a music teacher that really believed in me. He taught me jazz.
Emily: So, you write all your own music. How do you do that, where does your inspiration come from?
Missy: Umm I usually get inspiration from relationships, friendships, usually from personal experiences. I just go into my room. I've got a little bunghole out the back, which used to be a shed. It’s a little cave and I write my songs in that.
Emily: What would your advice be to any aspiring singers, as cliched as that question sounds, advice to people who are still at school?
Missy: If I could have had any advice back then it would be to keep getting piano lessons. I quit because my parents kept making me practice. Then I picked it up later because I realised I did like it on my own terms, and stick at it because you never know when you're going to use those skills later in life
Emily: Well all the best.
Missy: Thank you.
Showbiz
Headlining Showbiz news this week .. what would you pay for a piece of used chewing gum?
Well, if it came from the mouth of Brittney Spears, it seems people will pay a lot!
More than 24 pieces are for sale on the internet, fetching prices as high as 20 thousand dollars!
Seems her fans really know the meaning of her song, Toxic!
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Almost a year after 14 year old Bethany Hamilton lost her arm in a shark attack in Hawaii, it's been announced her story will hit the big screen.
Producers have bought the rights to the teen's upcoming biography "Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family and Fighting to get back on the Board" .. and they hope to start production on the movie in Hawaii early next year.
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And the wife of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon, has lashed out at Australia's Nicole Kidman, calling her a "skinny cow" on English TV.
She went further, saying Nicole needed "a sandwich".
Kidman's weight has been in the headlines lately, with speculation she might be suffering from osteoporosis - a bone disease.
But Nicole publicist says it's "complete nonsense" and Nic is in "terrific shape", claiming her thin frame is the result of too much work.
Rights & Responsibilities
Every school student has certain rights and responsibilities.
You agree to guidelines laid down by the school and if you break them, the consequences can range from detention to exclusion.
Playing by the rules can be crucial to having a productive school life.
You don't often see this at school….teachers and parents walking out in protest, because two students weren't expelled.
It happened recently near Brisbane.
Two students were found with marijuana on the school oval.
The principal suspended the students for 20 days with a recommendation to his supervisor that they be excluded from the school.
But the recommendation was rejected.
Angry staff claimed the decision sent the wrong message, that drugs were okay.
Talent: If they let them get away with it, it just doesn't set a good example for the rest of the school.
Talent: This particular school has a zero tolerance policy; get caught with drugs and you're out. But in this particular case they didn't actually have the power to enforce that, so who has the authority here?
Well in the case of the public school system, it's the Director General of the Education Department in your state, which is run by the State Government, and usually they agree with the Principal's recommendation, but in this case that didn't happen.
Public Schools create their own guidelines for behaviour, based on the various Education Acts in each state, in conjunction with parents, often called a "School Discipline Code".
For some, the policy on areas like drugs, is zero tolerance.
But all have a network of counsellors, nurses, chaplains, school based police officers and year level coordinators to help the student through behaviour management programs inside or outside the school.
Talent: They know if they are addicted to tobacco then they can go to the school nurse and get help to quit but they know that if they don't accept that help and therefore they decide to smoke at school then there are consequences.
Child Talent: We know that there are going to be consequences to follow our actions. We also know that those consequences are fair and will be thought out for each case, not just one sort of net stance to the problem itself and that we're looked at as individuals.
In Catholic schools, teachers, parents and students put together "Behaviour Management Programs" which lay down the basic rules and aim to correct a student's behaviour.
The first step is often to negotiate with the parents and students what action is needed.
The second step might be working out an action, such as community service, counselling, detention or suspension.
Exclusion must be approved by the State Director General, but it's a last resort.
Talent: It's something we do very rarely. I’ve been Executive Director for six years. We have 136 schools, I've only expelled two students, it requires my OK for that to happen.
Reporter: In Private schools, or Independent schools, parents sign a binding legal contract with their child's school. They agree that their kids will act according to the rules of the contract and if they don't, they can be excluded.
Sometimes, students even sign their own contract, just like when a footballer signs a contract with his club.
Talent: If I take, for example, the Rock Eisteddfod challenge, we had over 200 young people in our school who were involved in that last year and at the beginning of that, part of the contract that they signed was that they would have nothing to do with drugs or alcohol.
Many counsellors are also interested in finding the reasons behind why a student is misbehaving, and you just might be able to help out.
Talent: If another student is suddenly changing in their attitude, not doing so well at school, seems to be upset, seems to have got depressed, that's when they need a lot of friendship and the friendship usually starts with their peers, the other students.
There is a line though, where forgiveness stops, and the line is breaking the law which can mean exclusion or cancellation of enrollment and criminal charges.
Talent: If a young person brings drugs onto a school ground, that is breaking the law so we have no choice but to have that zero tolerance.
Global Goss
In Global Goss: fears of an environmental disaster in Turkey, following the sinking of a ship containing toxic waste.
The Ulla had sat in a Turkish port for four years.
It's believed the ship's cargo of thermal power station waste leaked from the rotted hull. The ship sank within minutes
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Former US President Bill Clinton is recovering from major heart surgery.
Doctors who performed the four hour quadruple bypass operation say the 58 year old is expected to make a full recovery.
Mr Clinton admitted himself to hospital complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath.
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Barcodes are virtually everywhere, but there's a chance they might soon disappear... literally.
Scientists have developed an invisible, spray-on barcode that's said to be perfect for stopping fraud because it can't be changed or forged.