BtN: Episode 20 Transcripts 03/08/10
On this week's Behind the News
- A campaign of clichés. We unlock some of the repeated phrases of this election.
- Precious metal. Why lithium could become as valuable as oil and gold.
- And why do boys show off in front of girls? We put it to the test.
Hi I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to Behind the News.
Also on the show today: from the country to the city, we get the buzz about backyard beekeeping.
Secrets revealed
Reporter: Sarah Larsen
INTRO: How good are you at keeping secrets?
It’s one thing for a person to keep secrets for their friends but what about when a government tries to keep secrets from the people?
Recently there's been a lot of talk about a website called 'WikiLeaks' after it revealed some classified information about the war in Afghanistan.
It's made governments and military people very angry but others think the public have a right to know what's going on.
Here's Sarah
SARAH LARSEN, REPORTING: War has always involved secrets. This cartoon was made during the Second World War to warn people not to talk about anything they knew in case the enemy was listening. But keeping secrets in a war isn't as easy as it used to be.
Last week news stations around the world were talking about a whole bunch of secret documents about the war in Afghanistan. Well, they used to be secrets, but they aren't any more. It was a day-to-day diary of what the military is doing in Afghanistan. There were some horrible things; innocent people who were accidentally killed or injured by the US army and their allies, which include Australia and some worrying things; details about weapons the enemy was using. Even worries that Pakistan, which is the country next to Afghanistan, is helping the other side.
REPORTER: In all there were more than 90 thousand documents. Imagine, if they were printed out there'd be enough to fill a room.
And all that secret information was published on a website called WikiLeaks. A wiki is a site that lots of people can contribute to and a leak is when someone shares secret information usually about the people they work with. Leaks have been used by journalists for a long time and they've brought about some of the biggest stories in history. Back in the 70s a leak revealed that the US president was acting illegally and he was forced to resign. Then there was a leaked document which showed the US government had made major mistakes in the Vietnam War. It made news around the world and it's still talked about today.
REPORTER: But its serious business. There are laws against sharing the secrets of the people you work for; whether it’s a business or the government. If you're found out you can land yourself in jail.
So WikiLeaks goes to a lot of trouble to protect people who want to share big secrets. It keeps information in lots of different places and operates in different countries. The bosses say they meet people in secret and in places where no-one can listen in. And it's made the public face of WikiLeaks pretty unpopular. That's this guy, an Australian called Julian Assange. He says he's been investigated by spy groups at home and overseas. But he reckons it’s worth it to make sure people know the truth. And in this case he reckons the US and its allies may have committed serious crimes.
JULIAN ASSANGE: There does appear to be evidence of war crimes in this material.
The US military thinks publishing the files was the wrong thing to do because it could puts soldiers at risk.
ROBERT GIBES, US GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: Besides being against the law this has the potential to be very harmful to the people who are in the military who are working with the military and who are working to keep us safe.
They say a lot of the information had already been reported but they're still trying to find the person who leaked it and they'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again. But technology could make that hard. As more and more people in war zones have access to camera phones and the internet keeping a lid on conflict could one day be a thing of the past.
Presenter: OK that's an issue that has a lot of people talking so let's make that our poll this week.
Online Poll
The question is:
Should governments be allowed to keep secrets?
To vote just head to our website.
Presenter: Let's catch up with some of the other stories making the news this week.
Here's Kirsty with the wire.
The Wire
The federal election is starting to ramp up with new polls putting the two main parties neck and neck coming into the final 3 weeks of campaigning.
That means Labor’s support has dropped a fair way since the election was called.
So it could still swing either way.
PM Julia Gillard got a little upstaged on the weekend, before taking some time out to watch her footy team.
Meanwhile Tony Abbott scored a duck during his weekend campaigning.
But he got a positive reaction when visiting this nursing home.
****************
After months of testimony from hundreds of witnesses the royal commission into the Victorian Bushfires has released its 67 recommendations to try to stop it ever happening again.
The report was presented to Victoria's premier as well as people living in the affected areas.
GRAB:“We're not interested in blame, well me and my friends aren't, we're just interested in going forward with something more safe than we've had.”
The state and federal governments will sort through the recommendations to work out how to bring in as many in as possible.
Campaign clichés
Reporter: Nathan Bazley
INTRO: Politicians are often accused of being a bit repetitive at the best of times but during election campaigns those skills seem to go into overdrive.
Many of the phrases are repeated so much that it's easy to forget what they actually meant in the first place.
So let's take a look at the most common campaign cliché’s and find out why the politicians keep saying them over and over again.
NATHAN BAZLEY, GAME SHOW HOST: Welcome to 'Whose Line is it Anyway', the game show where you can guess who's responsible for the most repeated lines of the 2010 federal election!
Let's kick off the show with an easy one.
Who's responsible for the phrase 'moving forward'?
Is it Coalition candidate Tony Abbott, or Labor candidate Julia Gillard?
The answer is - Julia!
During an election campaign, political parties like to have a slogan that people will relate to them.
By repeating 'moving forward' over and over, it's hoped that will be the first thing that comes to voters minds.
But the phrase was criticised by a lot of people.
KERRY O'BRIEN, JOURNALIST: The way you're endlessly repeating slogans is treating voters like imbeciles.
Okay, let's move onto our second question now, and this one's a bit harder.
Who's used the line 'stopping the boats'?
It's Tony Abbott!
'Stopping the boats' refers to the boats of asylum seekers.
Tony Abbott is trying to reassure voters that his party can stop the boats from coming, because they say there were fewer boats when the coalition was last in power.
Okay let's try some trickier ones now.
These next two are examples of using a party's own ideas against them.
Who uses the phrase 'education revolution'?
It's Tony Abbott!
The 'education revolution' wasn't really a revolution at all.
It was a policy that Labor brought in that aimed to give heaps of funding for schools to build new halls and other buildings.
But it was criticised a lot in the media for being wasteful and badly run, and guess who was running it?
Julia Gillard!
So Tony is trying to remind people of the mistakes he says Julia has made as many times as possible!
Our next phrase has been used a lot in this campaign.
Who is responsible for talking about 'bringing back WorkChoices'?
The answer is Julia Gillard!
WorkChoices was an unpopular policy that the coalition introduced when they were last in power.
Critics said the laws gave more power to bosses and less to workers, and when Kevin Rudd was elected in 2007, the laws were ditched.
But because Tony was in favour of the laws way back then, Labor is trying to get voters to fear they will be reintroduced if the Coalition make it to power.
Tony however keeps on denying it.
Okay let's move onto our last question for the day.
Which party says they'll 'pay back the debt' and bring the budget 'back to surplus'?
The answer is - both parties!
Australia is currently in a fair bit of debt, after the Government spent a lot during the global financial crisis, and most voters want it repaid as quickly as possible.
So both parties have committed to doing that, over and over and over again!
And that's it for ‘Whose line is it Anyway!’ Have a great campaign!
Precious metal
Reporter: Natasha Thiele
INTRO: When it comes to gadgets, the trend is to make them smaller.
And the more power you can pack into your tiny device the better.
That's why there's been a sharp rise in the use of lightweight, long-lasting batteries, powered by a metal called lithium.
So what is lithium and where can we find it?
As Tash reports experts think it could one day be as valuable as gold or oil.
NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: Lithium. It can be found in mobile phones, digital cameras, electric cars and even medicines!
But what is it?
It's a soft metal that's the lightest around. It's so soft it can be cut with a sharp knife!
NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: This is lithium in its pure form. Although it's a metal, it's lighter than water. And when you add it to water, this is what happens!
And when mixed with other chemicals, it can be used to make high-energy batteries.
Some of the most common types of batteries you can get are zinc-carbon, alkaline and lithium!
NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: Most small gadgets these days like mobile phones use a lithium battery. It's because the battery needs to be smaller, lighter and longer-lasting. And if you have a look on the battery, you might see a small Li symbol on it and that's lithium!
Lithium can be found in some rocks and in brine, which is a type of salty water.
And the place you'll find the world's largest lithium reserves is in a country called Bolivia in South America.
It's the continent's poorest nation, but it's sitting on a potential gold mine.
Some experts estimate the country has nearly half of the world's known lithium resources. It's all buried beneath this vast white area.
This might look like thousands of square kilometres of ice, but it's actually salt.
And under all that salt you'll find lithium, potentially worth more than a trillion dollars!
But there's a problem! While countries like Chile, Argentina and the US mine lithium, the Bolivian government so far, isn't doing much at all.
Something like only 15 kilos have been harvested. That's only enough to power one electric car!
To mine the metal, holes need to be drilled five metres into the ground beneath the salty water that contains lithium.
The water's pumped into these special evaporation pools, which separates the salt from the metal.
And this is what you get floating to the surface, lithium!
So why isn't Bolivia mining more of the valuable metal.
Well, the President Evo Morales is taking things at his own pace and is refusing to sign any deals with mining exploration companies.
EVO MORALES, BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT: In relation to lithium energy, to clean renewable energy, well that's something we can talk about another day.
It could be Bolivia's lack of infrastructure that's holding them back. They don't have enough water, electricity and gas.
And some locals believe the quicker the country allows development, the better it will be for the people living in this poor nation.
Lithium, as a greener form of power, will play a big role in the success of electric cars in the future.
And with people demanding smaller and lighter mobile phones and laptops the use, value and demand for lithium is only going to increase!
Presenter: So how much do you know about metal? Let's have a quiz.
Quiz 1
Which of these elements is not a metal?
Potassium
Sulphur
Sodium
Answer: Sulphur
Presenter: In its natural form sulphur is a bright yellow crystal and it's used in gunpowder.
Right let's move onto sport now with the score.
The Score
It was meant to be a Tri Nations test but in the end the New Zealand All Blacks barely looked tested in their massive 49 - 28 win over the Wallabies on Saturday night.
Time after time they showed their brilliance pilling on seven tries to secure their 12th win in a row.
The wallabies will hope to bounce back in the away leg next week.
****
Australia is having better luck in hockey where the Kookaburras stayed on course for a third consecutive champions trophy title with a come from behind win over the Netherlands.
Things weren't looking good with 7 minutes to go with Australia 3 - 2 down but they managed to wrestle the game back with an amazing 4 unanswered goals to win 6 - 3.
*****
Finally to Formula One,where Aussie Mark Webber has continued to add to his most successful season with a win in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton retired with a gearbox failure while Webber's team-mate Sebastian Vettel failed to capitalise on his pole start.
The win puts Webber 4 points ahead in the driver’s championship.
Boy behaviour
Reporter: Natasha Thiele
INTRO: You've probably gone to extreme lengths before to try to impress someone which might've involved a bit of showing off.
But why do we do that?
Well, scientists have been on a mission to find out why young people particularly boys, are big risk-takers.
They put skateboarders to the test to see if behaviour changes around someone their really attracted to.
Here's Tash.
NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: These skateboarders think they're involved in a test to find out what makes a good skater, but that's not the case!
They're actually part of an experiment to see if guys are more likely to show-off in front of girls.
And the girl for this experiment is the researcher,Catherine.
She's videoing the boys and chatting to them as they skate.
Catherine wants to see if they are more likely to show off by performing risky tricks when the researcher is female, instead of male.
Each time, the skaters pushed their tricks to the limits and sometimes came to a painful end.
They then got a male researcher to take over filming to see if it made a difference.
Turns out, the skateboarders didn't take as many risks.
Like this guy, who kicked the board away because the trick was too hard.
DR RICHARD RONAY, SCIENTIST AND DR JONICA NEWBY (CATALYST REPORTER): He's on top of the board, the boards positioned under his feet. Yeah. Until, now he kicks it. Okay, so between two frames a decision got made, decision to abort? Now the board's kicked out.
The guys were also tested for testosterone. That's a hormone found in men and women, but there are higher levels of it in guys.
They wanted to see if the urge to show off actually had a scientific reason behind it. Results later!
Researchers reckon it all goes back to the animal kingdom, like when male animals compete with other males to attract females.
And they do some pretty crazy stuff to get attention!
Even squid send messages to each other like you can see here.
The one on the left is the guy and see how one side of him is brown; well that's what happens when they're near females!
And scientists think it's all about taking risks.
In our experiment, the researchers eventually told the guys the real reason behind the test.
And it was time to reveal the results.
They found the guys had more confidence when a girl was around and took 43 per cent more risks than with the male researcher!
And here's the science bit, the testosterone sample was 39 per cent higher when the tricks were done in front of Catherine.
Scientists say the risk taking function has to do with this part of the male brain.
It brings together our emotions and decision making.
PROF. BILL VON HIPPEL, SCIENTIST: There's evidence that it gets activated by the presence of attractive women. What that suggests to me is that maybe evolution put a short circuit in there.