Dear colleagues
 
Two interesting TV programs were broadcast on Monday evening 1 April 2013.
 
"Four Corners" showed an investigation into coal seam gas (CSG) exploration on the east coast of Australia, and the concern of environmentalists and farmers.  These two groups are not always in agreement.  I know that this issue has featured in discussions in North America.
 
The link is:
www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2013/04/01/3725150.htm
 
After "Four Corners" came "Q & A", a program in which politicians and others deal with questions from a mixed studio audience.  This week it was people of various religious persuasions, not politicians.  There was an Islamic iman, a culturally Jewish singer, an Catholic archbishop, a Buddhist nun of the Tibetan tradition,  an atheist comedian, and very good compering by Tony Jones.  This was much better than the "debate"/"discussion" between scientist and professional atheist Richard Dawkins and Cardinal Archbishop George Pell, broadcast last year - their discussion went nowhere, and fans of both thought their champion had won the night.
 
The iman and the archbishop won a lot of fans, judging by the tweeted comments at the bottom of the screen
 
The link is:
www.abc.net.au/iview/#/saves/12156
 
They only make the programs available for 12 days after broadcast - so get in quickly!
 
"Eureka Street", the online Jesuit publication, has just run a story on the program:
www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=375770
 
Cheers
 
Frank Bremner