Finally, something on the news to feel good about

C1 says:

02:31pm | 13/10/10

Macca,

Don’t worry about being seen as selfish. I was 30 at the time living in Brisbane and my fiance (now wife) was a Conference organiser. We were in Jupiters at the Gold Coast setting up for an event. I walked in to a room of at least 15-20 women (of varying ages) crying. I was assailed with “Did you hear the news about Lady Diana!!”. My response was in the negative and when told of the event, my perceived heartless response (that is I did not join them in the crying) confirmed the theory that men are from Mars and women are from Venus.

Another great moment was Australia winning the America’s Cup.

TheRealDave says:

03:34pm | 13/10/10

@c1 - my reaction was similar. I was at a mates place watching a video when his missus came in and said Lady Di died…we both said ‘So’?? And turned back to the movie.

Lady Di’s death isn’t in the same league as the other ‘events’ mentioned.

Well…outside the circle of women who buy New Idea every week….

Macca says:

06:34am | 14/10/10

Thankyou Gentlemen, it appears I’m not alone in my apathy.

And C1, yes, America’s Cup is definitely up there.

Macca says:

06:38am | 14/10/10

Although, just to add some perspective here, and I’m not trying to downplay this amazing event at all, but on Sunrise this morning, someone wrote in say that if there were more events like this that we could all share, the world would be a better place.

That is complete Rubbish. The world would be a better place if we could rid Africa or Famine and AIDS, or if we could create world-wide sustainable energy production. But a few people in the western world, vicariously sharing the emotional joy and trauma in Chile through their Televisions does not make the World a better place.

This is a wonderful story, and it should be shared. But there are far greater advances being made around the world that should be celebrated. Leo’s article mentioning Dr Florey and his penicilin is one that comes to mind.

bigmuzz says:

10:16am | 14/10/10

i remember the funeral of diana, how it went on for hours… i mainly remember because we were at my grandparents house and were forced to sit down and watch it (i was about 12 or 13)... and the main thing i remember was my little brother walking into the loungeroom halfway through all sad and asking if he could blow out the candles on his birthday cake… he had been waiting hours because the adults were all too engrossed in the tv coverage… so then me and my cousin got in trouble for laughing. ah, memories… lol

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

06:51pm | 13/10/10

Bob H   :  Yes it is wonderful to see the end result of the miners rescue
efforts .  The gratitude and relief on the faces of waiting family is a tangible thing .
Oh ! your comment on pollies getting their faces in on the act reminds me of the Beaconsfield rescue when Bill Shorten ( then union leader , about to be parachuted into a safe Labor seat ) was in every electronic media news presentation , print media story etc on the rescue.
Never was it so obvious that Shorten was going to enter politics ,during and after the rescue was over , the speculation started and Bill was successfully on his way to parliament. His manipulation of the media at the time was the most blatant use of an unfortunate situation i have ever witnessed.

Sven Gali says:

02:17am | 14/10/10

Speaking of your blatant attempt to use an unfortunate situation, Wayne, Bill Shorten did a magnificent job, and appropriately “won praise from both mine management, as well as miners’ families.”

“When we arrived on Friday, it looked pretty grim,” he told The Age. “I went through (the) Longford (gas plant explosion) and I saw what catastrophic workplace fatalities can do to a community.”

“The subsequent discovery on Sunday that miners Brant Webb and Todd Russell were still alive changed the mood of Beaconsfield and brought with it a barrage of media attention.”

“While mine management have been coy with information, and at times reluctant to talk, Mr Shorten has been free with his time and offered everything he knows to the public.”

“The reality is, unions often know what’s going on before other people, because these people are our members.”

“And he has promised to make sure conditions at the mine are fully investigated once Mr Russell and Mr Webb are freed. The union has also held meetings with members, met miners’ families, and set up a fund for them, as well as flown family members to Beaconsfield from interstate.”

Congratulations once again on a job well done, Bill Shorten.

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

07:41am | 14/10/10

Sven Gali :  What Shorten did during the Beaconsfield rescue was for Bill Shorten , nobody else . Media manipulation on a grand scale , very well handled indeed . Never before was so much done for one man on the anguish of so many.  Congratulations on an unbelievable campaign based on the family agony of Beaconsfied miners.

Sven Gali says:

09:02am | 14/10/10

That might be the way you operate, Wayne, but Bill Shorten won the praise of both the mine management and the miners’ families for their own good reasons. Where were you ?

Reg says:

09:56am | 14/10/10

Don’t stop there Wayne go ahead and suggest that he deliberately engineered the whole drama solely for his own purposes. Your vicious politicisation serves only to downgrade your integrity in all other matters.

The Chilean tragedy-avoided, is another of worker exploitation in unsafe conditions as one of the rescued workers had told his family, even before the accident occurred.

Kev Gillett says:

10:01am | 14/10/10

Wayne couldn’t agree more as I wrote last year “A MAN has been trapped in the Henty gold mine at Zeehan on Tasmania’s west coast. Calling Bill Shorten…come in Bill!  What’s that? Ah, of course, you are already in parliament. You don’t need the publicity anymore.

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

12:52pm | 14/10/10

Sven :  Where was i   ?    I was watching the whole drama unfold on television , same as many thousands of other people , we were all rejoicing at the rescue of the miners.
So as you can work out for yourself , i and many thousands of other intelligent people witnessed Bill’s blatant campaign .

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

01:06pm | 14/10/10

Reg :  Ah ! the old exploitation of the workers union refrain . Sing it again Sam. ! 
Reg , don’t bother digging up that smelly old business bashing bulls@#%$.  All miners are well aware of the dangers entailed in their choice of work and they are more than well remunerated for the risks they knowingly take.
Why do you think thosands of people , including women are flocking to mining sites seeking work.  ?  It’s the big money Reg. !
Good on them too , if they are happy to work in a volatile work safety climate , i salute them.

Sven Gali says:

01:24pm | 14/10/10

Check your facts, Kev.

Bill Shorten resigned as AWU National Secretary on 26 November 2007.

Why would he have been in Zeehan last year ? He had no more business being there than you did.

Sven Gali says:

01:33pm | 14/10/10

Correction, Wayne. The mine management and miners’ families, and many thousands of other intelligent people, were praising Bill Shorten’s great work, listed above.

Sven Gali says:

02:05pm | 14/10/10

That may be the saddest admission I’ve ever heard, Wayne. While everyone else in Australia, (and around the world), were celebrating the rescue of the miners, you (and Kev, apparently), were sitting there seething because Bill Shorten was receiving some credit for his work.

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

06:29pm | 14/10/10

Sven Gali :  Kev was right on the money . ! Good ol’ Bill did not need the union exposure on the back of the Henty Gold mine at Zeehan . Rudd had already arranged his parachute into a safe seat . The miners were finished with by Billy Boy. Sorry but i’m a busy man now , all this knifing tgo be arranged , yadda yadda yadda.

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

06:38pm | 14/10/10

Sven Gali :  Correction Sven , I was seething knowing that Bill Shorten was getting all the credit that the mine rescuers ( miners . paramedics .
doctors . Miners families . Nurses . Psychologists . etc etc ) were due to be awarded accolades for.  He fooled some of the people some of the time ...................

Sven Gali says:

12:23am | 15/10/10

As I said, Wayne, that may be the saddest admission I’ve ever heard, and Bill Shorten resigned as AWU National Secretary on 26 November 2007.

acotrel says:

06:23am | 14/10/10

Wayne, have you ever heard the expression about ‘raining on somebody’s parade’? Your cynical/poisonous comment about Bill Shorten is out of place! All I can remember about the Beaconsfield Mine Disaster was JWH standing alongside Todd and Brandt - what a contrast!

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

09:03am | 14/10/10

Acotrel :  Shorten’s parade is one i have no hesitation about raining on at any time . He used the miner’s families parade . I’ve used Bob H’s comment and you have used mine . Fair enough.

Reg says:

01:11pm | 14/10/10

Why not Shana, they ran out of ideas ages ago and until 9/11 would not believe that truth was stranger than fiction. A great cooperative effort about to be sullied by Hollywood. (or Wayne.)