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David Attenborough's most recent BBC documentary series, The Frozen Planet, is being aired in Britain and around the world, but American viewers won't be able to see the seventh and final episode, "On Thin Ice." Why? Because it shows and discusses the dramatic climate change that has occurred on both poles since 1980. The BBC, in a cowardly and self-serving move, decided to offer the first six episodes as a package, making the final one optional because some TV channels might find it "too controversial." Well, guess what -- the US is one of those.This quote is from the New Statesman:

Seven episodes of the multi-million-pound nature documentary series will be aired in Britain. However, the series has been sold to 30 world TV networks as a package of only six episodes. These networks then have the option of buying the seventh "companion" episode -- which explores the effect man is having on the natural world -- as well as behind the scenes footage.

The six-episode series has been sold to 30 broadcasters, ten of which have declined to use the climate change episode, "On Thin Ice", including the US.

In America, the series is being aired by the Discovery channel, which insists that the final episode has been dropped because of a "scheduling issue".

Everyone on the planet should see this episode. From what I've learned, it's not even that hard-hitting or political; countries and policies are barely mentioned. But the facts, and the visual evidence, are so dramatic they can't be disputed, and that's what's so threatening. Well -- we can continue to pretend that what we can't see won't hurt us, but nature is going to change that in fairly short order.

UPDATE: After Change.org mounted a petition drive, the Discovery Channel has backed down, and U.S. viewers will be able to see the series in its entirety!

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Meanwhile, that bastion of the so-called "liberal" media -- NPR -- has aired what's practically a commercial for the domestic use of military drones. I live near the US/Canadian border, and fully expect the drones to be overhead, but the aircraft, advertised as "ideal for urban monitoring," are also being purchased by domestic police departments and may be coming soon to a city near you.

One new type of drone already in use by the U.S. military in Afghanistan — the Gorgan Stare, named after the “mythical Greek creature whose unblinking eyes turned to stone those who beheld them” — is “able to scan an area the size of a small town” and “the most sophisticated robotics use artificial intelligence that [can] seek out and record certain kinds of suspicious activity”; boasted one U.S. General: “Gorgon Stare will be looking at a whole city, so there will be no way for the adversary to know what we’re looking at, and we can see everything.”

I doubt if terrorist suspects make up even one tenth of one percent, but we now know that the 99% are not only paying the bills, but they're going to be subjected to unprecedented surveillance and invasion of privacy, with no public discussion and no recourse.

Comments

[Marja-Leena]

I'm curious, Beth ... are you able to see this series in Canada? Say, online? We recently quit our cable TV subscription, though we didn't have Discovery Channel in our basic package anyway.

[Spongebelly]

I heard the NPR piece the other day and was startled as well. They are doing more and more spots like this lately, seemingly paralyzed by a need to appear "balanced" with breathless and uncritical coverage of appalling trends. Does the military-optical-complex require a lesson in the Classics?

...the Gorgon Stare, named after the “mythical Greek creature whose unblinking eyes turned to stone those who beheld them”

Wasn't she sleeping when Perseus did the naughty deed? Unblinking, indeed. And how like them to ignore the warnings of unintended consequences, from flying around, gloating, with a Gorgon head:

[Mopsus] died there after being bitten on the heel by one of the vipers that had grown out of the blood which had dropped from the head of Medusa (the Gorgon) when Perseus flew over the Libyan desert.

"As [Perseus] flew over
the Libyan sands, drops from the Gorgon's head
Fell bloody to the ground, and earth received them
Turning them into vipers. Ovid Metamorphoses iv 618- 621.

A thick mist spread over Mopsus' eyes, his hair fell out and he died in agony. [http://www.goddess.org/vortices/notes/mopsus.html]

What reaction should we expect from today's robotic cheerleaders, when a drone, perhaps operated from the Rainbow Warrior, takes out the CEO of Goldman Sacks? Or was it instead an inside job, masterminded by a covert group deep within Citigroup? Or the Bundesbank? Spilled blood of this kind grows into vile creatures, of our own making, however unpremeditated. Maybe there would be a market for personal airspace defense, with blinding laser countermeasures designed to blind the million-dollar cameras flying over your backyard? An opportunity for job creation? Athena, help us!

[Beth]

Marja-Leena, all I found was this:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/TV/frozen-planet-a-7-part-series-on-polar-life-to-premiere-on-discovery-channel-on-march-18-135098848.html
But I'm sure you will be able to rent or buy it on DVD.

[Hattie]

I don't have time to look through these things now, but Netflix instant download has lots of documentaries to view.
And I think the global warming deniers are starting to realize they are wrong. Of course, that really isn't much help, is it.

[Mouse]

I have this series recorded and ready to watch. Alas, given my love of all things Arctic it is taking me some time to find the courage to so so...

[Jan]

I get so frustrated over news coverage in recent years. It's especially hard if you have a scientific background and . . . oh, don't get me started.