I keep seeing people saying that trying the “terrorists” in US courtrooms will give them a stage. That displays nothing but the speaker’s ignorance.

Ever see video of a trial? Isn’t wasn’t taken in a Federal courtroom. Audio? Still not Federal. How about photographs? Nope, no photography in Federal courtrooms.

If these guys are looking for a stage, they would get a bigger audience off Broadway, or at a Fringe festival.

Federal courtrooms are not large, and you need to be able to take written notes if you want to report from one. Large media outfits might have a courtroom artist, but that’s the extent of the visuals. So, the information coming from the Federal courtroom in any of these trials is dependent of the handwriting of journalists, if there are still any journalists with the requisite skills.

Most of the defendants do not speak English. Any speeches will have to be translated, which is not exactly conducive to stirring rhetoric, and most translators these days are not native English speakers, so reporting on any speeches will be extremely condensed.

These trials will be public, but that is usually limited to a few dozen people. The journalists can expect to be limited to a pad of paper and a couple of pencils in the courtroom because of security. If you want great theater, you will have to wait for a book or screenplay, because real trials are seldom gripping, or entertaining at the Federal level.

The CNN Political Ticker notes: Bishops slam ‘unacceptable’ health care bill

Washington (CNN)– The US Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a strongly worded letter to members of the US Senate Friday, terming the abortion language in the Senate Democrats’ health care bill “completely unacceptable.”

“The new Senate bill is an enormous disappointment, creating new and completely unacceptable federal policy that endangers human life and rights of conscience,” reads the letter obtained by CNN Congressional Producer Deirdre Walsh.

I guess it was an oversight that the Bishops didn’t mention the financial involvement of the Church in the debate as one of the largest hospital systems in the country, nor stress how change the wording would benefit that network financially. “Conscience” has been a fluid concept with the Church when it involves its financial interests.

The Bishops might want to spend a little time considering the concept in Matthew 7:3 before making pronouncements.

The ABC reports on the current situation: NSW fire crews prepare for horror day

The Rural Fire Service has used improved weather conditions overnight to attempt to bring a fire threatening the townships of Kandos and Rylstone in central-west NSW under control.

The fire, fanned by strong winds, came within 8 kilometres of the townships.

But firefighters will be given no reprieve with weather conditions expected to deteriorate today with winds and high temperatures forecast.

Overnight 70 fires were burning across the State, mostly in remote and inaccessible terrain in the Blue Mountains the Hawkesbury region and northern areas.

Much of New South Wales is expected to get above 40 degrees, with winds gusting at up to 60 kilometres an hour forecast.

First some background: November in Australia is like May in the US, so temperatures above 96° F [40° C] are decidedly not normal for an area that corresponds to Virginia in the US. This is the end of their Spring, and New South Wales is the coldest area of the country. This is where the ski resorts are.

Update: From comments Australian climatic zones to help you see what’s going on.

Echidne located a disturbing piece of cartography, an animated Unemployment map, that shows the spread of the problem at the county level since January of 2007.

It’s like one of those stock pieces of film footage with the map burning to show the spread of warfare or a plague.

It’s hard to believe that I have been doing this for 5 years.

Thanks to everyone who stops by, even if it’s only for the Cat Blogging.