Latest news with #Digger
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon's NASCAR broadcasts are already putting Fox's efforts to shame
Amazon Prime is already setting the standard for NASCAR broadcasts. Hopefully Fox is taking notes. Sunday's Cup Series race at Nashville — won by Ryan Blaney — was the second Amazon race of the season after the internet behemoth made its NASCAR broadcasting debut at the Coca-Cola 600. So far, its two telecasts have been sharp, professional, devoid of nonsense and informative. Simply put, it's the type of coverage that NASCAR fans deserve. Advertisement Look, complaining about TV coverage is rote at this point. Fans of every sport can easily nitpick broadcasts and there are significant subsets of every fanbase that thinks broadcasters are biased against their favorite team. But NASCAR fans have been dealt a tough hand in recent years. As Fox is in its third decade of covering NASCAR, it's felt all too often like the network is mailing it in. Nearly 25 years ago, Fox was in the same position Amazon is in. The network's first NASCAR Cup Series race was the fateful 2001 Daytona 500. Fox's entry into the NASCAR world was a pivot point for the sanctioning body. It had officially gone mainstream. The early Fox years were glorious. Especially compared to other broadcasts. Fox set the standard for what NASCAR coverage should be, even if you weren't a fan of 'Digger' and the embedded camera on the apron in the corners of racetracks across the country. Advertisement But something has changed in recent years. We're not the only ones who have noticed, either. NBC's coverage has put Fox's to shame since the network took over the second half of the season from ESPN and Fox hasn't upped its game. Kevin Harvick is an insightful analyst. But he can't overcome the hokeyness that permeates Fox's broadcasts. To be fair, Amazon isn't starting from scratch. Like Fox, the streamer acquired NFL rights before it jumped into NASCAR. And its booth of Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte have plenty of experience calling races. Alexander has been a main Xfinity Series play-by-play voice for years, and Junior and Letarte form the best analyst pairing in NASCAR from their years at NBC. The two worked together as driver and crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports and their chemistry is apparent on screen. Advertisement But Amazon is nailing the production details that Fox isn't. The broadcast is all about the race and doesn't feature myriad cutaways to children watching in the grandstands. The camera shots follow what the booth is talking about. The graphics and picture quality are markedly better. There are no full-screen commercial breaks during green flag racing. And Amazon hasn't gone to commercial with less than 10 laps to go. It's been a breath of fresh air for the NASCAR fans who have been able to watch. It's no secret that NASCAR's audience skews older than most other professional sports and the viewership gains that NASCAR saw in the 18-49 demographic during the 600 came at the vast expense of those 50 and over. But it's also no secret that streaming is the new cable and how we'll consume most of our sports content in the near future. NASCAR was smart to add Amazon to the mix with its new media rights deal. Trading fewer younger viewers for more older viewers is the right play, especially as Formula 1 is the trendy motorsport among those not eligible for Medicare. Ideally, Amazon will continue to build off how good its first two race broadcasts were and Fox, NBC and TNT — back in the NASCAR game this year — will aspire to meet Amazon's standard. But we won't blame you if you're pessimistic about that ideal world ever happening. We're all worn down by the past decade of Fox's NASCAR broadcasts.
South Wales Argus
02-05-2025
- South Wales Argus
Caerphilly woman fined for failing to look after dog
Jayne Louise Short, 59, of Lewis Close, Crumlin, Caerphilly admitted an Animal Welfare Act offence over a husky/malamute type dog named Digger. She pleaded guilty in that she failed to adequately investigate/address the cause of his weight loss/poor body condition; failed to provide proper/necessary veterinary care for infected anal mass, skin condition, ear condition and failed to provide effective flea control measures. The offence took place on May 20 last year. Short was prosecuted by the RSPCA. She must pay £680 in a fine, costs and a surcharge after appearing at Newport Magistrates' Court. No disqualification from owning/keeping animals was made after 'the RSPCA left three other dogs in the care of the defendant and have had no cause to return to the premises and the defendant is now a responsible person to care for the existing dog'.
Epoch Times
25-04-2025
- General
- Epoch Times
Digger's Wartime Letter Details the Act of God That Saved His Life
In what World War II survivor Richard 'Digger' Bryant could only describe as an act of God, he survived death by a matter of metres, escaping repeated Japanese pattern bombing while fleeing the enemy via a small 'tub' boat. These are the details that the now-late Digger—an Australian sergeant in Singapore—describes in a wartime letter to one of his brothers back home. Digger's nephew Don, and Don's son Jason—his great-nephew—also helped recount his story to The Epoch Times. 'The Japs came over and pattern-bombed the water front when we were in the tub,' Digger wrote in the letter while he was briefly in Jakarta during his covert escape mission. 'It was the biggest fright of my life—out in the water with a wall of falling bombs and horrific explosions coming towards us. 'I gave up and said my prayers but by a miracle, the bombs ran out a few yards from us. I don't mind telling you that I have known fear for what it really is.' Related Stories 1/27/2025 2/28/2025 After the Fall of Singapore on Feb. 15, 1942, three soldiers, including Digger, made a miraculous escape to near Kalumburu in northern Western Australia in a small boat, with the help of a selfless Timorese local. Two other soldiers perished from overhead Japanese bombs. Before landing in northern Australia, Digger constantly hid in mangroves to avoid Japanese detection. 'That was why he hated mangroves,' his nephew Don Bryant, 88, told The Epoch Times. Richard "Digger" Bryant (R) who went on to serve as a coast watcher in Papua New Guinea after escaping the Fall of Singapore via a small boat. Courtesy of Jason Bryant He became severely emaciated and was eventually treated. 'If ever a man believed that there was a god above watching over us, it was now, as only a miracle got us out,' Digger wrote. Digger passed away at the age of 77 in 1991. An Arduous Journey From Singapore, the original five boat crew members steadily traversed the seas north to Banda Aceh, in Indonesia's Aceh province, presumably to avoid being detected by Japanese bombers. They then ventured back south towards Jakarta, and onto northern Australia from Timor. The two Australian soldiers who perished were killed in the strait between South Sumatra and Java, near the island of Krakatoa. There were often ships going past and shooting at the small crew. The arduous journey would have taken several months in total, and Digger and his crewmates are believed to have reached Australian shores in August of 1942. Richard 'Digger' Bryant (right) who escaped the Fall of Singapore via a small boat, and made it to Australia. 'They were helped by the Indonesians all the way, with fuel and food,' Don said. A Timorese man with limited English also pitched in. After dropping off the Australian soldiers, he immediately commandeered his small boat back to where he came from, most likely Timor. The Australian soldiers had no money to offer him—he did it out of the goodness of his heart, and they never learned his name. This mutual care and respect is why Aussies are still so respected in the region. That is the opinion of Digger's great-nephew, former federal policeman and Timor peacekeeper Jason Bryant. 'When I was in Timor, I was in charge of 30 United Nations police [UNPOL]. And they were from all different nations,' he said. 'And I asked a language assistant, 'Why do you love the Australians so much more than everyone else?' 'He said, 'We've always loved Australians because you've always been there for us.' 'They risked their lives for Australians.' Stockmen to the Rescue After landing, an emaciated Digger was found by stockmen following several days of trekking around remote northern Western Australia, the boundary riders taking him into a homestead and feeding him, before he was taken to Perth via submarine. Going to Darwin was out of the question due to the Japanese bombing of the Northern Territory capital on Feb. 19, 1942, and the fact that enemy ships were waiting off the coast. The stockmen waited with Digger until a submarine arrived. This typified the united national spirit against the threat of Japanese invasion at the time, according to Bryant. 'Australia was under threat, and it was every man and their dog who had to help out,' he said. A Court Martial Order For His Troubles After recovering for several weeks at the Merredin Army Hospital—set up about 260 kilometres inland from Perth to make it a more difficult aerial target—Digger received a court martial for deserting the troops under his care after the Fall of Singapore. But that order was quickly dropped when the authorities realised everything Digger went through to get back to Australian shores. When Digger recovered, he went and served as a coast watcher in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, spotting ships go by and reporting them. Around the time of Japan's WWII surrender, Digger then had to find young Japanese army men, and try to take them into custody, or just talk them into going home. However, this was made difficult because Japanese soldiers who survived and returned home were held in low regard. Most chose death instead. 'This was what upset Digger because he was dealing with these really young Japanese soldiers,' Jason said. 'Towards the end of the war, Japan was like Germany. They were using everyone–they'd run out of soldiers. 'So they started using young boys. 'And Digger had to kill them. Digger was telling Dad [Don] about this, and crying about it.' The One Who Didn't Return Meanwhile, Digger's brother, Frank, survived two 'death marches' in Sandakan, Malaysia, before Japanese soldiers took his life. The notorious death marches involved Allied prisoners of war being forced to march through dense tropical jungles of Borneo, often bare foot and malnourished. Approximately 2,000 died. Frank served as a Sapper, also known as a combat engineer, in the 2/10 Field Company Unit. 'I'm afraid that you will have to do the tough job of telling Dora [Frank's wife] of what I think Frank's fate is. I know you will all be deeply grieved. No doubt, both us have been reported missing,' Digger wrote. Frank Bryant, who survived two death marches during WWII in Sandakan, Malaysia, before Japanese soldiers took his life. Courtesy of Jason Bryant Don met his uncle Frank when he was just a young boy, before Frank was called up to serve in World War II. A hero of his, Don waited at Tresco train station, just south of Swan Hill, for many afternoons in the hope his affable uncle—who lived in Thornbury with his wife Dora—would return home. He never did. In Digger's letter home to his brother, Victor, or John as he called him, he wrote about how he would be forever impacted by the 'hell on earth' that he witnessed. 'And I don't think I'll ever be able to wipe what Singapore was, out of my mind,' he wrote. Don't Change the Date Jason Bryant says his late great uncles Frank and Digger are his heroes, just like they were to his father, Don. 'Frank would've suffered greatly on the Sandakan death march. And I look at that and think these guys need the recognition they deserve,' he said. 'All of our brave diggers do.' And this is why he will always be outspoken on keeping Australia Day on Jan. 26. Jason Bryant (L) during his peacekeeping service in East Timor. Courtesy of Jason Bryant The Nationality and Citizenship Act was passed federally on Jan. 26, 1949, creating Australian citizenship. It was a particularly crucial protection for Australian soldiers, with Bryant's great uncles Frank and Digger surrendered by the British at Singapore during WWII. 'Jan. 26 is extremely important to me … That's because the date is so important to me. And I've served this country for 35 years, and I will not back down on that,' Jason told The Epoch Times on Australia Day.
Sydney Morning Herald
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Why so many Diggers voted ‘no' to conscription in WWI
Another, Private Arthur Giles stated forcibly that 'if they don't come of their own free will, let them stay away … the majority would only let us down when in a tight corner' and simply 'wouldn't [be] the same class of men at all'. These entries reveal the 'stigma of conscription', a known phenomenon that occurred in countries that introduced compulsory military service, such as England and New Zealand. These comments played into concerns for the quality and calibre of conscripted men, whose motivation, discipline and military effectiveness would be supposedly less than those who had come voluntarily. Loading Other reasons that emerge in the soldiers' diaries is a distinct resentment towards military authorities. The Australian history curriculum teaches well-known, but mythologised accounts of the Digger as a larrikin who had a natural distrust of authority. The accounts in the diaries do not support that narrative, but are related. They are littered with frustrating accounts of soldiers being used in ways that created palpable anger. Sergeant Major Eric Clarke of Fairfield wrote: 'We were all told to stand fast and record our votes for conscription … we were kept on parade in torrents of rain and a bitterly cold wind for five hours to record our vote, what is only for the result of same to be. In speaking of it afterwards we found that 90 per cent voted NO in [our] division'. Similarly, Private Cameron Robertson of Rozelle wrote 'if men in Australia knew what they would have to put up with 'on active service' … they would see the authorities in hell before they came away. Yet they want conscription in Australia!! Hell! What a fallacy?!!' Loading The vote among the soldiers was every bit as charged and divisive as it was on the home front. Historian Gerald Kristianson remarked that those who voted 'no' on the home front were 'viewed akin to traitors' while those who voted 'yes' 'seemed close to being murderers'. Digger Peter Turnbull gives us a sense of the intensity of the vote to the soldiers. 'We vote tomorrow for or against conscription, only two in our hut out of 12 are for it & we have been arguing all day, in fact nearly fighting,' he wrote. Private Frank Molony, an architect from Petersham, wrote furiously of 'the rumour about that conscription has so far in the counting failed… Oh God make this a lie… if the country we love denies us. The Dead will give us more honour than our living.' The vote extended to the many faces of Australia's wartime commitment, including women who made up more than one per cent of the Australian Imperial Force as nurses. Nurse 'Queenie' Avenell was not put off by the '156 dressings to do, about 30 one-armed men … [who] are going back to Australia and are all just shattered wrecks really'. Queenie interestingly 'voted for it. We have got to win the war by men'. The very fact Australia and Australian soldiers were afforded the opportunity to vote on this important question is significant historically. The reasons behind how the Diggers voted were deeply personal and provide a glimpse into the divisiveness of the issue and how split the nation was on the proposal. The results of the two referendums were honoured. No young men were conscripted to serve. Democratic norms were observed and the very freedoms for which the Diggers fought and died were preserved. Now that's worth celebrating.
The Age
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Why so many Diggers voted ‘no' to conscription in WWI
Another, Private Arthur Giles stated forcibly that 'if they don't come of their own free will, let them stay away … the majority would only let us down when in a tight corner' and simply 'wouldn't [be] the same class of men at all'. These entries reveal the 'stigma of conscription', a known phenomenon that occurred in countries that introduced compulsory military service, such as England and New Zealand. These comments played into concerns for the quality and calibre of conscripted men, whose motivation, discipline and military effectiveness would be supposedly less than those who had come voluntarily. Loading Other reasons that emerge in the soldiers' diaries is a distinct resentment towards military authorities. The Australian history curriculum teaches well-known, but mythologised accounts of the Digger as a larrikin who had a natural distrust of authority. The accounts in the diaries do not support that narrative, but are related. They are littered with frustrating accounts of soldiers being used in ways that created palpable anger. Sergeant Major Eric Clarke of Fairfield wrote: 'We were all told to stand fast and record our votes for conscription … we were kept on parade in torrents of rain and a bitterly cold wind for five hours to record our vote, what is only for the result of same to be. In speaking of it afterwards we found that 90 per cent voted NO in [our] division'. Similarly, Private Cameron Robertson of Rozelle wrote 'if men in Australia knew what they would have to put up with 'on active service' … they would see the authorities in hell before they came away. Yet they want conscription in Australia!! Hell! What a fallacy?!!' Loading The vote among the soldiers was every bit as charged and divisive as it was on the home front. Historian Gerald Kristianson remarked that those who voted 'no' on the home front were 'viewed akin to traitors' while those who voted 'yes' 'seemed close to being murderers'. Digger Peter Turnbull gives us a sense of the intensity of the vote to the soldiers. 'We vote tomorrow for or against conscription, only two in our hut out of 12 are for it & we have been arguing all day, in fact nearly fighting,' he wrote. Private Frank Molony, an architect from Petersham, wrote furiously of 'the rumour about that conscription has so far in the counting failed… Oh God make this a lie… if the country we love denies us. The Dead will give us more honour than our living.' The vote extended to the many faces of Australia's wartime commitment, including women who made up more than one per cent of the Australian Imperial Force as nurses. Nurse 'Queenie' Avenell was not put off by the '156 dressings to do, about 30 one-armed men … [who] are going back to Australia and are all just shattered wrecks really'. Queenie interestingly 'voted for it. We have got to win the war by men'. The very fact Australia and Australian soldiers were afforded the opportunity to vote on this important question is significant historically. The reasons behind how the Diggers voted were deeply personal and provide a glimpse into the divisiveness of the issue and how split the nation was on the proposal. The results of the two referendums were honoured. No young men were conscripted to serve. Democratic norms were observed and the very freedoms for which the Diggers fought and died were preserved. Now that's worth celebrating.
