A Blank on the Map

A Blank on the Map is a BBC TV documentary written and presented by David Attenborough. It was first transmitted in 1971 and is now available on the DVD collection Attenborough in Paradise and Other Personal Voyages. The documentary follows Attenborough as he joins a back-country patrol in New Guinea crossing through a previously unexplored region in search of an uncontacted people known as the Biami. After several weeks in the interior, the expedition eventually encounters signs of human habitation and, toward the conclusion of their journey, they are approached by a small tribe of natives who allegedly had never before had contact with the outside world. The curious and friendly tribe engages in some minor trading with the expedition. They become alarmed, however, when Attenborough and company attempt to follow them to their homes. The tribe suddenly disappears into the forest and are not seen again.

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HM Melbourne Assessment Prison

The Melbourne Assessment Prison is an Australian remand and reception prison located in Spencer Street, West Melbourne, Victoria. The facility is operated by the Department of Justice, of the Victorian Government.

Function and history

The prison is also known by the nickname 'The Map'. Previously known as the Melbourne Remand Centre, the Melbourne Assessment Prison was originally built to accommodate Melbourne's remand prisoners and sits on the site of the former Western Hotel on the corner of Spencer Street and La Trobe Street just west of Melbourne's central business district.

The primary purpose of the facility is to provide statewide assessment and orientation services for all male prisoners received into the prison system.

In 1997 the prison became the main reception prison for all male prisoners in Victoria. Initial planning for the prison commenced in 1974. Construction commenced in December 1983 and was completed in 1989 at a cost of A$80m. The prison was officially opened on 6 April 1989, and received its first prisoners on 29 May 1989.

Avi Lewis

Avram David "Avi" Lewis (born 1968) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, former host of the Al Jazeera English show Fault Lines and former host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) current-affairs program On the Map.

Biography

Family

Avi Lewis is the great grandson of Moshe Losz (Lewis), an outspoken member of the Jewish Bund who left Svisloch, Poland (today Belarus), after being interrogated by the Russians and threatened with death or the Gulag for his political activity. He left for Montreal in 1921, with his wife Rose (née Lazarovitch) and three children. Avi Lewis is the grandson of former federal NDP leader David Lewis and the son of politician and diplomat Stephen Lewis and journalist Michele Landsberg. Avi Lewis is married to journalist and author Naomi Klein; his sister Ilana Landsberg-Lewis is married to musician and activist Lorraine Segato.

Lewis grew up in Toronto, Ontario, and attended Jarvis Collegiate and Upper Canada College. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1988.