The great Gideon Levy in Haaretz (and one of the finest columns on the death of the great South African, though Jonathan Cook’s dissenting view is vital): South African President Nelson Mandela, in his address for International Solidarity Day with the Palestinian People on December 4, 1997, said: “We know too well that our freedom…
Filming vulture capitalism documentary
I’m currently in a strange locale working on a film about vulture capitalism (more details here). Best place to see/hear the latest is Twitter. Back from the wilds soon.
Global trends of fleeing asylum seekers
Desperate refugees looking for a new, safer life. The stories span the globe. This latest article in the New York Times highlights the ongoing suffering in Syria: Fifty miles off the southeastern coast of Sicily, the refugee boat first appeared as a gray spot on the horizon, rising up or dipping away with the churn…
How the British Empire destroyed records of its outrages
Just imagine, in decades to come, if not sooner thanks to vital leaks, both the US and UK will have to face history’s glare for ongoing colonial policies in the “war on terror”. The Independent reports: In April 1957, five unmarked lorries left the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur and drove to a Royal…
And now for something completely different (by Wes Anderson)
The glorious, zany, surreal and beautiful world of US film-maker Wes Anderson is a joy to behold (and a welcome respite from human rights abuses). His latest is a short film delight, Castello Cavalcanti:
How US/Australia intelligence collusion rightly concerns Asia
My weekly Guardian column is here: Australia has an identity crisis that has never been resolved. Are we a US client state, happy to host any number of… American troops… and… spying assets, or a fully integrated part of Asia? Do we crave true independence, or are we happy to remain America’s ‘deputy sheriff‘ in the Pacific region?…
Hold the champagne, but nuclear deal with Iran (probably) avoids war
Robert Fisk on the winners and those who are pissed that a war against Tehran may not now happen: It marks a victory for the Shia in their growing conflict with the Sunni Muslim Middle East. It gives substantial hope to Bashar al-Assad that he will be left in power in Syria. It isolates Israel.…
Humiliating Palestinians as Israeli policy
Amira Hass is a leading journalist for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Two recent columns show the direct and daily assault on Palestinian lives that too rarely appears in the Western press. The Israeli agency that oppresses Palestinians ‘for their own good’: And this month’s George Orwell Prize for excellence in misleading language, for rose-colored ink…
SBS News interview on Serco and G4S behaving badly in Australia and Britain
A section of my recent book Profits of Doom examines the pernicious role of British multinationals Serco and G4S. Both companies are currently being investigated for fraud in the UK and SBS TV and Radio interviewed me about both the local and global ramifications of the scandal: