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.…
Showing all posts tagged Afghanistan
The heartbreaking journey taken by asylum seekers
Understanding the mentality, background and reason for asylum seekers coming to Australia is vital to humanise their stories. The New York Times magazine has an incredible feature in its magazine this week, written by Luke Mogelson (background to the story here) and photographed by Joel Van Houdt, that stunningly captures the challenges, heartache and uncertainty…
David Hicks deserves justice, an apology and compensation
My weekly Guardian column is published today: It’s hard to think of an Australian individual since 9/11 who has experienced more humiliation and abandonment by the federal government than… David Hicks. Julian Assange, who declared he felt abandoned by the Australian government, perhaps… comes close. As they both found out, an Australian passport is no guarantee of…
Launching Profits of Doom at Curtin University in Perth
I launched my book Profits of Doom at Curtin University in Perth on 29 November to a packed house (more details and photos here… and audio is here). The focus was on Australia’s privatised immigration detention system. Dr Caroline Fleay from The Centre for Human Rights Education (CHRE) introduced me with a generous speech that I…
Nightmare reality of US Special Forces in Afghanistan
America and its allies never intended to bring “democracy” or “freedom” to Afghanistan. The reality has been covert missions tasked to root out “terrorism”. When the vast bulk of foreign forces leave the country post 2014, this CIA-led killing machine will continue. Welcome to US nation building. This is a stunning investigation by Matthieu Aikins…
ABC Radio Perth interview about Profits of Doom and religion/faith
I was interviewed this week by ABC Radio Perth’s Afternoon presenter Russell Woolf about my book Profits of Doom, Israel/Palestine and ethics:
Profits of Doom receives positive coverage in Paraguay
The wonders of the internet. I was informed this week that a leading daily media outlet in Asuncion,… Paraguay, Ultima Hora, published a great article about my new book, Profits of Doom. The journalist,… Guido Rodriguez, emailed me to explain that the message of the book resonated with many people in his country. The following is a…
Aid Watch event on Profits of Doom and politics of development
With the release of my recent book, Profits of Doom, I’ve been doing many public events discussing the issues. This was a great one, organised by the wonderful NGO Aid Watch on 19 August: A major concern with the Australian aid program is that it favours commercial interests in aid delivery. The commercialisation of aid…
Unquestioning aid is worst kind of support for the world
My following article appears today in ABC Religion and Ethics: Cholera is killing Haitian men, women and children. For three years the United Nations has refused to take full responsibility for its Nepalese peace-keepers bringing the deadly disease to a nation they were tasked to protect. More than 8,300 people have died and more than…
Fortress Australia keeping out persecuted Hazaras from Afghanistan
It’s a shameful irony that can’t be forgotten. Australia has had troops in Afghanistan since 2001, supposedly to fight terrorism and the Taliban. The Hazaras are constantly under attack by extremists and many of them must flee for a safer life. Australia may be trying to convince Hazaras not to leave but the terrible facts…