My book review in yesterday’s Weekend Australian newspaper:… In The Operators, a great book on the war in Afghanistan, the American journalist Michael Hastings is scathing of reporters who spend their lives praising generals and socialising with them. Hastings exposed the arrogance and childish antics of the then head of US operations in Afghanistan, Stanley…
Showing all posts tagged Afghanistan
How true democracy and self-determination can prevail
A key aim of my Disaster Capitalism film with director Thor Neureiter is to highlight the darker sides of aid (without arguing that aid should stop). There are currently many screenings of the film around the world from Australia to the US and UK (with many more to follow). Aid Watch is a wonderful group…
How aid can be used to keep nations deliberately poor
I was interviewed last week in Australian media outlet Crikey by Charlie Lewis about my… Disaster Capitalism film: The documentary Disaster Capitalism opens with the earthquake in Haiti, 2010. Through the ghostly fog of CCTV video, we see the ground furiously shake buildings into dust. Fronted by Australian journalist and writer Antony Loewenstein and shot over…
Triple R Breakfasters radio interview on Disaster Capitalism film
This morning I was interviewed on one of Melbourne’s best breakfast radio programs, Triple R Breakfasters, about Disaster Capitalism (after a very successful public screening in the city last night):
Public Q&A on Disaster Capitalism film and how aid is delivered
Last week in Sydney was the first public screening of my film, Disaster Capitalism. Director Thor Neureiter was in New York but co-producers Media Stockade were there along with a solid audience. There will be many more public screenings in Australia, the US and beyond soon. After the film, we held a Q&A around aid…
Who should really benefit from aid?
My article in the Guardian: Foreign aid has the power to save lives but also to corrupt nations. It’s regularly used as a political football as some argue for more financial support to the world’s most vulnerable people while others believe more money should be spent at home. It’s a false distinction, however, because the…
ABC Radio National interview on Disaster Capitalism film
My film Disaster Capitalism, with director Thor Neureiter and co-producers Media Stockade, is screening publicly soon. Last weekend I was interviewed by Hugh Riminton on Australia’s ABC Radio National Sunday Extra program about it: When war or disaster strikes, we assume our aid contributions are life-saving, or at the very least will help rebuild countries…
ABC Radio Australia interview on Disaster Capitalism film
My film, Disaster Capitalism, with director Thor Neureiter and co-producers Media Stockade, is starting to screen this month (initially in Sydney and Melbourne with many more locations in Australia and globally to come). I was interviewed today about the film on ABC Radio Australia’s Pacific Mornings program, broadcast across the entire Pacific region:
Disaster Capitalism film trailer
After 6+ years in the making, my film, Disaster Capitalism, is finished. Working with director Thor Neureiter, co-producers Media Stockade and co-editor Leah Donovan, it’s been the most challenging creative project of my life. But here we are with a fine film. Disaster Capitalism is a compelling documentary that goes inside Afghanistan, Haiti and Papua…
The last remaining Jew in Afghanistan
During my 2012 visit to Afghanistan, researching the book and film, Disaster Capitalism, I spent time with the country’s reportedly last remaining Jew, Zablon Simintov, and filmed an interview with him. Living in the centre of Kabul, his house was a tiny apartment with a Christmas tree in the corner. Remarkably, he had remained safe…