My weekly Guardian column: Australians feel… very comfortable… with spying on our friends and enemies. During his visit to Canada this week, Tony Abbott, the prime minister,… backed… the Five Eyes intelligence sharing structure between America, New Zealand, Britain, Canada and Australia, saying “our intelligence gathering has got to be done in a way that is decent and fair…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
SBS News interview on Australia not seeing East Jerusalem as occupied
I was interviewed for the SBS TV news earlier this week on Canberra’s insane decision to avoid calling East Jerusalem “occupied” despite the entire world knowing that it is, except the occupying nation itself, Israel. Shalailah Medhora is the journalist (and a link to the video is here): Last week Attorney-General George Brandis told Senate…
Triple R radio interview on US, drones and civilian murder
I was interviewed this week on Triple R’s Spoke show about US drone strikes in Yemen, killing Australians and the law:
Israeli writer Ari Shavit on Palestine, occupation and BDS
My following interview appears in the Guardian: During an event at the Sydney writer’s festival last month, Israeli writer and author Ari Shavit told a packed auditorium that his country was “an oasis in the Middle East”. He explained to the audience, who largely appreciated his words despite some grumblings when he condemned the occupation…
Three problems with the Fourth Estate
The blandness of the mainstream media, including public broadcasters, is all about the narrow level of “debate” allowed on issues of the day. Australian intellectual and academic Scott Burchill has written the following short essay on the problem and possible solutions: In what is misleadingly called the ”˜age of culture wars’ there are three aspects…
How to reconcile black and white relations in Australia
My weekly Guardian column: The humidity in Darwin slows everything down. Although it’s currently dry season, the temperature is still in the mid 30s and warm breezes linger late into the night. The city, which sits at the top end of Australia, is troubled by… excessive… violence and alcohol abuse. The Northern Territory has one of thehighest…
How the world currently sees Australia
Champagne piece on the US comedy show by John Oliver,… Last Week Tonight:
ABCTV News24's The Drum on asylum seekers and politics
I was on ABCTV News24’s The Drum on Monday night discussing the latest report on asylum seeker chaos caused by Australia and other political issues:
Jeremy Scahill in Australia
Last week I had the honour to meet and spend time with US investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill. He was here for the Sydney Writer’s Festival (photos from the event here) – our panel together discussed the importance of indy journalism in the face of corporate reporting – and it was unique hearing somebody speak clearly…
How to consider identity, pride and country
My weekly Guardian column: I rarely feel proud to be Australian. Perhaps it’s a personal distaste for any form of nationalism, or my long-held belief that human rights abuses increasingly define our nation as brutal, petty and racist. It’s hard to feel pride when we… lock up children in Pacific detention camps… and incarcerate indigenous men at… record…