Showing all posts in June 2019

Far right activity in Australia and New Zealand usually escapes the attention of the mainstream media. “Fight dem Back” aims to change all that: “We are brought together by the strong belief that all people, regardless of race, religion or creed, are created equal and by our uniform opposition to all groups who would seek…

Tony Blair’s New Labour lies? A British documentary tells all: “Britain’s Channel 4 documentary “Undercover in New Labour” includes footage from “a reporter wearing hidden cameras who volunteered to work on the party’s election campaign and ended up being drafted to work at its national PR headquarters.” The documentary shows Labour staff using “party supporters…

George W. Bush gave a speech in November 2003 at the 20th Anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy at the United States Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. He discussed freedom and democracy in the Middle East and beyond: “We’ve witnessed, in little over a generation, the swiftest advance of freedom in the 2,500…

Here is my review from last Sunday’s Sun Herald of Suad Amiry’s “Sharon And My Mother-In-Law: Ramallah Diaries.” Amiry is a guest of this year’s Sydney Writer’s Festival and will undoubtedly talk about life under Israeli military occupation.

Ominous news from Bahrain: “Three Bahraini bloggers are facing criminal charges, including defaming the king, for running a web forum that allows free political debate.” The expression, “fighting a battle they will never win”, comes to mind. “The government said bloggers had to register with the ministry of information – and has even proposed a…

Condoleezza Rice was key speaker at the pro-Zionist American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIJAC) Annual Policy Conference on May 23: “Let me begin by saying that Israel has no greater friend and no stronger supporter than the United States of America. (Applause.) For over half a century, AIPAC has strengthened the religious, cultural and political…

“Professional journalism relies heavily on official sources. Reporters have to talk to the PM’s official spokesperson, the White House press secretary, the business association, the army general. What those people say is news. Their perspectives are automatically legitimate…This is precisely the opposite of what a functioning democracy needs, which is a ruthless accounting of the…

I’ve deliberately avoided commenting on the Schapelle Corby case for a variety of reasons. Some in the blogosphere, such as Weezil, have thrown themselves into fighting for her freedom. All well and good for a woman seemingly set for a long prison term in Indonesia. Personally, the case against Corby has always seemed highly questionable,…

The New York Times published an article on May 21 that should have been on the front page of Australia’s leading broadsheets. It told the real face behind America’s “War on Terror” (WOT): “For many Muslims, Guantánamo stands as a confirmation of the low regard in which they believe the United States holds them. For…

Morgan Spurlock, agent provocateur of anti-McDonalds documentary, Super Size Me, returns with a book called “Don’t Eat This Book”, exclusively extracted in yesterday’s Independent on Sunday. Adults clearly bear much responsibility for the kind of food their children are consuming, but as Spurlock suggests, “they’re going up against billions and billions of dollars spent every…