Memo to corporate hacks; objectivity doesn’t exist

Salon’s Glenn Greenwald is right: Contrary to popular wisdom, there aren’t two types of journalists: those who express opinions and those who are objective. … The two types are those who honestly acknowledge their opinions and those who deceitfully pretend such opinions do not influence their journalism. One reason modern establishment journalism has become so corrupted…

Rest easy, citizens, Serco rides to the rescue

Is there anything Serco can’t do with enough money? It’s the company that’s always in the right spot at the right time (helped, of course, by the fact that countless politicians on all sides believe in “efficiency”, aka cutting services). The Guardian reports: Privately employed engineers are being trained to detect “dirty bombs” so that…

Three examples of disaster capitalism in action

One (via Wired): An obscure Pentagon office designed to curb the flow of illegal drugs has quietly evolved into a one-stop shop for private security contractors around the world, soliciting deals worth over $3 billion. The sprawling contract, ostensibly designed to stop drug-funded terrorism, seeks security firms for missions like “train[ing] Azerbaijan Naval Commandos.” Other…

We don’t live in a democracy, repeat after me

Spot on, argues Roger D. Hodge in Harpers: The corruption of our institutions manifests itself in a variety of ways, but in none so dramatic as the imbalance of national wealth, which in recent decades has shattered records formerly set in the late 1920s. Although it is often claimed that the gap between rich and…

State of journalism in Sri Lanka is dire

So much for being a democracy at the end of the civil war. This is what ongoing discrimination against free speech looks like. Andrew Buncombe reports for The Independent: It is not simply dedication to his job that has led newspaper editor MV Kaanamyl-nathan to not leave his office for five-and-a-half years. In the spring…

Arab world not fooled by real American agenda; Israel, Israel and Israel

The numbers prove it (via IPS): Despite repeated expressions of support by President Barack Obama for democratic change during the “Arab Spring”, the United States remains widely distrusted in the region, according to a major new survey of public opinion in five Arab countries released here Monday. Instead, Turkey is viewed as having played the…

PNG welcomes Israel into its beating bosom

This is how Israel builds its soft power. As civilised peoples increasingly recognise the Jewish state as a racially discriminatory anachronism from a different age, Zionism must cultivate backing from smaller, more desperate nations keen for infrastructure and cash. Hello Papua New Guinea: The people of Hela and the Israelis will work in partnership to…

Zionist fanatics embrace Glenn Beck, Mr. 1939 is here (again)

What has happened to my people? One of America’s most prominent Jewish groups – they embrace settlements, racism inside Israel and Palestine, no criticism of Zionism and never-ending occupation – brazenly invites former Murdoch favourite hack, Glenn Beck, to rally the troops and talk about preparing for the apocalypse. Zionism 2011 (via JTA): The Zionist…

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