Showing all posts tagged human rights
Disaster capitalists in Bougainville just want another shot at ruining the place
A foreign company destroys Bougainville in Papua New Guinea and leaves a trail of ecological destruction. Years after, the same company wants to re-open the same mine by whispering sweet nothings about its intentions. Dont believe a word. Following my Crikey investigation last week, today sees an unintentionally funny response to the publication. Yes, vulture…
The secret contractor toll in Afghanistan; this is how we fight our wars
Strong piece in the New York Times that reveals some of the reality behind the Western war in Afghanistan. Increasingly privatised with no accountability at all, it’s a system that suits the powers that be very much. Corporations are making a killing and governments look like they’re hiring less staff. Almost the perfect definition of…
What the resource curse is doing to Bougainville in Papua New Guinea
My following investigation appears in Crikey today: The rusted air vent is deafening and a whoosh echoes around the pit. Copper-polluted water sits in a pool nearby and trees are starting to take over the graded hillside. Rocky, uneven ground is where locals pan for gold, hoping to find a few grams to make some…
BDS is going mainstream because it speaks about universal human rights
After America’s first national BDS conference, the Jewish Forward newspaper explains the “threat” from the Zionist community’s perspective; who can seriously deny equal rights for everybody inside Israel and Palestine (oh, apart from liberal Zionists who cling to the two state solution delusion and rejectionists and the Zionist lobby who just love occupying Palestinians)?: The…
Exploiting Papua New Guinea with its people barely acknowledged
This story in the Wall Street Journal is typical of reporting on PNG. “Development” is framed as the saviour of this nation, despite the fact that decades of resource exploitation has left the vast bulk of citizens poor. I’m currently in the country researching a book on disaster capitalism, filming a documentary and a host…
Baby steps in Palestine that show tone-deafness of Zionist population
Amira Hass in Haaretz explains: News came this week of three individual battles against Israel’s discriminatory regime that have scored gains. Bedouin from the Jahalin tribe will not be expelled to a community next to the Abu Dis dump, and their school will not be demolished. A tender for a luxury development in Lifta, a…
Private eyes are watching us activists
A worrying development in Australia (courtesy of the… Greens): Minister Joe Ludwig, representing the Attorney General in the Senate, confirmed in Question Time today that the Australia Federal Police monitors coal seam gas protesters and that the government outsources some intelligence gathering to private consultants. “Farmers in Queensland trying to protect their land from coal seam…
South Africa mulls imposing sanctions on apartheid Israel
Via The New Age newspaper: The South African government might consider supporting sanctions against Israel as it explores a variety of peaceful methods to step up support for the Palestinians’ fight for freedom and independence. “We want to step up our support of the Palestinians and are investigating a number of peaceful ways to upgrade…
