The role of Oracle, the huge US tech company, is too rarely examined. It’s also deeply involved with the Israeli state and military. In a new piece by British journalist Carole Cadwalladr in The Nerve, I talk about these ties: Ellison’s company, Oracle, is, according to Antony Loewenstein, the author of The Palestine Laboratory, “an…
Showing all posts tagged Tony Blair
Should John Howard face a citizen's arrest over Iraq war?
My weekly Guardian column is published today: Years after America officially withdrew from the country it invaded in 2003, Iraq remains… in chaos. The issue is largely ignored in the press these days, except for the occasional horrific… tale of carnage. Nobody senior in the western world has found themselves in the dock defending their justifications for…
If I ruled the world
I was asked by Osman Faruqi, editor of the University of New South Wales student newspaper Tharunka, to write a column: The role of the US hegemony is over. Washington no longer controls the world by charm and force. It’s a multipolar planet with countless centres of power. Wouldn’t this be something to celebrate? In…
Lest we forget who led coalition of fools into Iraq
Today, the 10 year anniversary of the disastrous Iraq invasion, is time for reflection, anger and honesty. Too many politicians, journalists and war mongers want to forget. We should not allow it. Medialens is right: What was truly shocking in March 2003 was that Blair was able to weave this obvious web of deceit and…
Desmond Tutu rightly calls for Bush and Blair to be brought before The Hague over Iraq war
Legendary South African figure Desmond Tutu pulled out of speaking alongside Tony Blair recently due to the former British Prime Minister’s criminal record in Iraq. Now, writing in the UK Observer, Tutu expands the argument. Everybody in the mainstream media, who still fawn before Tony Blair, take note: If leaders may lie, then who should…
Tony Blair Inc (and how his mates discovered ways to make money from repression)
The evidence that Tony Blair has amassed a fortune since leaving office is clear. He’s rather keen on providing advice to dictators. This news is therefore unsurprising. It’s how these people see the world; PR is a substitute for human rights. It pays far more, too: He has produced four volumes of diaries, become a…
Corporate media admit; we’re far too close to power
This speaks for itself (via the Guardian): Politicians and journalists have had an unhealthily close relationship to one another, according to… Chris Blackhurst, editor of… The Independent He told a Bath literature festival audience that MPs and reporters formed “a giant club” at Westminster. Successive governments had courted newspaper proprietors, said Blackhurst, and told of his time…
Memo to media; Tony Blair isn’t a Mid-East expert, he just loves making money
Indeed (via the Guardian): Tony Blair is facing calls for greater transparency in his role as Middle East peace envoy after it emerged that he visited Muammar Gaddafi in 2009 while JP Morgan, the investment bank that employs Blair as a …£2m-a-year adviser, sought to negotiate a multibillion-pound loan from Libya. Blair also championed two…