Showing all posts in June 2019

From last night’s ABC Lateline: TONY JONES: This is Henry Kissinger’s point. He says, “Victory over the insurgency is the only meaningful exit strategy.” Could you possibly pull Australian troops out if the insurgency is still strong? JOHN HOWARD: Tony, I’m not going to tie the foreign policy of this country to an interpretation of…

As many of you know, I’m currently writing a book on Israel/Palestine for Melbourne University Publishing, due in May 2006. The following letter appears in this week’s Australian Jewish News. It’s written by Federal Labor MP, Michael Danby. Its agenda is clear. Why is a member of parliament trying to stop the publication of my…

Cindy Sheehan has filmed an advertisement that accuses George W. Bush of lying about WMD and the Iraq war. She “claims the President lied about, among other things, the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq,” says Jeff Anderson the Vice President of sales at Fisher Broadcasting Inc., which owns KBCI (CBS). “There is…

Every now and then, I discover a story that makes me realise how sheltered and fearful our media has become. Never heard of Sibel Edmonds? Read on. I’ve seen no mention of this in the Australian media. She was hired by the FBI in the days after 9/11 for translation work and stayed with the…

“The Bulletin’s chief criticism of Keating is that he is bitter, foul-mouthed, bent on revenge and can’t stop talking about the past, which is precisely how Kerry Packer comes across given his flagship magazine – “…loses up to $10 million a year and suffering from a falling circulation (especially when you consider the rorting and…

Who are the “terrorism experts” that constantly grace our screens? What are their backgrounds, qualifications and experience in the field? According to Lebanon’s Daily Star columnist Rami G. Khouri, the West, and especially America, is being treated to “bravado, entertainment, ‘kicking ass,’ feel-good sentimentality, flag-waving patriotism, and “aw-shucks” amazement at the consistent capacity of foreigners,…

Cambodia Morning discusses the number of condoms sold in the Asian nation and attempts to reduce that country’s high rate of sexually-transmitted diseases.

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, a close confidante of George W. Bush, recently advocated the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in an attempt to stop his country from becoming “a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism.” “We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we…

The Sydney Morning Herald website has a new blog, Inkslinger, written by Fairfax journalist Matthew C Thompson. He writes: “Inkslinger will set the record straight on sex, terrorism, literature, bloodsports, art, individuality, and the importance of risk.” It’s early days, but looks like Thompson will fit in quite well at the militarised Fairfax bunker: “I…