I appeared last night on ABC TV’s The Drum (video here) alongside former Howard government minister Peter Reith and 2UE host John Stanley. The main issues were asylum seekers – I argued that neither major side of politics in Australia has any desire to alleviate suffering and seemingly prefer ways to privatise the system and…
Category Video
ABCTV News24’s The Drum on refugees, #LeftTurn and Obama’s “kill list”
I appeared last night on ABC TV News24’s The Drum (video here) alongside ABC’s Stephen Long and The Australian’s… Adam Creighton. We talked about asylum seekers – I argued that keeping refugees for longer in detention will only benefit the private contractor Serco and worsen the mental health of both staff and detainees. Regarding austerity in…
ABC TV News interview about freedom of speech in West and beyond
During last week’s Sydney Writer’s Festival, before my PEN lecture on free speech, I was interviewed by ABC TV News about the growing threat to our freedoms in the West, as governments and private companies monitor and collect our digital details: [video… ogg=”/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/586444_20120517-Sydney-Writers_video2.ogg” mp4=”/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/586444_20120517-Sydney-Writers_video2.m4v” width=”400″ height=”224″]
ABCTV News24”²s The Drum on Afghanistan and Murdoch scandal
Last night I appeared on ABCTV’s The Drum (video here) talking about a range of Australian issues, Afghanistan and Murdoch thuggery in Britain. Having just returned from Pakistan and Afghanistan, I talked about the reality of life in the latter under Western occupation and what’s likely to happen once most troops leave at the end…
ABCTV News24’s The Drum on Israel/US/Iran and Syria
Last night I appeared on ABCTV’s The Drum (video here) discussing both domestic and international affairs. The key part of the show began when this week’s meeting between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu was discussed. The New York Times tells the world that, “Israel should not doubt this president’s mettle. Neither should Iran.” Netanyahu, speaking…
Anyone can make a revolution (but the web won’t be enough)
Last last year I was invited to chair a panel at the Sydney Opera House’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas called, “Anyone Can Make A Revolution”. It was an attempt to understand the reality of the Arab revolutions and the influence (or not) of the internet: In Egypt and Tunisia we have seen ordinary people come…
Al Jazeera’s Listening Post on Western murder of Iranian nuclear scientists
The recent murder of an Iranian nuclear scientist by (probably) Israel or America was a huge international story but most of the Western media coverage refused to call the killing by its rightful name, murder. I was asked by Al Jazeera’s The Listening Post to comment about this press issue (my comment appears around 8:53):
ABCTV News24 on Iran, faltering economy and racism
Last night I appeared on ABCTV’s The Drum (video here) alongside Joe Stella and The Punch editor Tory Maguire. We talked about the faltering global economy – why oh why is the IMF treated with such respect after years of failed forecasts and neo-liberal “reforms” that have only caused misery for millions globally? – and…
ABCTV News24 on the economy, Afghanistan and Murdoch thuggery
I appeared last night on ABCTV News24’s The Drum (video here). I argued that chequebook journalism is only problematic when the public increasingly distrusts the media and presumes exploitation is taking place. The mainstream media far too often simply accepts the allegedly unbiased reports released by think-tanks and interest groups. More skepticism required and independent…
ABCTV News24 on climate change, Murdoch thuggery and asylum seekers
I appeared last night on ABCTV News24’s The Drum (video here). The Federal government is introducing its carbon tax legislation into the parliament and yet I argued it’s legitimate to ask why so many polluters are receiving such concessions. It’s an attempted political fix that hasn’t convinced many Australians. Simply put, many people are skeptical…