After years of the US allowing Afghanistan to become a paradise for private mercenaries, Kabul is fighting back (though, to be sure, a government with no legitimacy at all): The push by Afghanistan’s president to nationalize legions of private security guards before the end of March is encouraging corruption and jeopardizing multibillion-dollar aid projects, according…
If only mineral wealth could bring true gains for PNG
Here in Papua New Guinea, the local media is filled with stories that economic growth in Asia will help the local people: Papua New Guinea is well positioned and poised to reap huge benefits from the fast growing economies of Asia. ANZ Group Bank chief executive Mike Smith said closer trade and investment ties with…
Memo to Israel; hating Palestinians ain’t playing too well anymore
One of America’s richest men, Sheldon Adelson, loves to support right-wing Zionist causes and loathes Palestinians. Hacking group Anonymous are now threatening Israel for “crimes against humanity” against the Palestinians: Through the use of media deception and political bribery, you have amassed the sympathies of many. You claim to be democratic, yet in reality this…
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…
Iraq stands up to remaining (and private) foreign forces
A positive move for a nation that deserves true independence: … Iraq deeply mistrusts private security companies and wants to limit their operations here, officials say, while the contractors themselves have faced bureaucratic delays and detentions. This mistrust stems from perceived arrogant behaviour by employees of these firms in the past and various incidents of violence…
Bombing Iranian nuke sites is a joke, apparently
When capitalism sits uncomfortably with global politics: A senior lawmaker says Iran’s Majlis is considering a plan to cut off the country’s economic transactions with South Korea’s Samsung in reaction to the company’s anti-Iran teaser.
At least MSM admits that CIA’s role is to ruin independent nations
This is classic mainstream “journalism” in the Washington Post. America has the right to intervene anywhere, haven’t you heard? The CIA is expected to maintain a large clandestine presence in Iraq and Afghanistan long after the departure of conventional U.S. troops as part of a plan by the Obama administration to rely on a combination…
Defending online news by playing hardball
As autocratic regimes, hackers, trouble-makers and fools aim to bring down websites that challenge authoritarian rule, such spaces need to be nurtured and protected. Reporters Without Borders on an important project: Filtering, denial of service attacks, withdrawal of content – censors use many different methods to silence news websites. In addition to drawing attention to…