From a recent “debate” between Julian Assange and NYT editor Bill Keller: Keller did get his dander up after Assange said that watching the American news media cover international events is like watching a goldfish bowl where readers pay little attention to outside perspectives. Keller seemed to take that as a slight against the prestigious…
Egyptian legal system more responsive to torture than our own?
Australian citizen Mamdouh Habib was tortured by American and Egyptian officials post 9/11 and was smeared and shunned by the corporate press for years. He demands justice and deserves it. He talked to me about these issues in February, including the involvement of Egypt’s new Vice-President, Omar Sulaiman. A few days ago I was contacted…
Australian media on Palestine; ignore the Palestinians
Satire is clearly dead. Weeks of media coverage of Israel/Palestine in Australia and the BDS campaign pushed by the NSW Greens and Sydney’s Marrickville council and not a peep from Arabs or Palestinians. I mean, why should they be heard? It’s only about their land in the Middle East but let’s not focus on details.…
Goldstone report on Gaza stands says everybody except Goldstone
Oh: The three co-authors of the damning United Nations report on the 2008-2009 Gaza war rejected on Thursday an op-ed by the fourth member and chairman Richard Goldstone in which he retracted key conclusions of the report – in particular saying that Israel had not intentionally targeted civilians during the war. In an article in…
New intifada in Palestine would have political power
Israeli Arab politician Hanin Zoabi has a long history of taking on racism within the Zionist state. She was very impressive during her visit to Australia in 2009. Her latest thoughts are calling for a new Palestinian intifada to rival the Arab Spring (a mass, non-violent movement is already feared by the Zionist state); “I…
British government more than happy to allow Serco et al into the tent?
What are good friends for? Legal loopholes in the Health and Social Care Bill could leave health services open to exploitation by profiteering outsiders [such as Serco], and to misinterpretation by politicians and interest groups keen to capitalise on its uncertainties, according to independent policy experts. The Bill is permissive, not prescriptive, allowing a variety…
Dear TIME; are war criminals now worthy of praise?
Bless the corporate media. Here’s the 2011 TIME 100 Poll featuring Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Whoever wrote this blurb clearly doesn’t care about the serious war crimes allegations against his government: Since ending Sri Lanka’s 26-year-long war against the Tamil Tigers in 2009, and grabbing control over once independent institutions like commissions on human…
Majority of US youth back torture
Ten years after 9/11, one of the shameful legacies: A new study by the American Red Cross obtained exclusively by The Daily Beast found that a surprising majority—almost 60 percent—of American teenagers thought things like water-boarding or sleep deprivation are sometimes acceptable. More than half also approved of killing captured enemies in cases where the…
Hands up who trusts Serco with their lives?
Avoid like the plague (which is exactly why governments are increasingly turning to the British multinational): A man allegedly changed details on more than 67,000 speed and red-light camera fines in the computer system of the company which manages the data in Victoria. The tampering did not actually affect any infringement notices as the changes…
Inserting fear into BDS because Palestinians may speak up
While the parochial Australian media continues to “debate” Israel/Palestine without any Arabs or Palestinians in the discussion (just the latest in the Murdoch press today), Max Blumenthal writes how BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) is forcing Zionists to either speak in platitudes or face the realities of what Israel has become: Last night I went…