My following article appears on ABC Unleashed today: Who can now say that the WikiLeaks cables detail no new information? It was only last week that ABC TV’s 7.30 Report featured a story with supposed foreign affairs experts, including the Lowy Institute’s Michael Fullilove, who largely dismissed the significance of the document dump. Within a…
Articles in ABC The Drum
Where’s the media guts over Wikileaks?
My following article appears on ABC Unleashed today: The rolling revelations of the WikiLeaks US embassy cables will continue for months but equally interesting is the reaction of the global media. Many in the British media establishment, not given advance look at the documents, fumed against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and repeated government spin that…
A one-eyed view of Sri Lanka
My following article appears today in ABC’s The Drum Unleashed: A Western journalist visits the Sudanese capital Khartoum to interview President Omar al-Bashir. The reporter, after calling him “controversial” due to his “bloody” record in fighting terrorism, gives the leader a platform to explain his views and tactics. The only other voice featured in the…
Roll up for another few decades of settlement expansion in Palestine
My following article appears on ABC’s Unleashed today: Will they or won’t they? The international media were counting down the hours until Israel’s self-described “settlement freeze” ended this week. Most Western journalists, based in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, looked for any signs from the government of Benjamin Netanyahu that would appease the perceived outrage of…
US-led “peace talks” going the way Israel hopes (ie. nowhere)
My following article appears today on ABC Unleashed: The resumption of self-described peace talks between Israel, Washington and the Palestinian Authority produced headlines across the world last week. The public was told that each side was pessimistic about the prospects of finally sealing a deal after decades of stop-start negotiations. The stated goal was a…
Australian “green” company linked to Israel’s occupation in Palestine
My following article appears today on ABC Unleashed/The Drum: My investigation has found a leading Australian electric car company is linked to an Israeli firm that operates in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories. Better Place, advertised as “dedicated to zero emissions driving”, is part of a global venture capital firm based in California that has…
Secrets and lies between friends over Mossad murder
My following article is published today on ABC Unleashed/The Drum: Israel is a protected species in the international arena. Many Western states, including Australia, have long tolerated behaviour by the Jewish state that is condemned if committed by any other democracy. This reality makes the current scandal over the alleged Mossad hit last month in…
What is Google now doing in China?
My following article appears today on ABC Unleashed/The Drum: Google has threatened to withdraw entirely from China in protest at the authoritarian regime’s oppressive online censorship and continuing attempts by Chinese hackers to gain sensitive information of local human rights workers. Perhaps most significantly, Google’s Chinse search engine, Google.cn, now allows once banned material to…
Analysis must not be a war casualty
My following article appears on ABC’s Unleashed: The Iraq war has virtually dropped off the media radar. The country remains far more dangerous than Afghanistan and yet Barack Obama’s “surge” against the Taliban and al-Qaeda is the biggest international story of the day. Even leading neo-conservative William Kristol writes in The Washington Post that Obama…
Israel no victim
The following article, co-written with Peter Slezak, was published today on ABC Unleashed: Vic Alhadeff is a senior Zionist organisation official. His Unleashed article provides an opportunity for analysis that is instructive about our media and intellectual culture. The very persuasiveness of Alhadeff’s case for Israel is the reason it deserves attention. It misrepresents the…