My following review appeared in Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald: A reporter puts ethics aside when he becomes involved in a bloody rebellion in Liberia. MY FRIEND THE MERCENARY James Brabazon Text Publishing, 304pp, $34.95 Some journalists live under the delusion that they are objective creatures, unable to be bought or sold and committed to telling…
Articles in Sydney Morning Herald
Why internet censorship is a fool’s paradise
My following article is published today by the Sydney Morning Herald/Age online: We live under the illusion that governments can protect us from the evils of the world. Paedophilia, extreme violence, lessons in self-harm and suicide, race hatred and terrorism. We have every right to expect governments to monitor hate and terror sites and arrest…
Gaza’s suffering is Israel’s shame
My following article is published today by the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age: The 85-year-old Jewish, anti-Zionist, Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein is a sturdy looking woman. Her slightly hunched frame hides the determination to continue a life-long dedication to social justice. This week in Cairo she joined close to 1400 international delegates on the Gaza Freedom…
Truth proves elusive in a confusing trouble spot
My following book review appears in this week’s Sydney Morning Herald Spectrum section: Fit to Print: Misrepresenting the Middle East By Joris Luyendijk Scribe, 241pp, $29.95 “A journalist who limits himself to the role of middleman,” writes Dutch reporter Joris Luyendijk, “is actually siding with the team that is best able to influence the news…
The victim recalls a war crime
My following book review appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald on November 29: My Story: The Tale Of A Terrorist Who Wasn’t By Mamdouh Habib; with Julia Collingwood; Scribe, 272 pp, $32.95 Before tortured Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib was released in 2005, then prime minister John Howard said his government didn’t “have any…
Beyond the Green Zone
My following book review appears in today’s Sydney Morning Herald: Author: Dahr Jamail Publisher: Haymarket Books Pages: 313 Price: $39.95 Nearly five years since the start of the Iraq war, we still know remarkably little about the conflict and its effect on the Iraqi people. A recent study by British polling agency ORB found that…
Denounced, but Jewish dissent grows
My following article appears in today’s Sydney Morning Herald: In a recent essay published by the American Jewish Committee, reflecting widely shared attitudes, Jews who criticised Israel and its policies were accused of stirring anti-Semitism. The executive director of the committee said “those who oppose Israel’s basic right to exist, whether Jew or gentile, must…
Bloggers of the world, unite
My following essay appears in today’s Sydney Morning Herald: The internet is revolutionising the way we get news and views. During the 2006 Lebanon war, Israelis connected with Lebanese through blogs, despite the Lebanese Government forbidding its citizens from contact with the Jewish state. An Israeli blogger told The Washington Post that thanks to the…
How to spot a liar
The following review appears in today’s Sydney Morning Herald: How to spot a liar There are lies and lies and real pork pies, writes Antony Loewenstein The Truth About Lies By Andy Shea and Steve Van Aperen ABC Books, 273pp, $29.95 Lord Carlile, Britain’s independent reviewer of terror laws, said last month that a lack…
More articles in Sydney Morning Herald
- Conflicts of interest — October 31, 2004
- Burning Down My Masters’ House — May 1, 2004
- Simpson and his insane donkeys — April 24, 2004
- In The Line of Fire — December 9, 2003
- Why The War Was Wrong — December 6, 2003
- The Blogs of War — October 21, 2003
- Defiant Israel Blind to What It Has Become — July 3, 2003