The always eloquent Arundhati Roy on disaster capitalism in the world’s biggest quasi-democracy: I don’t know how far back in history to begin, so I’ll lay the milestone down in the recent past. I’ll start in the early 1990s, not long after capitalism won its war against Soviet Communism in the bleak mountains of Afghanistan.…
Showing all posts tagged Afghanistan
Teaching Murdoch’s The Australian about ethics and morality over Palestine part 65322
This week Rupert Murdoch’s Australian newspaper has been running countless page one stories about Dr Jake Lynch, the head of Sydney University’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, for abiding by BDS and refusing to assist an Israeli academic associated with an Israeli university. Here’s the background. Today the obsession continues with heaps more coverage.…
My Q&A with Federal Senators about Australia’s future in Afghanistan
On 4 December I went to Canberra to give testimony at the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee on Australia’s overseas development programs in Afghanistan (here’s my opening statement with links). The following transcript is the Hansard record of my statement and questions from the Senators… (they were Greens MP Lee Rhiannon, Liberal MP Helen…
My evidence at the Senate committee on Australia’s overseas development programs in Afghanistan
On 4 December I gave testimony in Parliament House in Canberra at a Senate committee on Australia’s role and responsibilities in Afghanistan after the vast bulk of Western forces leave in 2014. I submitted a short statement to the committee back in September and was then invited to travel to Canberra for a more thorough…
Only fools are crying over the fall of David Petraeus
The job of a real journalist is to be skeptical of establishment power. Sadly, many reporters rather love receiving cuddles from officials, generals and leaders. Michael Hastings is against all cuddles! His work has shown consistent distance and his recent book, The Operators, about the failed war in Afghanistan, is vital reading. His latest piece,…
US military incapable or unwilling to document its own wars
A great yet disturbing story via ProPublica: A strange thing happened when Christopher DeLara filed for disability benefits after his tour in Iraq: The U.S. Army said it had no records showing he had ever been overseas. DeLara had searing memories of his combat experiences. A friend bled to death before his eyes. He saw…
ABCTV New24’s The Drum on Romney/Obama debate, Iran, Israel and Zionist occupation
Last night I appeared on ABC TV News24’s The Drum (video here) discussing the last Presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. The real challenge was counting how many times Israel was loved/praised/embraced/kissed during the 90 minute discussion (clue: 65432 times). I argued that it’s remarkable how little it is acknowledged that one nation,…
Afghanistan heading for financial disaster?
Matthieu Aikins on what seemingly unlimited foreign aid has done to the war-torn country. Vulture capitalism is thriving: Afghanistan is awash in foreign aid. In 11 years of war, the United States and its allies have funneled hundreds of billions of dollars into the country. As a result, international spending is now the biggest part…
What rampant vulture capitalism looks like in Afghanistan
Private security companies have been causing chaos in the country for years. It’s something I examined during my recent visit to the country and will be appearing in a book and documentary on disaster capitalism in 2013. Here’s just the latest example of of unregulated chaos (via UK Telegraph): The American military is investigating allegations…