The massive growth in private mercenary companies since 9/11 is exposed with yet another investigation. But the end result? More outsourcing to unaccountable companies who are desperate for wars to continue and expand. Killing is a good business: An Australian-owned security company has been accused of a litany of abuses in Afghanistan – including theft…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
Time for the Greens to embrace BDS
There will be growing pressure towards the Greens to take on BDS in its arsenal to pressure Israel to abide by international law. Some are yet to get the message: Addressing an issue that is not likely to come up at other Victorian election debates, The Greens candidate in Caulfield encouraged more trade with Israel.…
The Wire on detention centre suicide and role of Serco
The suicide yesterday of yet another asylum seeker in Villawood detention centre in Sydney reminds us of the climate of over-crowding and mental trauma perpetuated by the government. I was interviewed by The Wire about the incident and the responsibility of Serco:
Murdoch man dismissed Aung San Suu Kyi as simply a “dissident”
A helpful historical reminder from Scott Burchill: … It is wrong to assign a power of policy veto over the West to one favoured dissident, as appeared to happen in the 1990s with Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi. [The Australian’s Foreign Editor] Greg Sheridan, Asian Values, Western Dreams (Allen & Unwin, St Leonards 1999), p.315.…
Serco looks deaf, dumb and blind in Australia
Another day and another tragedy in Australia’s detention centres. It’s clearly too much for the media to investigate… the role of the company that runs the places, Serco: Detainees at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney are planning a hunger strike today after the suicide of an inmate. It is the second suicide at…
Who knew? Keeping roads in public hands works best
Behold a rarity. Some questioning in the mainstream media about privatising everything: TONY EASTLEY: For years now, toll roads and tunnels have been all the rage in many Australian states. Under the preferred model, the private sector takes the risk, finances the project and earns the profit but critics say the toll road model takes…
Jews cry “anti-Semitism’ to distract from attacks on Israel
Here we go again. Israel faces growing international criticism over its behaviour towards Palestinians. And what happens? Jewish lobby groups cry “anti-Semitism”. If anybody faces hatred simply because they are Jewish, that’s utterly unacceptable. But legitimate arguments against Zionist occupation, West Bank settlements, the siege on Gaza and racism inside Israel isn’t anti-Semitism and no…
Will more doctors really help Australia’s global war effort?
The real agenda behind this story may be two-fold. Firstly, is the implication that Australia could be even more deeply involved in US-led missions across the world if this issue was resolved? And secondly, which “military operations overseas” are we not able to lead? The Defence Force has conceded it is facing a shortage of…
Afghan politician wants us gone
Here’s a rarity. An Afghan politician calling for the removal of foreign troops. Note the sneering dismissal of her calls for withdrawal by the “balanced” ABC journalist: MARK COLVIN: Not even the optimists claim the war in Afghanistan is going brilliantly. The NATO force of which Australia is a part is still there largely because…
Australian unions, Paul Howes, BDS and loving Israel
My following investigation appears in today’s edition of Crikey: The Middle East “quagmire” is largely “the fault of Israel”, according to Paul Howes, national secretary of the Australian Workers Union (AWU). In an interview with Crikey, the author of Confessions of a Faceless Man said that he was a “critical friend of Israel” and the…