My following book review appears in The Sydney Morning Herald/Melbourne Age: The Seven Good Years By Etgar Keret Scribe, $27.99. “During the 20 years I’ve been travelling the world, I’ve collected a number of genuine anti-Semitic experiences that can’t be explained away by a mistake in understanding,” writes Israeli novelist Etgar Keret”‹ in his first…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
Australia may send asylum seeker back to danger in Afghanistan
I’m proud to have been asked to sign the following statement (latest information here): Prominent Australians urge Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to save the life of Nadir Sadiqi Nadir’s life hangs in the balance. You alone in this country, Mr Dutton, have the power to decide whether Nadir lives or dies. Nadir arrived by boat…
Land grabbing becomes global phenomenon
My investigation in Australian publication New Matilda: International aid often comes with big strings attached. Antony Loewenstein is in South Sudan researching his explosive new book. Ethiopia’s Omo Valley is one of the most culturally diverse places on the planet. Industrial-size sugar plantations and a soon to open dam are strangling indigenous communities over more…
The important logic of BDS against Israeli occupation
There is increasing global pressure on Israel over its brutal treatment of the Palestinians. The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign is thriving due to daily abuses and racism against Arabs in Israel proper and the occupied, Palestinian territories. The Israeli government is scared (see here and here) and even Hillary Clinton, in a transparent…
Resource curse alive and well in Afghanistan
My following investigation is published by the Guardian: Afghanistan faces an existential crisis over its untapped natural resources. After decades of war and insecurity, the Afghan government and foreign investors are pushing to exploit minerals under the ground but real dangers exist with little enforced regulation. Like Papua New Guinea and Haiti, two other nations…
Interview about my documentary-in-progress, Disaster Capitalism
I was recently interviewed by Green Left Weekly newspaper: Independent journalist and author Antony Loewenstein… has made a name for himself writing about war crimes, human rights abuses and corporate profiteering. For the first time, he is seeking to speak truth to power through the medium of film — with his first documentary… Disaster Capitalism now in…
Papua New Guinea must be more than mines to Australia
My weekly Guardian column: After years of uncertainty, the once-profitable copper mine on Bougainville, an autonomous province of Papua New Guinea (PNG), could well be reopened. The chairman of Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), Peter Taylor, told the Australian recently that “the Bougainville government seems to want the mine reopened, but we have to sit down…
Punishing migrants is a sure way towards greater unrest
My weekly Guardian column: Surely bombing yet another Muslim country is a mistake. But that’s exactly what Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni has called for – attacks on Islamic State (Isis) positions in Libya to stem the flow of refugees streaming into Europe. Calls for tough action, like Gentiloni’s, are growing in response to refugees…
Why Western leaders love dictatorships
My weekly Guardian column: Western-friendly dictators can die in peace, knowing they’ll be lauded as soon as they stop breathing. So it was for Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, who recently passed away at the age of 91. Tributes poured in from across the globe. Barack Obama called him “visionary” while Australian prime minister…
Opposing Washington's violence against Venezuela
I’m happy to have recently signed this statement on… Washington’s unprovoked aggression against Venezuela (via Telesur): WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has added his name to a growing list of Australian journalists, academics, politicians, trade unionists and solidarity activists calling on U.S. president… Barack… Obama to… revoke his executive… order against Venezuelan . On March 9, Obama issued… the order which… imposed sanctions… on…