What a record. My book Profits of Doom examines the desire by successive Australian governments to allow private firms to make a killing by locking up far too many individuals. And now this (via The Canberra Times): Australia has a higher proportion of prisoners in privately run jails than any other nation in the world…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
Sydney launch event for Profits of Doom
My new book Profits of Doom was launched by independent journalist Wendy Bacon in Sydney in August at Gleebooks. The audio of this packed event is presented by the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism, where I’m a Research Associate:
Triple R interview on Profits of Doom
It’s rare to get a chance in today’s media climate to have a long conversation about serious issues. This interview, about my new book Profits of Doom, was broadcast on Melbourne’s Triple R Spoke program, and we spoke in depth about the reality of privatised detention centres, privatised war in Afghanistan and challenging the seeming…
Right Now radio interview on Profits of Doom
The human rights group Right Now has strongly covered my new book Profits of Doom. I was interviewed on their radio station on Melbourne 3RRR on vulture capitalism and the dangers of outsourcing asylum seekers to private corporations:
Questioning an ever-increasing and corporatised aid budget
My following article appears in the Guardian today: I couldn’t believe my ears. I was in Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby,… in 2012 and a local Oxfam employee told me that he wished Australia would again take control of his country. He argued that in the nearly four decades since independence, the state had not…
Right Now positively reviews Profits of Doom
The great publication Right Now (they recently published an extract from my new book, Profits of Doom, on Christmas Island) today publishes a strong book review by… Maya Chanthaphavong: The drive by governments to privatise what are usually key governmental functions, such as refugee processing and detention, reform and prison, and health care is one that…
Weekly reminder to assist my documentary on disaster capitalism
A week after launching my Kickstarter campaign to raise $20,000 for my documentary with New York colleague Thor Neureiter, on the subject of disaster capitalism and Profits of Doom, we’re close to 30% of our target with many more pledges still to come, I’m told. Thanks for all your support thus far. But we have…
Perth Indymedia interview on Profits of Doom
I was interviewed last night by Perth Indymedia on my new book, Profits of Doom, and we discussed privatised detention centres, privatised war in Afghanistan and Iraq and resistance in the form of the #Occupy movement. Listen here.
Western elite outrage over Syria has little to do with chemical weapons
Forget the crocodile tears of Western leaders. This is about unseating a leader who opposes Western designs in the Middle East (albeit Assad is an incredibly brutal dictator). Here’s Australian intellectual Scott Burchill: How genuine is the West’s concerns about the use of chemical weapons in Syria five days ago? Not very, I suspect. … …
The glorious design benefits of warehousing refugees on Manus Island
What a fine idea (via Get Up!) Using Papua New Guinea as a dumping ground for Australia’s problems is so humane and sensible: