How many more breaches will it take for global governments to realise that Serco aren’t fit to run prisons, detention centres or the local chicken shop? (via the Guardian): The unlawful use of restraint was widespread in privately run child jails in Britain for at least a decade, a high court judge has ruled for…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
MSM journalists see role as stenography despite claims of independence
The role of real journalists is to question so-called established truths and make officials uncomfortable. Being too close to power is the role of court reporters. Sadly, the vast bulk of corporate hacks are dead keen to rub shoulders with the rich and powerful and remain unwilling to seriously challenge, for example, the rush to…
How a rogue state works; Israel behaves brazenly while Zio lobby hacks walk on by
Israel’s war against Iran has been going for years. It receives backing from the Western powers and most corporate journalists. Just today Hamish McDonald, a good reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald, spews Zionist propaganda about Tehran after a nice, cozy Zionist lobby trip to Israel. The Australian’s Greg Sheridan, long-time friend of autocrats everywhere,…
Fight over the Kimberley has long way to run
Late last year I visited the Kimberley in Western Australia to document the attempts by big energy companies to exploit the area for gas. An upcoming documentary, Heritage Fight, covers the ongoing battle, one that must be won:
Israel lobby has no interest in peace in Palestine, merely prolonging Zionist exclusion
Albert Dadon is a leading Australian Zionist lobbyist who loves nothing better than cosying up to any old Israeli politician who gives him the time of day. Backers of occupation? No problem. Defender of the status-quo? Of course. He has no desire to do anything to change Israel for the better, merely to get Australian…
Assange; Australian government thinks its true master sits in DC
Julian Assange tells The Power Index that Canberra needs to grow a back-bone (fat chance): WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange remains frustrated by the lack of assistance from the Australian federal government over his prolonged overseas legal plight, three weeks ahead of his appeal against extradition in the UK Supreme Court. In an exclusive interview with… The…
Handy definition of vulture capitalism right here in Australia
Good piece in today’s Sydney… Daily Telegraph that tackles head-on the reality of private corporations that make a fortune by allegedly assisting the most vulnerable in the world and yet: Just seven corporations have raked in a staggering $1.81 billion in taxpayer-funded contracts under the booming foreign aid program. But the lack of scrutiny of their…
Australia pays millions to company that denies crayons to children
Fairfax reports on a company, Serco, whose primary aim is to punish refugees in its care: The private company that runs immigration detention has been forced to back off an arbitrary ban on children using crayons and coloured pencils in their rooms. Serco Group’s officers in Darwin had decided on the ban, even though crayons…
This is how Australia handles Palestine; contempt with a smile
A Sydney-based friend wrote the following letter to members of the Labor Party in early November 2011: Dear Member I wake this morning to hear once more, with dismay, of the craven obeisance of the Australian Labor government to the wishes of the United States in voting against the recognition of Palestine at UNESCO.… At…
Why Australian government fears hearing, seeing and feeling the reality of asylum seekers
Despite the “best” efforts of the Australian government and Serco, refugees are treated with a combination of suspicion and punishment. Here’s a good piece in yesterday’s Australian by Paige Taylor which outlines the reality of the attitude towards the media by the political and bureaucratic establishment: The Department of Immigration and Citizenship objects to the…