My investigation in New Matilda: Despite a mountain of transgressions – including spying on a federal senator – Transfield somehow got a new contract. Antony Loewenstein takes up the story. Barely a day goes by without new allegations of sexual assault,… self-harm, violence or dysfunction at Australia’s privatised, immigration centres. Whether on the mainland, Nauru or…
Showing all posts tagged disaster capitalism
How the US continues to manipulate Haiti
My investigation in Alternet: The industrial park in Caracol, northern Haiti, never receives tourists. It’s a collection of factories producing clothes for some of America’s leading retailers including Walmart and Target. The opening of the facility in 2012 saw then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, actors Sean Penn and Ben Stiller, and…
The Lahore Times reviews "Disaster Capitalism"
The following review of my newly released book is written by Robert J. Burrowes and appears in The Lahore Times: In his just-released book, ”˜Disaster Capitalism: Making a Killing out of Catastrophe”˜, Antony Loewenstein offers us a superb description of the diminishing power of national governments and international organisations to exercise power in the modern…
What disaster capitalism brought New Orleans
My following article appears in Al Jazeera America: “Envy isn’t a rational response to the upcoming 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,” Chicago Tribune editorial board member Kristen McQueary wrote in a recent column, referring to the monster storm that nearly wiped out the city of New Orleans in 2005. “Hurricane Katrina gave a great American…
Al Jazeera English's The Stream on Hurricane Katrina and disaster capitalism
Yesterday I appeared on the Al Jazeera English program, The Stream (thankfully the poor internet here in South Sudan came through): Deadly floodwaters caused one of the biggest evacuations in US history when Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, Louisiana. Ten years on, the city still hasn’t fully recovered. New economic, educational and housing models…
The sordid connection between Israel and South Sudan
The National publishes my following investigative feature (PDFs of the cover story:… cover.sudan… and… spread.sudan): The squalid guest house sits alongside a main road in South Sudan. Every night migrants arrive but few of them stay very long. They’re mostly men from Eritrea or Ethiopia who have fled racism and imprisonment in Israel looking for a better future.…
Russell Brand's "Revolution" hits anti-capitalist mark
My weekly Guardian column: Political success for society’s invisible souls is rare. So when US investor Westbrook Partners announced last week that it had withdrawn from evicting families at the New Era estate in East London, it was cause for celebration. Instead of building expensive properties, the company sold its development to Dolphin Square Charitable…
Making money from Ebola misery
My weekly Guardian column: The horror of ebola in West Africa has taken thousands of lives and spread fear around the world. This fact, coupled with ignorance and misinformation, has created the perfect storm. The risk is real, but you wouldn’t know the full picture from watching last weekend’s American 60 Minutes. Lara Logan’s report…
Serco bleeding but helped by Australian immigration contract
My article appears today in The Guardian: British multinational Serco is in trouble. After years as the favoured outsourcer for public services in Britain and countless countries around the world, the latest figures show a financial crash of unprecedented proportions. The firm announced it is writing down its business value by nearly AU $3bn with…
The dark reality of Britain's privatised immigration system
My weekly Guardian column: Yarl’s Wood is a Serco run immigration removal centre in Milton Ernest, built in an industrial park more than an hour from central London.… Allegations have been made against Serco staff, including of sexual assaults by guards against detainees, yet the British government continues to use the facility. During a visit inside…