My following book review appeared in the Melbourne Age on April 19: On the fifth anniversary the Iraq War, The Independent’s Patrick Cockburn, the finest Western reporter in Iraq, wrote that the conflict “has been one of the most disastrous wars ever fought by Britain. It has been small but we achieved nothing . .…
Showing all posts tagged Murdoch
Smog, Rudd and Hu Jia
My following article appears in the Amnesty International Australia’s Uncensor campaign about human rights in China: The international outcry over China’s human rights abuses was temporarily disrupted this week with news from Beijing that the regime was determined to manage the city’s pollution problems by halting building construction after July for two months. Unfortunately, many…
Spot the news story
My following article appears in today’s ABC Unleashed: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s overseas trip has been extensively covered in the mainstream media. From George W. Bush to Gordon Brown, the travelling journalists have given readers and viewers a running commentary of his daily meetings. Missing from the vast majority of the coverage, however, has been…
The view from the Murdoch perch
Scott Burchill, Senior Lecturer in International Relations in the School of International & Political Studies at Deakin University, comments on a Murdoch mouthpiece: Quote of the week goes to Liberal Party lunchalot and honorary Republican Party ambassador, Greg Sheridan. According to the Foreign Editor of The Australian, “Rudd will be a tremendous disappointment to the…
A nonexistent Iraq
My following article appeared in yesterday’s ABC Unleashed: More than five years after the start of the Iraq war, the country remains mired in conflict. The Washington Post highlighted the quagmire this week: Attacks against U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces soared across Baghdad in the last week of March to the highest levels since…
The sound of freedom
As China tries to defend its aggressive behaviour against protesting Tibetans – calling them “criminals” and arresting hundreds of people – the regime’s battle against the internet is temporarily successful but ultimately futile. The Times London explains: YouTube, the video-sharing website which has become a home to amateur footage of news events, has been blocked…
Passing the Murdoch smell test
The toxic attitude of Fox News – racism and paranoia are its bread and butter – slimes Barack Obama (which is then dutifully picked up by the “serious” media):
Jewish voices condemn pro-Israeli solidarity
Watch out if you’re Jewish and don’t entirely support Israeli policies. Today’s Australian reports: A pro-Palestinian advertisement protesting against parliament’s motion in support of Israel has divided members of a Jewish group critical of Israeli national policy. Antony Loewenstein, a founder of Independent Australian Jewish Voices, was a signatory to the advertisement, published in The…
How to know nothing about something
This is how to distort Islam and its practitioners (courtesy of the Murdoch press.) Take one. Take two.