The other 9/11 redux

Murdoch’s Australian newspaper may continue to praise the recently deceased Indonesian dictator Soeharto – after all, human rights abuses against Communists and other “undesirables” is a small price to pay for economic development – so it’s worth remembering the legacy of another Western-favoured autocrat, Chile’s General Pinochet: In dealing with the general’s legacy, it’s necessary…

Rupert embraces the inner terrorist in us all

Rupert Murdoch’s Australian website, news.com.au, conducts an “investigative report” into “the hidden war on Australia” – the stories are titled “online jihad” – and discovers these startling facts: A special investigation by NEWS.com.au infiltrating these global networks has identified jihadi references to the “embarrassing collapse” of the Howard government and cites Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s…

The friends he keeps

Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating describes Indonesia’s deceased dictator Soeharto, one of the most brutal of the last century, after his funeral yesterday: Personally, he was a friend…It took a while to get him to come out of his shell, but when he did, he was utterly decisive. He was able to take quick…

Why we love mass murderers

Indonesian dictator Soeharto died yesterday. He was one of the 20th centuries most brutal dictators, killing over one million people in the name of strengthening his rule. The Australian newspaper, however, decides to praise the man and primarily discusses his economic “reforms”. Of course, if Cambodia’s Pol Pot had left his country in better financial…

Why the silence?

Daniel Ellsberg, Brad Blog, January 20: For the second time in two weeks, the entire U.S. press has let itself be scooped by Rupert Murdoch’s London Sunday Times on a dynamite story of criminal activities by corrupt U.S. officials promoting nuclear proliferation. But there is a worse journalistic sin than being scooped, and that is…

The role of journalists, part 253

Journalists are increasingly paying the ultimate price for simply doing their job: The number of journalists killed worldwide spiked to the highest number in more than a decade, with nearly half killed in Iraq, according to an analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based independent organization that compiles information on the deaths…

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