The privatisation of war is a growing phenomenon across the world. It’s rarely examined (Jeremy Scahill is a notable and noble exception). And now here’s David Ignatius in the Washington Post on the brave new world of killing “terrorists” and not telling anybody about it: A new arsenal of drones and satellite-guided weapons is changing…
Showing all posts tagged privatisation
Privatisation; the drug of a nation
Wall Street Journal article from 2007 that accurately summarises what’s happening to America: Is U.S. Government ‘Outsourcing Its Brain’?
Beware of a public opposed to Serco running the state
The recent news that Serco will be running Western Australia’s Fiona Stanley hospital has resulted in opposition, views largely ignored by governments desperate to privatise everything that moves: More than three quarters of Perth voters in marginal seats are opposed to the Barnett Government privatising services at Fiona Stanley Hospital, with only one in ten…
Privatising war is a beautiful racket most people can’t play
The military industrial complex is a term casually thrown about today and yet it’s become a reality in the US and many states. State expenditure on the military and arms sales has never been higher. A new documentary explains: Cultures of Resistance: A Look at Global Militarization from Cultures of Resistance on Vimeo.
Sell everything to the highest bidder (cos the state won’t pay)
Great American writer and Rolling Stone contributor Matt Taibbi has a new book out, Griftopia. It tells the story of America’s financial crisis and its outsourcing to various shady characters from across the world. Privatisation on speed (something I’m also examining in a forthcoming book): In the summer of 2009 I got a call from…
Abusing detainees and bike hiring; in a day’s work for Serco
Serco is finding its way into every part of our lives, a multinational with the right connections and a big wallet: British services giant Serco has secured a 140 million pound contract to set up a bicycle hire scheme in central London that aims to tackle overcrowding on the capital’s commuter networks. The contract with…
Why privatising our lives must be highlighted and stopped
Investigating privatisation, the scourge of our times, receives an appropriate reward: The Paul Foot Award for Campaigning Journalism 2010, worth …£5,000, has been won by Clare Sambrook for her investigating, reporting and campaigning against the government policy of locking up asylum-seeking families in conditions known to harm their mental health, and scrutinising the commercial contractors…
Who controls us today and tomorrow?
This year’s Sydney Peace Prize winner, Indian Vandana Shiva – I saw her speak this week at the Sydney Opera House and she was powerful and courageous, a woman dedicated to fighting the privatisation of our entire society – doesn’t mince words and nor should she: A handful of corporations and of powerful countries seeks…
Britain sees the shock doctrine in action
John Pilger on Britain’s disaster capitalism: These days, the stirring lines of Percy Shelley’s The Mask of Anarchy may seem unattainable. I don’t think so. Shelley was both a Romantic and political truth-teller. His words resonate now because only one political course is left to those who are disenfranchised and whose ruin is announced on…
Serco says it’s doing a wonderful job
Seriously, Serco has nominated itself for Australia’s Employee of the Year and the Australian government may back it, I hear on the grapevine.