The post 9/11 world has seen an explosion in private companies making a killing in both assisting and exaggerating the “threat” of terrorism. I examine this deeply in my upcoming book, Profits of Doom. Here’s a great piece by a beacon on this issue, journalist Tim Shorrock, writing in the New York Times: And if…
Showing all posts tagged privatisation
Why Prism is important; we’re watching the watchers
My following article appears in today’s Guardian Australia: Politicians and journalists ignore public opinion at their peril. Less than two weeks after the explosive revelations by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden on the creation of a privatised,… American surveillance apparatus, a TIME poll finds a majority of… Americans support the leak, and… Snowden receives a…
The remarkable story behind Edward Snowden leak
The Guardian gives a pretty comprehensive insight into the thinking of Snowden and his skepticism towards the corporate press. Read the whole thing: As he pulled a small black suitcase and carried a selection of laptop bags over his shoulders, no one would have paid much attention to Ed Snowden as he arrived at… Hong Kong… International…
How privatisation infects Australia
My following piece is published today in the Guardian Australia: The racism was raw. In 2011, John worked inside the Villawood detention centre in Sydney, and had little time for asylum seekers and their plight. He believed they had more rights than he and his co-workers had been given. John was employed by MSS Security,…
Memo to Nestle head; water is a human right
The power of multinationals are often now far stronger than national governments. This is a problem for accountability. It’s a key theme of my forthcoming book on vulture capitalism, Profits of Doom. Here’s a disturbing clip that reminds us why citizens, rational governments and NGOs must keep corporations in check (via Keithpp’s Blog): In a…
Australia’s future must not be all about digging up minerals
Australia has a long history of romanticising the individuals who make a fortune selling our natural resources, regardless of the cost to the environment. Gina Reinhart, profiled in this stunning New Yorker piece, is part of this tradition, pushing tax-free, economic zones and advocating low wages so she makes a killing. It’s vulture capitalism on…
Blackwater head just wants love and cuddles for helping CIA
Eli Lake in The Daily Beast interviews the usually elusive head of Blackwater, Erik Prince, and details the fact that the private mercenary force was and may well remain an invaluable extension of the CIA: Founded in 1997 by Erik Prince, heir to an auto-parts family fortune, Blackwater had proved especially useful to the CIA…
Lockheed Martin goes seabed mining; what could go wrong?
There’s a new frontier soon to open in the endless search for resources, deep under the water at a time with little regulation or environmental protection. Papua New Guinea may soon be moving forward with untested technology, exactly the country that can least afford it, after being shafted by multinationals for decades (something I examine…
What resistance in Bougainville, PNG means
The resource curse has hit Papua New Guinea more than many other countries in the world. Massive mineral and energy wealth is largely squandered by a corrupt government and Western multinationals. It’s an issue I’ve investigated in my forthcoming book and documentary about disaster capitalism. There’s a great website by Dr Kristian Lasslett that details…
10 years on, Iraq is broken
Patrick Cockburn, one of the finest mainstream journalists around, writes for the UK Independent… from Iraq about the state of the nation we invaded and occupied in 2003: Iraq is disintegrating as a… country under the pressure of a mounting political, social and economic crisis, say Iraqi leaders. They add that 10 years after the US…