The infiltration of corporations into every aspect of modern life is something that should be resisted, not least because the agenda of a private prison company is rather different to a university. Or should be. Over to you, New York Times: In recent years, where stadium naming rights could be sold, universities and professional sports…
Showing all posts tagged privatisation
How Britain sells weapons to the world and still claims to be responsible nation
Penetrating story by Andy Beckett in the Guardian: In the town centre of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, between McDonald’s and Carphone Warehouse, there is an unusual statue. Four firm-jawed figures in factory clothes stand back-to-back. One wears a flat cap, one wields a sledgehammer, one has a welder’s visor. All of them are in purposeful poses,…
Disaster capitalism photography and film event hits Sydney
I’m proud to announce the following in Sydney in August (with Melbourne and hopefully overseas to follow soon after.) This will compliment my book on the subject out in the same month.… More information in the coming months: Disaster capitalism is the ideology of our age, supported by the vast bulk of the political and media…
Australia reinforces vulture capitalism on compliant Pacific island
Australia, like so many other Western countries, increasingly believes it should outsource government services to private companies under the guise of “efficiency”. It’s nothing of the sort and merely removes a key level of accountability. In my forthcoming book on disaster capitalism I examine the ways in which multinationals are making a fortune from asylum…
Disaster capitalism strikes at the heart of African mining
A key focus of my forthcoming book and film about disaster capitalism is the way Western resource companies exploit poor nations and often commit human rights abuses in the process (I’m looking at Papua New Guinea and Haiti). Here’s an interesting Human Rights Watch report about Eritrea: International mining firms rushing to invest in Eritrea’s…
Toxic mix of American “justice” and war on drugs
I’m currently writing the introduction of my disaster capitalism book (the vast bulk of the manuscript is written and being edited by my publisher) and looking into the role of privatised prisons in the US and how the “war on drugs” has deformed the society. This short film is deeply powerful:
Can divesting in fossil fuel companies help the climate crisis?
The US campaign 350.org aims to lead a public movement against climate change by putting financial and painful pressure on fossil fuel companies that cause climate change. It’s an interesting idea, debated below on Democracy Now!, as similar tactics were used against apartheid South Africa and today’s apartheid Israel:
How an Orthodox Israeli Jewish billionaire loves to exploit Africa
This is a remarkable story, sad, tragic and outrageous, and proves that money doesn’t bring morality (via Bloomberg): Dan Gertler’s bearded face lights up as he looks out the helicopter window. Below, an installation twice the size of Monaco rises from a clearing in the central African forest, where it transforms ore mined from the…
America’s wars are outsourced so there’s much money to be made
The face of America’s never-ending “war on terror” is increasingly privatised. This Washington Post article explains just one example of this trend but doesn’t examine the lack of accountability of the practice, something I’m doing in my 2013 book and film on disaster capitalism: The rapid collapse of a U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya exposed…
Criminal UN negligence in Haiti over cholera crisis
During my recent visit to Haiti, working on a book and film about disaster capitalism, the issue of UN incompetence/criminality over causing the outbreak of cholera was a primary concern of many and rightly so. This Al-Jazeera documentary takes a critical look at the UN’s response: Here’s the latest New York Times feature on the…