The annual yearly round-up by the brilliant Charlie Brooker (plus Adam Curtis) on a period filled with ISIS, insane amounts of inane TV and a little optimism:
Showing all posts tagged United States
Russell Brand's "Revolution" hits anti-capitalist mark
My weekly Guardian column: Political success for society’s invisible souls is rare. So when US investor Westbrook Partners announced last week that it had withdrawn from evicting families at the New Era estate in East London, it was cause for celebration. Instead of building expensive properties, the company sold its development to Dolphin Square Charitable…
US Senate report on torture shows state violence goes unpunished
My weekly Guardian column: The details shocked. Shackled prisoners were treated like cattle, watched by their CIA interrogators. Testimony from one observer stated that men blindfolded and tied “were made to run down a steep hill, at the bottom of which were three throws of concertina barbed wire. The first row would hit them across…
Triple R radio interview on politics and terrorism in 2014
It’s been a crazy year filled with ISIS, war, Tony Abbott, terrorism and much in between. I was interviewed by Triple R’s Spoke about it all:
Al Jazeera America interview on Sydney siege part 2
During this week’s Sydney siege I was interviewed by Al Jazeera America to offer analysis of the event (the first interview is here). Here’s the second interview:
Al Jazeera America interview on Sydney siege part 1
This week’s horrific terrorist attack in Sydney, a crazed self-styled cleric held people hostage in the Lindt cafe in central Sydney killing three people including the gunman, has shocked the country and generated global headlines. Too much of the media coverage was exploitative and sensational, framing the event as led or even inspired by ISIS.…
Proposed Australian citizenship bill guarantees isolation
My weekly Guardian column: The legislation on asylum seekers that immigration minister Scott Morrison pushed through the Senate last week, granting him even wider powers, is not the only area in which he is seeking to extend and concentrate his influence over the lives of vulnerable people. The Australian Citizenship and Other Legislation Amendment Bill…
Stand firm against the Murdoch war on public broadcasting
My weekly Guardian column: The terms of the current battle in Australia over the ABC, its budget and place in public life have been set by its most vociferous critics, mostly in the Murdoch press. If only the lines weren’t so predictable. Their campaign fits neatly into a global trend: to reduce the public’s faith…
How Israel, America and Australia make $ from dirty arms dealing
My weekly Guardian column: It’s a good time to be in the weapons business. Three of the leading US defence contractors, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, are all making unprecedented profits. In December, Northrop will host an event at the Australian War Memorial to mark the company’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific region. It…
Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything advocates serious climate change action
My following book review appears in the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age: THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING: Capitalism vs the Climate by NAOMI KLEIN ALLEN LANE, $29.99 “If the news that in the past 40 years the world has lost over 50 per cent of its vertebrate wildlife fails to tell us there is something wrong…