So much for being the land of opportunity. Time to change the PR campaign, Washington. Gary Younge in The Guardian: During a discussion at… the University of Michigan in 2010, the billionaire vice-chairman of… Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway firm, Charles Munger, was asked whether the government should have bailed out homeowners rather than banks.… “You’ve got it exactly…
Showing all posts tagged United States
Taking note of unhealthy revolving door between State Department and making $
In October I investigated for the Guardian the worrying business moves by Kurt Campbell, former senior official in the Obama administration and now running a for profit consultancy business. I’m pleased that the US website Muckety (“Mapping connections of the rich, famous and influential”) has noticed and equally displayed concerns over Campbell’s record. Take a…
Global reach of the NSA is literally everywhere
Edward Snowden, a hero not a traitor, has provided the world with an invaluable insight into the scope of NSA spying. Surveillance is rampant and literally everything is being scooped up. Resistance is both vital and timely. A long and detailed report in the New York Times (a similar version appears in the Guardian) explaining…
The importance of dissenting journalism on a global scale
Glenn Greenwald has set the bar high for provocative, original and challenging journalism (his latest interview on Democracy Now is here and here discussing NSA revelations and his new, online media venture). He engages with New York Times columnist and former editor Bill Keller in a revealing exchange that highlights the fallacy of “impartial” and…
Why tackling fossil fuel corporations is vital for the planet
My weekly Guardian column is published today: The viability of a fossil fuel future is rarely connected to the human rights abuses required to sustain it. How often do we think about where oil and gas is obtained? Are the Europeans or Americans any more aware? This deliberate depoliticisation of our energy present, by the…
Former Australian Prime Minister Gillard jokes about NSA spying
Revelations about NSA mass spying on virtually every citizen around the world, including key allies of the US, is causing justifiable outrage… globally. Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, speaking in the US, shows the kind of subservience to Washington that is all too common in our political and media class. We’re a client state and…
Amnesty asks US: how do you justify killing a grandmother by drone?
The role of US drones post 9/11 is shrouded in secrecy. It’s beyond time to challenge the legality, morality and effectiveness of the practice. My good friend Mustafa Qadri, Pakistan researcher for Amnesty, has just written a report on drones and it’s been causing waves globally (see him on CNN). He is interviewed by Democracy…
Stop drinking the think-tank kool-aid
My weekly column for the Guardian appears today: The ABC TV Lateline interview with Kurt Campbell, former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, was… cordial, even reverential. It was conducted in the middle of March this year, more than a month after Campbell had left the state department. Interviewer Emma Alberici…
The fallacy of Clinton-backed "support" in Haiti
When I visited Haiti last year I investigated the reality of industrial parks and how they largely shafted locals. I cover it in Profits of Doom. A new report (via Common Dreams) reveals the fallacy of this Western elite pushed scheme: Haiti’s Caracol Industrial Park—the U.S. State Department and Clinton Foundation pet project to deliver…
Unquestioning aid is worst kind of support for the world
My following article appears today in ABC Religion and Ethics: Cholera is killing Haitian men, women and children. For three years the United Nations has refused to take full responsibility for its Nepalese peace-keepers bringing the deadly disease to a nation they were tasked to protect. More than 8,300 people have died and more than…