How to film a unique and disturbing environment? Documentary film can take many forms and Britain’s Louis Theroux is one of the most interesting. He often plays the straight man when faced with the oddest of circumstances. Since I’m currently working on a documentary myself, I’m increasingly fascinated with the process and how to capture…
Showing all posts tagged United States
Afghanistan heading for financial disaster?
Matthieu Aikins on what seemingly unlimited foreign aid has done to the war-torn country. Vulture capitalism is thriving: Afghanistan is awash in foreign aid. In 11 years of war, the United States and its allies have funneled hundreds of billions of dollars into the country. As a result, international spending is now the biggest part…
Britain as the torture-endorsing nation
Fascinating new evidence in the Guardian: Within days of the 9/11 attacks on the US, the… CIA… told British intelligence officers of its plans to abduct… al-Qaida… suspects and fly them to secret prisons where they would be systematically abused. The meeting, at the British embassy in Washington, is disclosed in… a forthcoming book by the Guardian journalist Ian Cobain.…
The rise and rise of the plutocrats and how disaster capitalism is the ideology of the age
A fascinating discussion with Bill Moyers, Matt Taibbi and Chrystia Freeland about one of the least discussed issues in the mainstream media and political elites; how income inequality threatens any kind of prosperity and how vulture capitalism is suiting a few people very well indeed:
Trying to tempt Anwar al-Awlaki with the lure of another wife
An incredible story, if true, that reveals one way Western agencies attempt to target extremist enemies of the state (apart from killing them with drones). The New York Times reports: The man with the wire-rim glasses and bushy beard, speaking calmly in American-accented English, is familiar from dozens of Web videos urging violent jihad against…
This is just what global peace needs, a greatly expanded CIA drone fleet
The Washington Post reports on the deepening of American attempts to prosecute its “war on terror” globally through the use of imprecise and legally questionable drone technology. It’s also a wonderful way to make countless new enemies: The CIA is urging the White House to approve a significant expansion of the agency’s fleet of armed…
“After Zionism” on New York’s “Beyond the Pale” radio
I was recently interviewed with my After Zionism co-editor, Ahmed Moor, on New York’s great indy radio, Beyond The Pale on WBAI 99.5. We spoke with hosts Alex Kane and Lizzy Ratner. Here’s the interview, discussing the reality on the ground in Palestine and why moves towards one-state are growing.
What rampant vulture capitalism looks like in Afghanistan
Private security companies have been causing chaos in the country for years. It’s something I examined during my recent visit to the country and will be appearing in a book and documentary on disaster capitalism in 2013. Here’s just the latest example of of unregulated chaos (via UK Telegraph): The American military is investigating allegations…
How the US lost in Afghanistan against a guerrilla movement
More than ten years after 9/11, it’s still little appreciated how America and its allies have lost two wars comprehensively, Iraq and Afghanistan (though a friend today said to me that the former was a success, with any number of oil contracts going to North American firms). Here’s Gareth Porter in IPS with some fascinating…
How “liberal media” covers all those war-mongering Western leaders. Oh wait…
A typically astute Medialens analysis: Liberal journalism is balanced, neutral and objective, except when it’s not. A BBC news report on Hugo Chavez’s latest election triumph in Venezuela… commented: ‘Mr Chavez said Venezuela would continue its march towards socialism… butalso vowed he would be a “better president”.’ (Our emphasis. The article was subsequently amended, although the ‘but’…