The LA Times reveals yet another Washington-led proxy war, this time in Africa. Privatised and essentially unaccountable, this is another example of the US never learning from history. Arming and training such a force will almost inevitably blow back on the West at some point: The soldiers stood at attention, rifles at their sides, as…
Showing all posts tagged United States
What a trailer for 2001: A Space Odyssey could look like today
Wild interpretation that proves the difficulty (impossibility?) of appreciating Hollywood films in the 21st century that are more cerebral and reflective:
Ignore the Western white noise, Wikileaks matters in Latin America
Stories and news that barely rate a mention in the Western corporate media. This is why Wikileaks remains vital for democratic transparency, away from bitter Western hacks who see their role as protecting turf and power. The Nation explains: On June 19, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange slipped into the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, seeking sanctuary…
Guess what, two-state solution is dead and that’s a good thing
The reality on the ground (via the Guardian): The number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank grew by more than 15,000 in the past year to reach a total that exceeds 350,000 for the first time and has almost doubled in the past 12 years. Figures from… Israel‘s population registry show a 4.5% increase in…
Why profit-making prisons distort justice
The outrage of vulture capitalism in practice (via the American Constitution Society): The failed “war on drugs” certainly helped the proliferation of for-profit prisons, but the federal government’s increasing reliance on many of the same companies to detain undocumented immigrants and others awaiting court resolutions is not only furthering private prison profits but the need…
Breaking news; CIA is fairly clueless in Syria (and that’s fine, by the way)
This Washington Post story is written with sadness. If only the CIA had any clue about the reality inside Syria, it implies, they could do what they do in many nations around the world and meddle in internal affairs: Sixteen months into… the uprising in Syria, the United States is struggling to develop a clear understanding…
New Yorker editor on writing profiles
David Remnick, just out with this stunning piece on Bruce Springsteen, talks about profile writing: STORYBOARD: The Art of the Profile with David Remnick of ‘The New Yorker’ from Tumblr on Vimeo.
How do we define terrorism? Anybody who’s opposed to us
Medialens ask the questions most in the media aren’t: When is an act of terrorism not terrorism? When the victims are officially sanctioned state enemies. This was clear from the political and media response to the assassinations of senior ministers of the Syrian ”˜regime’. On 18 July, a… bomb attack… on the national security headquarters in Damascus…
“After Zionism” on Radio Adelaide
I was interviewed this morning on Radio Adelaide about my just released book: Nobody likes conflict, but it is ever-present in our world. The conflict between Zionism and Palestine is still burning after a century, and it seems too late for a two-state solution. “After Zionism” is a new book that brings together some of…