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…
Showing all posts tagged United States
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…
McClatchy teaches journalists how to be real journalists
McClatchy’s Washington Bureau just sent out this important directive. Mainstream media, listen and learn: To our staff and to our readers: As you are aware, reporters from The New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg and others are agreeing to give government sources the right to clear and alter quotes as a prerequisite to granting an…
The life and death of favourite US and Israeli thug-in-chief Omar Suleiman
This week saw the death of former Egyptian intelligence head and thug, Omar Suleiman. Closer to Mubarak during his time in power, he was courted by Israel and America while his record of enabling terror was ignored. Of course. Australian citizen and former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Mamdouh Habib alleges Suleiman personally attended sessions when he…