Lebanon is a country that has come so far since the troubled times of its recent past. A lengthy civil war which wasted just as much in human blood as it did in years of time. Much of what was damaged during the Lebanese civil war, which including the years of Israeli occupation of Lebanon, has been replaced or rebuilt, […]
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The Libertine Lover
Sometimes I think – I love making love with a man who is sensitive, Who can hold a conversation about The important things afterwards A man interested in my psyche As well as my body and who conveys That sympathy in the depth of his embrace And the tenderness of words whispered in Poignant communion Then sometimes I think – […]
Syria War Diary: What Life is Like Under ‘Moderate’ Rebel Rule
Since the liberation of Aleppo, and the restoring of peace to Madaya and al-Waer, most Western media have gone silent on the areas, even though it is now possible to visit all of them and hear from civilians who lived under the rule of ”moderate rebels,” which is exactly what journalist Eva Bartlett did. SYRIA — (War Diary) — In early […]
It’s Time To Raise the Level of Public Debate about Syria
These past six months I have been getting to know the inter-media. They’re not formally part of mainstream, and they’re not very social, so I call them inter-media. They are like the maintenance team for the mainstream. To explain this, I’ll first say how I came to meet them. The context of these encounters is writing posts on Syria. Doing so, I rely entirely […]
Moral Injury: The Wounded Soul
Veterans For Peace UK members John Bourton and Daniel Lenham each gave a fascinating talk at the Hexham Debates recently on ‘how to turn your child into a killer’ and ‘moral injury’ respectively. (See video above). John discusses ‘the psychological processes that go on to turn you from a child into a killer, which, essentially is what basic training […]
Ghosted
So. I’ve been analysed And diagnosed With ‘undesirable personality disorder’ Examined for danger And found ‘unsafe for use’ I’ve been ghosted Labeled an ‘unperson’ Unworthy of interest Sent to Coventry Expunged from history Left freezing in the blast Of your Siberian indifference You have averted your gaze. Like a king, Withdrawn your favour. Kafkaesque I’m left wondering What the charges […]
White Helmets Rescue Crisis Actor in ‘Mannequin Challenge’ Fakery
Since their inception in late 2013, the White Helmets have been financed to the tune of over $100 million from the UK and US alone, along with millions more from various other NATO, EU and GCC member states – all nations who are deeply invested in arming and backing rebel-terrorists vying for regime change in Syria.
Neo-Liberalism Under Cover of Racism
It is indeed peculiar that Trump can be elected President on 47.4% of the popular vote. But not nearly as peculiar as that the Conservatives can have untrammelled power in the UK on 36.9% of the popular vote. Both electoral systems need reform, but the UK’s is absolutely indefensible. There is a tiny blogroll down the bottom right hand margin […]
Volunteers by day, terrorists by night: The double life of White Helmets
Volunteers of the White Helmets civil defense organization have a double life: they are ‘volunteers’ by day and terrorists by night. Photos, published online, reveal ‘the second life’ of volunteers of the White Helmets civil defense organization that operates throughout the Syrian territory, controlled by the ‘moderate’ opposition. According to the photos, the volunteers spend one part of their lives, […]
Defend the ZAD – A Call For International Solidarity
For over 50 years, farmers and locals have resisted the building of a new airport for the French city of Nantes (which by the way already has one). Now in these rich fields, forests and wetlands, which multinational Vinci want to cover in concrete, an experiment in reinventing everyday life in struggle is blossoming. Radicals from around the world, […]
The media is leaving out significant ‘home truths’ from its Panama Papers report
It’s undeniable that the Panama Papers – the world’s biggest ever data leak at more than 2TB worth of documents – has enhanced our knowledge of the extent of global corruption. But considering the rampant use of offshore tax havens by Western multinational companies and individuals, there is a critical gap in the revelations. Where are the British and American […]
The deeper truths journalists are blind to
The problem is not just that foreign reporting is being stripped of financial resources as the media find it harder to make a profit from their core activities. It is, as Ed Herman and Noam Chomsky pointed out long ago in their book Manufacturing Consent, that the corporate media is designed to reflect the interests of power – and the corporations that control our media are power. They select journalists through a long filtering process (school, university, journalism training, apprenticeships) precisely designed to weed out dissidents and those who think too critically. Only journalists whose worldview aligns closely with those in power reach the top.