Thursday, May 24th 2012
Patrick Cockburn is the Baghdad correspondent of the Independent and the author of The Occupation: War, resistance and daily life in Iraq and Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival and the struggle for Iraq. He spoke to Daniel Finn of Irish Left Review about the latest developments in Iraq.
How do you interpret the latest election [...]
Si. Is the Future King of Lyon!
I am watching with disgust and pleasure the vaguely general striking in France yesterday. Did you see it? Was all most very amusing and also a big disgrace.
In general, as you know, I am always opposed to the insurrectioning by members of the lower classes, such [...]
Last week, in interview with a More 4 journalist, Mark Regev, one of Ehud Olmert’s spokespeople, admitted that Israel knew and had officially recorded the fact that Hamas had not broken the ceasefire between the two regions and, further, that the Israelis were also aware that Hamas had made attempts to prevent other, small groups [...]
One of the secret weapons of the occupation forces in Iraq has been the sheer danger of reporting on the conflict. The occupiers themselves have attacked the local offices of Al-Jazeera, the broadcaster with the least inclination to “embed” itself in the protective grasp of the US army: their claim that this was an unfortunate [...]
Chavismo and democracy
The assertion that Venezuela has become a more democratic society under Hugo Chavez is bitterly contested. We can pass over the repeated claims that Chavez is a brutal dictator who has turned Venezuela into a communist state - the people making such allegations are certainly not troubled by the burden of proof. But [...]
This is the second of a three part review of Bart Jones’ Hugo! The Hugo Chavez Story. Read the first part Chavez: The Hatred of the ‘Dark-Skinned Yokel’ here and the second part Chavaz: ‘A Subversive in Miraflores’?here.
Build-up to the putsch
It’s impossible to discuss the reaction provoked by the Chavez government, of course, without addressing [...]
Well, it’s been a busy few weeks trying to keep up with the US Presidential election campaign and the global economic crisis, to say nothing of trying to do some work occasionally.So, inevitably, the campaign is taking place in the shadow of ‘events’ and has been affected by them. As we move into the final [...]
Jeremy Paxman once explained the secret of his interviewing technique - before speaking to a politician, he simply asks himself “why is this lying bastard lying to me?” In the case of Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, a journalist would be well advised to stiffen the measure: “Why is this blood-thirsty, amoral gangster lying to me?” [...]
