Tuesday, Feb 7th 2012
The current violence errupting in the southern region of Kyrgyzstan is deeply troubling.
If we are to go by the news reports given by the BBC, the violence is the culmination of long standing ethnic tensions. If we are to believe The Economist’s recent article “Stalin’s Harvest” we are seeing the inevitable fruits of Stalin’s labour.
According [...]
In 1975, the victorious Viet Minh entered Saigon, the capital of the South, following a 30 year struggle against a range of international forces. For the first time, since its occupation by France in the late 19th century, Viet Nam was independent and no longer subject to the dictates of foreign powers.
However, while the lengthy [...]
In the aftermath of an earthquake that devastated the slum-cities of Haiti, there has been a strong influx of foreign money and troops, apparently to help rebuild the poverty-stricken country. However, we should note that many of the countries that have been to the fore in expressing their altruistic intentions are those which are most [...]
Today Haiti is most commonly known for being the poorest country in the ‘western’ hemisphere and a land wracked by destitution and despair. This picture has only been reinforced by the horrific consequences of the January 13th earthquake, 15 kms south-west of Port-au-Prince. While the media networks are falling over themselves to relay stories of [...]
The Real News | Haiti and the ‘Devil’s Curse’
Excellent 12 minute news segment from the Real News on Haiti’s history of poverty, which includes a critical examination of how mainstream media is reporting this history without mentioning the impact that various foreign interventions has had on the country.
According to Peter Hallward, author of [...]
Real News | The Afghan Chessboard
Pepe Escobar says that the Afghan presidential election is largely designed to legitimize the US and NATO occupation of parts of the country not controlled by the Taliban. But in order to establish an energy corridor from the Caspian to South Asia, bypassing Russia, Escobar argues, the grand American strategy [...]
The Real News | US military to set up in Colombia
Forrest Hylton, author of Evil Hour in Columbia, discusses the US plan to build a military base in Columbia. This will provide the US with huge potential given their recent surveillance activity in the region. Hylton also describes some discomforting activities in the Colombian military, [...]
Le Monde Diplomatique on Iran
Marwan Bishara examines the politics of US-Iranian accommodation after three decades of conflict and considers how the fallout from disputed presidential elections effects Tehran’s regional role.
Part 1
Part 2
Book Review: Tariq Ali: The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power
A country in crisis
Everything seems to be “on the brink” or “standing at the crossroads” in world politics these days. But Pakistan surely has done enough to earn every cliché in the book: as the country passes its sixtieth anniversary, it [...]
An interview by Miriam Cotton of Media Bite with the journalist, activist and lecturer Harry Browne, who is also the author of the recently published book ‘Hammered by the Irish’ (Counterpunch and AK Press), also reviewed by MediaBite.
This interview with Browne, which took place last November, explores his views on journalism and its function within [...]
