Media
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Supporting independent public interest media
Government media funding supports the failing mainstream media (MSM) and right-wing advocacy groups like the Institute of Public Affairs. Continue reading »
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Intervention to stop genocide: From investigative reporting to freedom flotillas
The leader of South Africa’s Palestine Solidarity Alliance insists that the ruling of the International Court of Justice ‘requires the whole world to play their part to stop genocide unfolding in Gaza.’ Continue reading »
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UK media shouldn’t be ‘impartial’ – but fearless and truthful
We need journalism that is committed to accurate and uncompromising investigation and not a spurious “impartiality” that hides brutal facts of occupation and genocide. Continue reading »
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The pigeon and the socks
In February PETA sprang into action to rescue a pigeon held in India which had been accused of spying for China. They secured its release. Continue reading »
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A vibrant media landscape will ease fears over Hong Kong’s Article 23 law
People in Hong Kong, particularly the media, should still be allowed to voice diverse opinions and criticism without fear of retribution – as long as it is fair and fact-based. This will help mitigate the concern of people considering a move to the city and show ‘one country, two systems’ is still alive and well. Continue reading »
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Japan’s fighter-sales plan ‘betrays pacifist tradition’ – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: Tokyo ready to export ‘lethal weapons par excellence’. Plus: Failed Evergrande in massive accounting fraud; Thailand leads ASEAN on same-sex marriage; American naval dominance is waning; Big-brand carmakers planning EV utes; Not-so-Huggie – low birth rate ends baby-nappy production. Continue reading »
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The real reason Labor is rushing through immigration powers
The government’s new deportation legislation is both radical and at the same time addresses two issues that have been around for at least 30 years. But is it good law and why the urgency? Continue reading »
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The empire slowly suffocates Assange like it slowly suffocates all its enemies
The British High Court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may potentially get a final appeal against extradition to the United States, but only within a very limited scope and only if specific conditions are met. Continue reading »
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Playing the hunger games
The nightmare sprung to life: A gang. Worse, an Asian teen gang. An hour before dawn. I’m alone. With a bike. Continue reading »
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Is Peter Dutton or News Corp leading the Coalition?
With the 2024 football season in its infancy, the official Twitter (X) account of ABC News posted a story about Scott Morrison handing back his Number 1 membership ticket to the Cronulla Sharks Rugby League Club. The opening line of the post was “The former PM is a longtime public supporter of the Sharks”. Continue reading »
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The failure of Western on-the-ground war reporting
On the ground reporting by Western media of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been weak. Continue reading »
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America is dumbing itself down. Banning TikTok won’t halt the slide
The US has created the conditions for the decline of its own society. Continue reading »
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Visit to Australia by Chinese Foreign Minister HE Wang Yi
The Chinese Foreign Minister, Mr Wang Yi, is in Australia this week to participate in the China-Australia Foreign and Strategic Dialogue with his Australian counterpart, Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Continue reading »
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Thai establishment to disband popular party – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: ‘Inexorable, predictable’ proceedings against Move Forward. Plus: South Korea’s new envoy at heart of political row; Xi revives Mao’s party-control dictum; Fukushima meltdown fuel still a mystery; China’s tai chi diplomatic culture; Singapore writer in long Taylor Swift gloat. Continue reading »
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Gaza, Assange, and the destruction of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
As we speak, international law is being openly flouted by powerful actors, [the US, the UK, and Israel] with devastating results for Julian Assange, and other political prisoners, for thousands of innocent civilians slaughtered in Gaza, and for the continued viability of international human rights and international law themselves. Continue reading »
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“The darkest place to which this conflict sinks” – Four Corners: The Forever War
For five months now, our screens have been bombarded by images depicting Israel’s air and ground assault on Gaza. This extraordinary footage, this apocalyptic scene, shows just how widespread that destruction has been. Israel is still denying foreign journalists independent access to Gaza. We’re in Israel, about a kilometre from the border, reports the ABC’s Continue reading »
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Why does the West abound with misreaders of China’s economy?
As 2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, whether this mythical creature should be named “Dragon” or “Loong” in English has puzzled many and stirred heated discussions. Continue reading »
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Fight or flight response to Myanmar draft – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: Conscription law sparking Thailand exodus. Plus: Rich West building fences against the Rest; Pakistan poll-rigging whistleblower arrested; Economist says Hong Kong glory days over; Indonesian election ‘one of the darkest days’; High price paid for saving the tiger. Continue reading »
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Pearls and Irritations in the Pearl River Delta
Pearls and Irritations is widely read outside Australia. In particular, its content is now reviewed by certain media writing and presenting in Chinese in Hong Kong. Continue reading »
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Asia, Government, Media, Politics, Top 5
The coming of the fear
If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear. ― George Orwell (Eric Blair) Continue reading »
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Genocide: The word that RNZ cannot bring itself to say
The very first principle of Radio New Zealand Charter, states unequivocally that the purpose of our national broadcaster is to be “…an independent public service broadcaster…” and “to serve the public interest.” Unfortunately, this principle appears to have been abandoned in its coverage of Israel’s campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip that has Continue reading »
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A tale of two poles
In a recent interview with Victorian Health Minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, Melbourne ABC presenter, Raf Epstein, led off with a classic “gotcha” question: Continue reading »
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Jewish Council of Australia urges the Australian government to reject racism against Palestinian people fleeing persecution in Gaza
This week Sky News reported it had a list with the personal details of 500 Palestinian people who had obtained visas to flee overwhelming violence in Gaza, 81 of whom are in Australia. Continue reading »
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Antoinette v ABC: why did Lattouf lawyers move for ‘change of venue’?
Faced with what some saw as long odds at the Fair Work Commission (FWC) Antoinette Lattouf’s team moved her unfair dismissal case to the Federal Court on Friday. Andrew Gardiner asks why they felt the need to do so, and what that says about this country and its future: Continue reading »
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West Australia and the art of state capture
The idea of state capture is usually associated with the global south, but Australia, and Western Australia in particular, demonstrates that established democracies are far from immune. As the Australian Democracy Network explains, ‘a key element of state capture is the management of political parties both in government and opposition…a range of techniques are brought Continue reading »
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Denmark finds ‘Deliberate Sabotage’ of Nord Stream – but ends probe with no charges
The country is the second U.S. ally in the past month to end an investigation into the pipeline explosions. Continue reading »
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Misrepresenting the ICJ and muzzling our press – the Empire strikes back
On 26 January, the World spoke to Israel and its supporters – on the issue of Gaza. The World spoke through the International Court of Justice (ICJ). There can be no doubt about that. A number of provisional orders were made. Israel, and its primary accomplice, the United States – hereinafter “the Empire” – did Continue reading »
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Usual cruelties: Imbeciles who fear the borders
The imaginative faculties of standard Australian politicians retreat to some strange, deathly place on certain issues. In that wasteland, they are often unrecoverable. Like juveniles demanding instant reward, they find complexity hideous. Focus on the now, the punch, the bruising, the hurt. That, in sum, is Canberra’s policy towards refugees. Continue reading »
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A remarkable Hong Kong media story
In Hong Kong, a vibrant Chinese media-oasis is forming within the vast territory long staked-out by the exceptionally dominant Mainstream Western Media. Continue reading »
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Assange’s draconian prosecution criminalises journalism and grants the US extraterritorial reach
In an extraordinary barely reported turn of events close to the conclusion of Julian Assange’s two day UK High Court Appeal against his extradition, a gaping hole appeared in plans to shunt him onto a plane to the US. Continue reading »