So, the Taliban are now in Kabul and have almost secured their complete control over Afghanistan. Unpopular President Ashraf Ghani and other high officials fled the country, as the Presidential Place and airport fell. U.S. Embassy staff were evacuated by helicopter, in scenes reminiscent of the pull out of Vietnam in 1975. Continue reading The war on Afghanistan has ended in the defeat of the invaders→
In an explosive, rare long form interview UK hip hop legend and activist Lowkey speaks to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s partner Stella Moris.
In the interview, Stella Moris speaks to Lowkey about huge new revelations about the case “The key witness is a diagnosed sociopath, a fraudster who was already convicted of embezzling Wikileaks for 50 or 60 thousand…The key allegations against Julian have been fabricated by him..
He admits he did that in exchange for total immunity. Under the protection of the US government he then continued his crime spree” Moris speaks about fearing for Assange’s mental and physical health “I am always concerned for Julian’s health…
“What’s happening to Julian is monstrous. It’s the worst forces attacking the greatest virtues… “It’s the vision of us being reunited. Of him being able to be a father to our children and this injustice to end that helps us get through every day” Stella Moris on US security services spying on Assange in the Embassy “One of the security guards at the Embassy told me that I shouldn’t bring our baby anymore because he had been told to steal a nappy.
These people were acting on instruction. They are receiving emails saying install that camera there, install a microphone under that fire extinguisher, steal that nappy, look at ways to poison Assange” “A case like Julian’s which is the most significant press freedom case of our century which raises the most fundamental issues about what it means to live in a democracy, about our ability to know what governments do in our name, with our money. The fact that governments cover these things up and if there exposed they will go after you.”
The Olympic games will end in a few days. The mighty achievements of the athletes, pushing to the limits of human capacity, is a monumental achievement that draws in the world. They are also big business, and this creates a contradiction between the stated values of excellence, friendship, and respect and the crass greed of commercialisation and cheap politics. Continue reading The Olympic Games would be much healthier if not subject to the control of big money→
To suggest that worry about where the global economy is heading is serious is something of an understatement. Underlying the mood is the decision of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release $650 billion to help member nations in trouble. Continue reading IMF moves to provide $650 billion in aid for the crisis→
Lesley Rankin is a researcher at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). She wrote the following article (Open Democracy 28 July 2021), and argues that the failure to do enough to tackle the climate crisis is a failure of political leadership and the to involve the population as active participants. This means that dealing with the environmental challenge and preparing for future shocks are inseparable from the battle for justice.
In this article Robert Reich ( 27 June) puts forward his view on the impact on the economy of the growing wealth gap in the United Sates, between the few at the top and everyone else. This gap, he says, is reminiscent of what happened before the Wall Street crash in 1929 and Great depression. The risk of another similar meltdown is possible. It will also make the United states vulnerable to the next demagogue.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been toppled by a coalition of opponents. Most of the world has welcomed the change. Netanyahu presided over a long list of human rights violations against Palestinians. The new government may not change this. The following (Days of Palestine 12 June 2021) is about 500 journalists in the United States, who have signed an open letter demanding American media reports on the realities of the Israeli occupation and its policies in Palestine.
Scott Morrison goes to London and the G7 summit in Cornwall. Australia is not a member of the group and there because of an invitation from the United Sates to be an observer. The Australian Prime Minister was going to shine at a private meeting with United States President Joe Biden. But the presence of British Prime Minister put an end to this. In diplomatic terms, this is a snub. Continue reading The G7 gathering re-affirms business as usual produces nothing of substance→
Jessica Corbett covers the coming U.S. tour by Julian Assange’s father John Shipton and brother Gabriel Shipton (Common Dreams28 May 2021). Starting on 6 June, the tour plans to meet up with activists, journalists and policy makers, to lift support o the call for Julian’s freedom and against attacks on a free press. Julian Assange is the founder of WikiLeaks and hunted by Washington for revealing inconvenient truths.