Antony Loewenstein

Despotism fought

Antony Loewenstein — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 08:07:10 +0000

A new generation of activists in Burma are starting to challenge the brutal junta:

“Now we want to get weapons,” said a monk known to other dissidents by the nom de guerre “Zero” for his ability to organize and vanish without a trace. “The Buddhist way is lovingkindness. But we lost. So now we want to fight.”

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Bashing the Gray Lady

Antony Loewenstein — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:57:55 +0000

Why do people love to hate The New York Times?

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A different kind of wedding

Antony Loewenstein — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:08:32 +0000

Warning to families throughout the Middle East: beware stray bullets fired in celebration.

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Journalistic drivel inc.

Antony Loewenstein — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:06:30 +0000

Which mainstream media outlet could really do better than this?

Hailed by media critics as the fluffiest, most toothless, and softest-hitting coverage of the presidential candidate to date, a story in this week’s Time magazine is being called the definitive Barack Obama puff piece.

“No news publication has dared to barely scratch the surface like this before,” columnist and campaign reporter Michael King wrote in The Washington Post Tuesday. “This profile sets a benchmark for mindless filler by which all other features about Sen. Obama will now be judged. Just impressive puff-journalism all around.”

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The oil is running out, part 8621

Antony Loewenstein — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:17:36 +0000

Naomi Klein, author of Shock Doctrine, appears on Fox News to discuss the role of energy security (and aptly deals with two typically clueless Murdoch hacks)

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Welcome to the new America

Antony Loewenstein — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:57:45 +0000

New Yorker journalist and author Jane Mayer, Democracy Now!, July 18:

Well, as we all know, September 11th was a sea change. Everybody says everything changed after that. And it did, but I think one of the most important changes that the country hasn’t really thought about is America became a country that, for the first time in its history, endorsed what is torture in all but name. And since then, it changed, I think, from a war for the country’s security, the war on terror, to a battle for the country’s soul. And we have to really think about whether or not this is what kind of country we want to be.

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Fingering the grub

Antony Loewenstein — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:00:43 +0000

Send Karl Rove to jail:

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Communist Party enforcement

Antony Loewenstein — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:14:31 +0000

David Bandurski, Far Eastern Economic Review, July:

They have been called the “Fifty Cent Party,” the “red vests” and the “red vanguard.” But China’s growing armies of Web commentators—instigated, trained and financed by party organizations—have just one mission: to safeguard the interests of the Communist Party by infiltrating and policing a rapidly growing Chinese Internet. They set out to neutralize undesirable public opinion by pushing pro-Party views through chat rooms and Web forums, reporting dangerous content to authorities.

By some estimates, these commentary teams now comprise as many as 280,000 members nationwide, and they show just how serious China’s leaders are about the political challenges posed by the Web. More importantly, they offer tangible clues about China’s next generation of information controls—what President Hu Jintao last month called “a new pattern of public-opinion guidance.”

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Can’t say that (yet)

Antony Loewenstein — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:06:17 +0000

So much for an uncensored internet in Raul Castro’s Cuba.

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War criminals dine together in style

Antony Loewenstein — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:03:23 +0000

A leading American Zionist lobby recently shamed itself by celebrating a criminal and a thug:

The American Jewish Committee honored Colombian President Alvaro Uribe last night with its Light unto the Nations Award.

“President Uribe is a staunch ally of the United States, a good friend of Israel and the Jewish people, and is a firm believer in human dignity and human development in Colombia and the Americas,” said AJC President E. Robert Goodkind, who presented the award at AJC’s Annual Dinner, held at the National Building Museum in Washington.

Under President Uribe’s tenure, Colombia has fought rebel guerillas and drug traffickers and has made a serious attempt at demobilizing the paramilitary. Colombia is the third-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid.

“Despite many odds, President Uribe has remained committed to the pursuit of security, peace and broad-based economic growth for all Colombians,” Goodkind said. Indeed, while President Uribe and his family have personally suffered due to the violence that has long plagued Colombia, he remains committed first and foremost to curbing violence and restoring peace and security.

It’s perhaps not surprising that a Zionist group, so fond of celebrating Israeli violence against Arabs, would fawn over the Columbian equivalent.

After all, the AJC did present former Australian Prime Minister John Howard wih its “American Liberties Medallion” in 2004.

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