An alternative voice in search of truth and justice.
30/12/2020
As this rather wretched and exhausting year comes to a close, I looked back at my list from 2019 and laughed sadly at my optimistic plans to read more in 2020. Perhaps I did when you count news, analysis, etc. online, but in terms of books it was disastrously minimal. However, the books I did read offered brilliant insights or just fascinating bits of knowledge. So, in no real order:
Continue reading “My 2020 Reading List”07/12/2020
The first time I heard the term historical amnesia, it was in relation to a discussion about American exceptionalism and the masses “forgetting” the more bothersome parts of their history of involvement (ironically, I can’t recall the specific source or case I first came across). But, rereading Noam Chomsky’s On Anarchism (again, ironically because at the time I read it, I did so without any real focus or retention), the now seemingly obvious opposite is also true: that the true victories and battles fought by the masses themselves are also victim to this international blank slate.
Continue reading “Historical Amnesia Goes Both Ways”06/09/2020
Conspiracy theories have pervaded discourse for decades, from the assassination of JFK to the 9/11 terror attacks being an inside job carried out by the Bush administration. Regardless of the facts and implications one can draw from history and events as they happen, new theories and ideas are added to the pile frequently, particularly with the advent of the internet. These ideas – much like the rhetoric of despotic figures like Donald Trump – are alluring because they offer explanations to those blindly searching for answers. While the questions that led to those answers might be genuine, reality often offers less “fantastic” answers that nonetheless have the benefit of truth.
Continue reading “Reality is Conspiracy Without the Flair: QAnon”03/01/2019
Update: It has indeed been confirmed as a US strike.
Baghdad airport was hit with an airstrike earlier today, with numerous sources quoting Iraqi state TV that Qassem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC Quds Force, and others were killed. So far there has been no clarification about who ordered and carried out the strikes, but it’s the latest in a string of growing tensions in the region between Iran, Israel, and the US.
31/12/2019
Admittedly, I thought I had read more books than the ones on this list, but alas it is much smaller than anticipated when I compiled it. I wasn’t expecting anything huge, and 16 books is still a reasonable feat, in my view, but I can’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment that I didn’t get through more. I would, however, suggest that finishing university and keeping up with news events and analysis probably makes up for that. Nevertheless, these are the books I read this past year, with a few thoughts looking back on them and links to piece that refer to them.
28/12/2019
I am currently reading The Vandemonian War by Nick Brodie. As always, when I learn more about Australia’s history involving the Indigenous peoples, I grow more and more disappointed with the shallow understanding that our education system throws at countless disinterested students. But I’ve written about that already, and there was a small point Brodie made about the press coverage that made me chuckle – rather cynically – at the parallels to today.
Continue reading “Media Hasn’t Really Changed: Colonial Tasmania”
19/12/2019
Donald Trump, at long last has been impeached, with the Democrat-controlled House predictably voting it through, despite a few that crossed the aisle to join every Republican in opposition. But if you’re like me – not a US citizen who views that violent and oppressive nation’s institutions with utter contempt and confusion – then you might be wondering what this will even achieve. Based on any worthwhile metric, pretty much nothing.
20/10/2019
The Brexit farce that has ensnared the UK for over three years is coming to yet another apparent deadline, which doesn’t really mean much because no matter what the results of Johnson’s new miracle deal turn out to be, it won’t end there. In the EU or not, Brexit will shape the political and societal future of the UK for many years to come.
Continue reading “Brexit Will Never End: What About a Global Community Instead?”
12/10/2019
The answer to that question appears to be just the media and a bunch of Americans tutting over financial records that Trump won’t release. Also, something about Russia destroying their shit democracy and a rich white guy’s own financial and political interests are under threat, so that word impeach actually means something now. But who actually cares?
09/10/2019
With the US being the greatest sponsor of global terrorism, saying that you are friends with a current or former POTUS is one way to say you’re fine hanging out with war criminals. Ellen DeGeneres has not only called Bush a friend, but defended that stance. Well, Dory did have short-term memory loss, I suppose.
