As someone who has witnessed the humiliations daily endured by Palestinians living decade after decade under ‘occupation’ the word occupation was for Richard A. Falk an inalterably dirty word. That is until he visited the Occupy London protests.
Politics / The World / The Rest
Seven billionth baby scandal
The birth of the world’s seven billionth baby — little Danica from the Philippines — became a big media story. But while the United Nations says we’ve reached seven billion, the US Census Bureau argues that it won’t happen for another four months.
Memo troops: don’t get shot during a transport strike
Perhaps our news editors should ask if, in the future, our soldiers in Afghanistan could avoid being killed on grand final weekend, the Boxing Day Test, budget night or any transport strike, writes Dr Rodger Shanahan, who was the Chief of Army Visiting Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy.
An interview with Gaddafi’s personal driver
Huneish Nasr served as Muammar Gaddafi’s driver for over 30 years. From a prison cell in Misrata he reveals details about the despot’s final days to Martin Chulov — including the moment of their capture.
From Soviet scraps to backpack drones: the weapons of Libya’s rebels
In the early months, rebel forces fought Colonel Gaddafi’s men using weapons and weapons systems cobbled together using scraps from the Soviet era. As time got on — and thanks to the NATO intervention — rebel weapons became a lot more hi-tech, writes NAJ Taylor.
Condoleezza Rice spills on the foreign leaders she despised
In her new memoir, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reveals her thoughts on leaders from President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan — who she “loathed” — to her old colleague Donald Rumsfeld.
Mabruk Tunisia! An election to be proud of
To say that the Tunisian election is a critical is somewhat of an understatement, but it carries far more than symbolic value, writes Dr Benjamin MacQueen, deputy director of the Global Terrorism Research Centre.
Vulnerable Kenya on the brink of collapse
Kenya is facing very testing multifaceted challenges to national unity, writes Robert Johnson, a UN adviser/consultant in Nairobi.
Secret CIA operations in Iraq
US president Barack Obama announced that the US military will leave Iraq by December 31 this year. But the CIA has a number of covert programs and counter-terrorism operations in Iraq that will continue, writes Eli Lake.
The tale of a convicted Mexican drug cartel murderer
From a dirty prison cell in Juarez, Mexico, UK journalist Ioan Grillo interviews Gonzalo, a former drug cartel leader — responsible for kidnappings, torture and numerous murders — now turned born-again Christian.
Cristina Fernandez landslide … Gillard, eat your heart out
Argentinians rapidly restored Cristina Fernandez’s approval ratings to how they were before her conflict with the agro sector, something Julia Gillard could only dream of, writes Leo Codutti, a freelance journalist in Buenos Aires.
Abbott v Putin: it’s a man-off
Tony Abbott and Vladimir Putin are reactionary populists who speak to their public through overtly physical demonstrations of manly prowess, writes David Ritter.
Argentinean Prez Cristina Fernández expected to thump opposition
Cristina Fernández, President of Argentina, is expected to retain power and win a landslide victory later this week. The big question is what the 58-year-old Fernández will do with a new mandate, writes Jude Webber.
Mexican drug cartels turn 2.0
In our country, the biggest threat an online commenter may face is moderation. In Mexico, it’s hanging. In Crikey’s latest blog Letter from the Editor Sophie Black discusses how the Mexican drug cartels are muscling into social media.
Blood on the Mexican border squeezed by opportunistic GOP
Rick Perry has a knack for making comments that cause large swathes of the electorate to wince.
Letter from...: Dadaab, with ‘Furka’ and ‘Turka’, no one’s going home soon
Dadaab’s population has hit 450,000. That’s as big as cities such as Bristol or Antwerp. Or a camping trip three times the size of Glastonbury, where no one gets to go home, writes Rafiq Copeland, a freelance writer in Dadaab.
Video 
Post-chemo Hugo Chavez’s rap boogie
On the weekend Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, currently recovering from cancer treatment, joined rapper Rodbexa Poleo Vidoza for a bouncy boogie. Has he got style? You decide…
Bloggers contradict government on Cairo violence
At least 24 people were killed yesterday in Cairo after a protest by Christians turned into a clash with the military. Did the military use excessive force? The official narrative says no, but social media tells a different story…
Putin apologists line up to justify the ruling tandem’s bitch slap to democracy
Commentators and analysts have been lining up, not only to explain the ruling tandem’s bitch-slap to democracy with Putin’s return to the Kremlin, but also, worse, to justify and excuse it.
Letter from...: Liberia, where women pray before the polls
More than 100 women dressed in white sit in the shape of a crucifix hoping to draw God’s eyes down towards the small West African nation of Liberia, writes Clair MacDougall, a journalist in Monrovia, Liberia.
Two thirds of global murders occur in Africa or central America
Thanks to the worsening drug wars, men in Central America have a whopping 1 in 50 chance of being murdered before 30, according to a new United Nations report.
Rick Perry: US could deploy troops to kill Mexican drug cartels
During a campaign speech in New Hampshire Republican presidential nominee Rick Perry raised the possibility of a bold new strategy to combat Mexican drug cartels: US military intervention, reports BBC News.
Castro’s Cuba no longer only for classic cars
After years of Cuba being a haven for candy-coloured finned American vintage cars from the 1950s, the Cuban government has finally legalised the sales and purchases of all automobiles to its residents.
Why the world needs troublemakers such as Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai, the activist and environmentalist who passed away on Monday morning in Nairobi hospital, is mourned as a hero in her native Kenya, writes Rafiq Copeland from Dadaab.
Putin’s endorsement a surprise despite its inevitability
One of the more surprising things about Russian President Dmitri Medvedev’s endorsement of Vladimir Putin as his successor is how much it seemed to surprise the journalists covering it.
