Thanks Colin A for the tip!

How are those sanctions working out?pic.twitter.com/fjy3nG0BMl DD Denslow (@wolsned) June 14, 2023

My new book, The Palestine Laboratory, has been very positively reviewed in the UK-based outlet, Middle East Eye, by Long Road Magazine co-founder and journalist Patrick O. Strickland:

As the Israeli colonisation of Palestine plods forward at a breakneck pace and its own facade of democracy trembles, Loewensteins book stands out as a new addition to the pantheon of important works of political reportage about Israels role in the world, and what toll especially for Palestinians that role may take.

Read the whole thing: The Palestine Laboratory: How technology helps Israel cosy up to the worlds autocrats | Middle East

The post Middle East Eye strongly reviews The Palestine Laboratory appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

A key section in my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, is on the role of Israeli spyware and hacking tools. Israeli company Cellebrite is a major player and it has a large, mostly unheralded presence in Australia. Declassified Australia recently ran my investigation into the companys role in Australia (alongside an edited book extract.)

Heres my interview with The Briefing podcast in Australia, conducted by Antoinette Lattouf, on Israeli spyware and serious questions about how such tools challenge the very concept of privacy:

The post Israeli repressive tech invades our privacy appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

From The Age. Only the political editor at the ABC would understand the scrutiny that comes with this role, Probyn said. It has been a tremendous privilege and I have worked with some wonderful people. I struggle to understand the direction the ABC is going in that it could consider...

The Long Road Magazine is a great, European-based outlet reporting on borders and borderlands.

I was recently interviewed by one of its co-founders, Patrick O. Strickland, about my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, with a particular focus on Israeli tech maintaining borders (in the EU and on the US/Mexico).

The wonderful sketch of me, published alongside the interview, is by Azza Abbaro.

Read the whole interview here: In Conversation: Antony Loewenstein on Israeli Technology on Global Borders Long Road Magazine

The post How Israel enforces global borders appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

Female journalist gets abused by PMpic.twitter.com/yLECri8FyQ Old Soldier (@OMGTheMess) June 15, 2023

The 2005 murder of German backpacker Simone Strobel at the Tourist Caravan Park in Lismore led to the extradition of her then boyfriend Tobias Moran (previously Suckfuell, he changed his name when he married) from Western Australia  on 27 July, 2022. He was charged with murder following a $1 million reward for information that led to a further investigation into the homicide of Simones suspected murder. 

However, the charges have now been dropped by the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP). 

The naked body of 25 year old Ms Strobel was found on 17 February 2005 covered by palm fronds on a sports ground about 90 metres from the Tourist Caravan Park nowhere she had been staying with Mr Moran.

Ms Strobel had last been seen at the Caravan Park on Friday 11 February 2005, after a night out with her then-boyfriend and friends, said the NSW Police in a media release at the time. Her body was found s...

Introduction by Dee McLachlan

Ive been very patient. I started watching this space over 25 years ago when I was living in California in the 90s.

Watch This Space 

I have read so many countless reports of off-planet interactions, and abductions. I also reflect on just one conversation I had with my friend (George) who told me about how he and his brother interacted with a grey-like being in their bedroom when they were teens. I know George as a very grounded and sane...

The koala in NSW is predicted to become extinct by 2050. In response the Great Koala National Park (GKNP) was proposed and in 2020 the Department of Planning Industry and Environments (DPIE) identified 55,000 hectares of State Forests for addition to existing National Parks as the Great Koala National Park. 

At the time the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) spokesperson Dailan Pugh welcomed the news saying Its a step in the right direction.

During the NSW election the Labor Party committed $80 million to establish the GKNP which would connect 175,000 hectares of state forests with existing national parks, creating a nature reserve of more than 300,000 hectares according to the ABC. 

However, in the meantime the NSW Forestry Corporation, a government agency, continues to heavily log areas that are proposed for the GKNP. Local communities have, and continue, to actively block their logging attempts of these native forests.

Boambee State Forest on the western edge of Coffs Harbour, that is proposed to be part of the GKNP, is today being blocked from logging by activist Ella, a forest protector, who is 100 feet up a tree in a secured tree-sit in Boambee State Forest.  

Initial amendments to Australias federal public sector whistleblowing law, the Public Interest Disclosure Act, are a welcome step towards much-needed comprehensive reform, Australias leading whistleblowing experts said today.

The Human Rights Law Centre, Griffith University and Transparency International Australia said they were pleased the Government and all parties had listened to their joint submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee about significant problems with the initial bill, and made substantial improvements, now accepted by the Senate.

The Public Interest Disclosure Amendment (Review) Bill implements five aspects of reform one in full and four in part of the 21 elements outlined in Protecting Australias Whistleblowers: The Federal Roadmap, published last year by the three organisations.

Alongside the pending establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission,  Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus KC has committed to a second, wider phase of PID Act reform later this year. The government has also agreed to consult on the establishment of a whistleblower protection authority, with a discussion paper expected in the coming months.

Kieran Pender, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said:

By exposing human rights violations and government wrongdoing, whistleblowers make Australia a better place. But our whistleblower protections framework has fallen behind global standards; too often Australian whistleblowers are punished, not protected.

The Attorney-General is to be commended for resuming the journey towards a better whistleblowing framework, having led the initial enactment of the PID Act over a decade ago. We also applaud the work of the Greens and Coalition Senator Paul Scarr in helping ensure major improvements to this initial bill.

Clancy Moore, CEO of Transparency International Australia said:

These initial technical changes will start to breathe life back into federal whistleblower protections, in tandem with the Albanese Governments historic success in establishing Australias long awaited national anti-corruption commission.

We welcome the Governments commitment to fully overhaul the PID Act in coming months, and stand ready to assist with making protections simpler, more comprehensive and more consistent for anyone who blows the whistle.

Professor A J Brown, from Griffith Universitys Centre for Governance and Public Policy and Transparency International Australia board member said:

The Governments initial proposed carve-out of workplace conduct from whistle...

Twenty-something political staffers all think they're gonna-be stars. Most don't get $3M up-front for thinking it.

What world do Albanese et al live in?

They sound nice.

What's the BEST drive for gaming?

What drive is for 'content' creators, you know OnlyFans?

What SSD is best for workstation type loads?

Is 7300MB per second too slow for my games?

There are many misconceptions and 'lies' used to promote a manufacturer's wares, in order to be the sales kings of the industry.

It's a bit like reading an automotive manufacturer's fuel economy figures which can even be 30% less than in the real world.

Unfortunately many so called tech reviewers also have little to no idea, where all they're doing is supporting the advertising babble.

"What's the best gaming SSD in 2023?" could be answered in a simple line being: The same one as in 2020?

There are other more crucial specifications that are deliberately not focused on such as longevity, endurance, or even how long can the maximum speed be kept for, or a more real world use case scenario that 99% of the computing population does, where the speed of random read and writes are most important.

One of the better explanations out there is presented in this video:

See also:

...

Contributed by Joe Montero

Donald Trump has finally been arrested and charged with criminal offenses and faces 37 counts of having committed federal crimes. This is over the theft of sensitive classified documents. Not surprisingly, Trump protests his innocence.

We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty, his lawyer said in the Miami court.

The defence rests on a counter accusation of victimisation. Trump alleges that he is the victim of a conspiracy hatched by the deep state, because he is popular, really won the last presidential election, and will win the one in 2024 easily. The implication of these allegations is that the deep state wants to stop him.

Its not as crazy as some would have it. In a nation where the faith in the political system and those who represent it has plummeted, Trumps words strike a chord. This is something that many of his critics with a voice to be heard conveniently ignore or fail to understand.

Photo from AP: Donald Trump in Miami

Trumps strategy is clever, and it might just propel him into the White house once again.

Another mistake made by many of his critics is the illusion that American law is the defender of justice and applies. Tell this to poor and non-white Americans. The yare the ones who feel the rough end of a justice system weighted against them.

Civil rights lawyer Alec Karakatsanis observed in an astringent Yale Law Journal piece a few years ago, that the USs brutal punishment bureaucracy unfairly disadvantages poor people and people of colour throwing them in prison for minor offenses and making a mockery of the idealistic idea that our criminal justice system is objective.

Donald Trump is in a good position to manipulate this. He has the privileges and the means to turn the law to his advantage, with his army of lawyers, deep pockets to buy justice, judges he appointed, control over the Republican Party, a cult following, and the political power...

Thank you Ms Queensland Attorney General: We've passed new laws to ensure Queenslanders legal identity can match their lived identity. Put me down as a multi-billionaire thanks Queensland. What new 'Lived Identity' are you gunna be?

Bruce Lehrmanns barrister for his rape trial Steve Whybrow confessed in a witness statement, as per below, to aiding and abetting Murdoch propagandist Janet Albrechtsen, who writes for The Australian, with a []

REPORTER: "Does the President believe in a financial repair for the descendants of Africans in this nation?" KJP: "We gotta continue to study the impact of slavery. [...] The President called out how race inequality is a problem is a crisis for us in this moment." pic.twitter.com/Jlppv078cv Breaking911...

I hope everyone enjoyed watching that, as much as we enjoyed flying overhead WHAT a day and WHAT a way to remember this awesome machine pic.twitter.com/hkBRhfDJnz Matty (@Callsign_Kodak) June 14, 2023 Farewell Fat Albert! A salute from @Airbornegunners in honour of the C130 Hercules as the aircrafts farewell...

LAGOS JUNE 14TH (URHOBOTODAY)-It was wild jubilation over the weekend as members of the Super Eagles Supporters Club who stayed true to the clubs constitution and stayed away from the charade of an election purportedly held in Abuja some months back finally regained ownership and rulership of their Club via a Government backed Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) document of incorporation.

The document, a certified true copy of the certificate of incorporation dated and signed by the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission on the 9th of June 2023, affirmed the 10 Trustees of the club as being the bona-fide Owners and Directors while re-confirming the removal of the names of the dissidents who tried to hijack the day to day running of the club albeit, illegally.

For emphasis, the Trustees of SUPER EAGLES SUPPORTERS CLUB ABUJA incorporated on the 7th day of June, 2018 have been changed by resolution dated 6th day of June, 2023 as follows:

Joseph Ani, Chigozie Nnadi Chibuzor Anyaora , Obadiah Diji,

Nnaoma Chigbu,Dauda Alli, Dere Buwaghan, Olusola Oladejo, Owolabi Ayo ,Vincent Okumagba.

The certificate of Incorporation clearly stated.The likes of Johnson Dagana, Sam Pirar, Catherine Edum, Ibeakamma Okechukwu, Ijeoma Okechukwu and Olutoye Orishabiyi have now been removed from the list of the Trustees of the SESC, the certificate affirmed.

Vincent Okumagba is the Founder and President of SESC. He was FIFA Fan Leader for the World Cup, Qatar 2022. He left on a medical tourism abroad and some people tried to hijack the club from him. They have been suspended and normalcy has returned, Chief Chibuzor Anyaorah the Deputy Vice President of SESC explained to this reporter over the telephone.

It will be recalled that Vincent Okumagba only a fortnight ago, emerged as the 1st Vice Chairman of the African Football Supporters Association (AFSA) and the Delta born FIFA Fan Leader will be leading out 100 members of the Super Eagles Supporters Club to Australia and New Zealand for the FIFA Womens World Cup this summer to cheer the Super Falcons all the way at the Mundial.

Leadership

The Ukrainian blonde had the smell of trouble. She had perched herself, along with her mute friend, in a restaurant across from the famed South Melbourne Market. On arriving at the modish, glorious bit of real estate known as Tipsy Village, a Polish establishment famed for accented French cuisine, she shrieked: Why do you have Ruskie dumplings on your menu?

The Polish host, a man of butter mild manner and infinite tolerance, covered in stout glory, took it in his stride. That is what they are called where I come from and that is what we serve, Peter Barnatt stated with serene clarity. (Such wickedness! Such a radical disposition!) The blonde shrieking wonder continued to invest in the dumplings some satanic quality, as if each one had been a shell, soldier, a weapon massed and launched against her pristine homeland which she had, it seemed, abandoned. We would just like coffees, she demanded. His temper finally disturbed, the host insisted that, as the two were not intent on dining, might just as well leave.

In a luxurious huff, they exited. Such behaviour was fascinating for being irresolvable no dining establishment worth its salt and cutlery should ever change that aspect of things. But for them, the issue had been decided, a prejudice firmed up and solid.

Names on the menu are a signature of a restaurants worth. Besides, dishes do not invade countries in tanks nor bomb cities. The episode was also strikingly, amusingly moronic. Food had been made out as somehow guilty, disgusting, revolting all because of a name, an identity. The sin had moved in the dough, the mixture and the potatoes, dumplings with agency. The restaurateur was all the more guilty for hosting them.

Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the gastro-culture war on serving dishes with a Russian name, be it with hint, flavour, or substance, has been total. Hatred of the Kremlin has become bigotry towards the dish. In Madrid, Sergiy Skorokhvatov, himself Ukrainian and an owner of a restaurant called Rasputin serving both Russian and Ukrainian cuisine, sensed trouble. He ventured into the thorny world of online discussions to clarify the nature of what he was serving, which was considered wise given what has happening to other restaurants serving Russian fare.

This method of insurance was not full proof. I thought that changing things would help us, but then people started posting similar stuff about us Dont go to Russian restaurants and pictures of blown-up buildings in Ukraine.

When politics ventures into the field of gastronomy, imbecility is sovereign, its crown heavy. The French restaurant chain Maison de la Poutine, specialising in the combination of chips, cheese curds and gravy (poutine, you might say),...

LAGOS JUNE 14TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Elder statesman and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, on Wednesday, described the immediate-past governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa as a traitor and a very crafty man.

Clark also alleged that Okowa emerged as Atiku Abubakars running mate for the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after spending Delta States money on (Atikus) campaign.

He made the claim while appearing as a guest in an interview on Arise TVs Morning Show.

Clarke revealed that the 17 southern governors had, ahead of the 2023 presidential election, resolved to oppose any party that presented a northern presidential candidate in their primaries but Okowa went behind his colleagues to team up with Atiku.

Let me tell you the reason why the whole of southern Nigeria regards Okowa as a traitor. Let me tell you, he is a betrayer. Okowa volunteered to host a meeting of the 17 governors of the south. He provided accommodation for every one of them, Clark said.

He provided his secretariat, I know the person who was the secretary to the government at the time. They were there, they drafted the communique supervised by him and gave it to Akeredolu to read. He read it, then they all went to Lagos to confirm it, they went to Enugu to confirm it, not knowing that the same Okowa was spending our money for Atiku. I asked him in my letter to answer it.

He added, The delegates of the PDP primary, who did they vote for? Did they vote for Wike or Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom? They all voted for Atiku. So, he deceived his colleagues that we should produce the president from the south only to team up with Atiku to betray us. All the governors know about that. He is a man who is very ambitious, quiet and gives a wrong impression about himself that he is a very good man. Very crafty man.

Rachael Maskell Labour/Co-operative, York Central

...

Sydney Opera House in Australia (Stanbalik/Pixabay)

... Weel, the short answer to that question is, that someone has started them, according to this story about the Alberta fires shared by

The post WHY IS CANADA ON FIRE? appeared first on The Giza Death Star.

Progressive International is a major, global organisation dedicated to justice and accountability.

In its weekly magazine, The Internationalist, Ive been interviewed about my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, where I talk about Israels appeal as an ethno-nationalist state. Plus theres an exclusive, edited book extract that examines the EUs use and abuse of Israeli drones in the Mediterranean.

Read the whole thing here: The Internationalist Issue 31 Antony Loewenstein

The post The allure of ethno-nationalism appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

Just in case you were wondering how low she would go .. ...nuts.

Oklahoma joined the lawsuit against the University of North Carolina that SCOTUS is considering in a national affirmative action ban. But some in Oklahoma say the states ban has hurt diversity in larger ways than the government acknowledges.

Ive run into instances in work when dealing with a city, and were asking questions about consultants or contractors, and a lot of times they [cant give the] answer because of the anti-affirmative action ban, says Charity Marcus. Shes a consultant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who works with cities, mapping out strategies for economic and community development.

Read Full Story

Thanks Underminder for the tip!

Those who, like me, have travelled in them will never forget the experience. A grand old warhorse. Lest We Forget. A flypast to mark the forthcoming retirement of the Hercules from RAF service will take place across all four nations of the United Kingdom on Wednesday 14 June. Details of...

Reports that the last people remaining in Nauru under Australia's offshore detention policy would soon leave the island have been welcomed by the Human Rights Law Centre, with a warning that the same must be done for those languishing in Papua New Guinea.   

While the number of people remaining in Nauru continues to fall as a result of transfers to Australia and resettlement in in other countries, more than 80 people previously detained on Manus Island remain trapped in PNG, many with serious health problems caused by years of detention, isolation and medical neglect. Fourteen people have died while subject to offshore detention. More than one hundred people previously detained on Manus Island were abandoned in PNG when the former Coalition government announced the end of Australias involvement in offshore processing in the country at the end of 2021. 

While no new transfers to Nauru or PNG have occurred since 2014, the Albanese government has confirmed that it will maintain facilities for offshore processing in Nauru as a contingency.  

Scott Cosgriff, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre said:     

Across more than a decade in Nauru and PNG, the Australian Government has inflicted untold suffering upon people merely asking for safety. Evacuating Nauru is the right thing to do. Anything less than the same approach in relation to PNG is a profound failure of people whose dire circumstances were caused by this policy and whose lives remain in the Australian Government's hands.  

The Australian Government bears the same responsibility to the people it sent to PNG as to the people it sent to Nauru.
 
Too often, the victims of this policy have been shunted from one agonizing limbo to another. Those now rebuilding their lives in Australia must be allowed to live in freedom, without crippling visa restrictions and with certainty about their future. 

Every person sent to Nauru or PNG has lost years of their lives and been separated from loved ones because of the intentionally punitive policies of successive Australian governments. Uncertain visa status has been weaponised to further punish people who have been transferred, and compel them to accept resettlement in third countries or return home. Its time for the Albanese government to take responsibility and ensure every person can rebuild their lives in safety and freedom. 

Media contact:
Thomas Feng, Media and Communications Manager, 0431 285 275, thomas.feng@hrlc.org.au

Thank you to Rukshan Fernando for this unbelievable record of Mehreen Faruqi's open display of allegiance to a foreign power.

Thanks to Shane W for this graph. This one comes from Albanese himself.

Dear , Im writing to you because of the medical discrimination that many experienced in 2021-22 due to the Australian governments directive to exclude people who chose not to have the experimental COVID19 injection. These people were labelled unvaccinated and removed from social environments and workplaces. At the tennis clubs this resulted in people being... [Read more]

The post Template Letter to Employers/Clubs Medical Discrimination was Never Justified appeared first on Vaccination Decisions.

This is what happened on the White House lawn. These are the "bravest and most inspiring" people Biden has ever known. The country you once knew is gone. pic.twitter.com/uIKTt0EmwQ Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 12, 2023

NATIVE title stakeholders, academics, legal experts and government representatives came together with community and cultural leaders for the highly anticipated 2023 Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Summit in Western Australia last week. 

Held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre from June 5-9, more than 1,000 delegates attended the summit on Noongar Boodja. 

For each of the five days of the summit, members of the Noongar community took it in turns to start the day with a smoking ceremony. Delegates were also welcomed to Country by local Elders like Geri Hayden and Liz Hayden. 

This years theme, Navigating the spaces

INDIGENOUS Australians Minister Linda Burney has referred to Bob Hawkes great regret at not delivering on a treaty as she quoted his widow saying if he was alive today he would urge voters to deliver a Voice to Parliament. 

Speaking at the Barunga Festival in the Northern Territory on Saturday, Ms Burney referred to the 1988 Barunga Statement which called for the recognition of Aboriginal rights. 

The statement was presented to then prime minister Hawke at the festival 35 years ago by then Northern Land Council chairperson Yunupingu and Central Land Council head Wenten Rubuntja. 

Ms Burney told ABC TV that Mr Hawke had said there should be a treaty between the Aboriginal people and the rest of Australia

Last week in Sydney, I launched my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, at Gleebooks to a packed, overflowing audience.

The atmosphere was electric with a real appetite for hear about the reality of Israels occupation being a major export business.

I was introduced by Deputy Greens Leader, Senator Dr Mehreen Faruqi, who gave a powerful and insightful speech.

With her permission, Im posting it here because it deserves a wide readership.

Heres a teaser:

Today, it issuch a privilege to launch another masterpiece by Antony Lowenstein The Palestine Laboratory How Israel exports the technology of occupation around the world.

Even just reading out the title sends shivers down my spine. To think that Palestinians are being used as test subjects, as effectively guinea pigs for Israels military weaponry and technology of surveillance, espionage, cyber warfare, phone-hacking, and house demolition gives you a window into the toxic ideology that drives settler-colonisation, oppression, violence and apartheid.

Read the whole thing: The Palestine Laboratory launch

The post Greens deputy leader Dr Mehreen Faruqi launches The Palestine Laboratory appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

In this edition youll read about:

FOUR Northern Territory land councils last Friday handed Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney the Barunga Voice Declaration, which calls on the nation to vote yes in the upcoming referendum.

More than 200 representatives of the Northern, Central, Tiwi and Anindilyakwa land councils were gathered on the traditional lands of the Bagala people southeast of Katherine for the Barunga Festival. 

THE legacy of Eddie Koiki Mabo was celebrated in style in Naarm (Melbourne) on Mabo Day (June 3) with dramatic and colourful performances by a range of dancers and musicians from the Torres Strait Islands. Curated by veteran performer and Torres Strait Islander Lisa Maza, the event held in the BMW Edge, Federation Square featured a Welcome to Country by Uncle Bill Nicholson

 In Sport:

WIRADJURI man Buddy Oldman wants to become the first Aboriginal person to be immortalised in the history books and not just any old history book.

Under the guidance of the Guinness World Records, the world champion Masters boxer will be punching a boxing bag for 72 hours to set a new world record. 

QUEENSLANDS bold selection call to include in-form tyros Reece Walsh and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow proved decisive in the Maroons brave and extraordinary 26-18 win over NSW in State of Origin I in Adelaide.

Algerias President Starting State Visit to Russia at Invitation of Putin

FILE - Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune gestures during a press conference in Algiers, Friday, Dec. 13, 2019. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is starting Tuesday June 14, 2023 a three-day state visit to Russia meant to strengthen relations of "friendship and cooperation" at the invitation of Vladimir Putin, according to a statement from Algerian authorities. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum, file)

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Tuesday is starting a three-day state visit to Russia meant to strengthen relations of friendship and cooperation at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, authorities said Tuesday.

The Algerian presidency said in a statement that Tebboune will attend an economic forum to be held this week in the city of St. Petersburg.

Putins invitation had been conveyed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his visit to Algiers in May last year with the aim of developing bilateral military, economic and humanitarian ties, and in other areas.

Some Algerian media have criticized the visit amid Russias war in Ukraine.

The timing is not at all appropriate, as this visit by the president could be understood as a bias in favor of Russia in its conflict with Ukraine, whereas officially, it has a position of neutrality, the Maghreb Emergent website wrote on Monday, raising concerns about a potential backlash from Western countries.

Tebboune answered a question on the issue during his last appearance on public television last month.

Russia is a friendly country which helped our revolution and with which we have historic political, diplomatic and economic relations, but we also have good relations with the United States and the countries of the European Union, he said.

Gas-rich Algeria is in a delicate position regarding its long-standing ties to Russia.

With drastically less capacity, Algeria is increasingly eyed by Eur...

A key part of my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, revolves around Israeli spyware.

US outlet In These Times has published an edited extract from this section.

Heres a taster:

Griselda Triana is a Mexican journalist, and human rights activist whose husband, Javier Valdez Crdenas, was slain by a drug cartel on May 15, 2017, in Culiacn, the capital of Sinaloa state. Valdez was the cofounder of the media outlet Riodoce, which investigated corruption and crime, and wrote about the bloody drug war. He paid the ultimate pricea grenade was thrown into his office in 2009. He had received death threats in the months before his murder, but he bravely continued his groundbreaking work despite the threats.

Ten days after his killing, Triana started receiving unexpected text messages on her mobile phone. She had no idea that they were suspicious until almost one year later, when it was discovered that there had been attempts to infiltrate her phone with the Pegasus system, a phone-hacking tool sold by Israeli surveillance company NSO Group, almost certainly by elements within the Mexican state. Before Javiers murder I did not know that we were being monitored, she told me. Javier had never informed her about the possibility of phone hacking, and she presumed that he was taking precautions for his safety. Javier knew about the risks of reporting criminal activities, but even so he was aware that someone had to document the atrocities of criminal organizations, she said.

Read the whole thing: How Israeli Spyware Endangers Activists Across the Globe In These Times

The post Israeli spyware undermines global democracy appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

Ep. 3 America's principles are at stake pic.twitter.com/eJNSUVvvqY Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 13, 2023

Photojournalist Andrew Quilty spent years reporting in Afghanistan and published a book about his experiences, August in Kabul. I reviewed it for the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age in August 2022.

My interview with Quilty, conduced at the Newcastle Writers Festival late March 2023, covers the war itself, the return of the Taliban and the role and responsibility of conflict reporting:

The post Discussing the Afghan war with Andrew Quilty appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.