News Corp is campaigning full-bore for the US president, with reports of a Wuhan lab ‘intelligence’ dossier being seeded across its empireIn liberal democracies, the integrity, impartiality and professionalism of intelligence agencies matters. That’s why it is essential that intelligence agencies remain aloof, not only from the political debates of the day, but also from the policy decisions that individual governments may take. The intelligence community’s core task is to provide brutally realistic analysis on the threat environments we face so that governments can then make the best-informed policy decisions possible to preserve our common security.The failures of the intelligence community before the Iraq war, the gullibility of much of the western media, as well as the cynical manipulation of both by the political class of the day, provide us with a stark reminder of what can go radically wrong. On 8 September 2002 the New York Times published one of this century’s most consequential news articles. The front-page story, supplied by the Bush administration, claimed that Saddam Hussein had stepped up his quest for weapons of mass destruction by acquiring key components for a nuclear weapon. In the UK, the Blair government’s “dodgy dossier” compounded the error. John Howard did the same in Australia. The problem was that it just wasn’t true. These were over-egged stories designed to soften the public up for what would become a disastrous war. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-08 03:41:08 UTC ]
Ten years ago this month, a reimagined version of the ’70s science fiction series Battlestar Galactica began as a three-hour miniseries on the Sci-Fi Channel. (This was before the “Syfy” nonsense.) The critically acclaimed show ended up running for four seasons. Many articles and books have... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2013-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two more books drawing buzz at the fair include a debut novel by Joshua Ferris's wife, and a co-authored book about friendship and the Iraq war. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Here we go again. Maybe. Ten years ago Colin Powell publicly presented the United Nations with formerly top-secret information about a Middle East tyrant and weapons of mass destruction to justify military action against him. The tyrant was Saddam Hussein and the briefing turned out to be a... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2013-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new book by a University of Vermont professor found that 'Harry Potter' fans have similar views on political topics – with a large majority in opposition to the George W. Bush administration. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mumbai's slums, the Iraq war and the fall of Colonel Gaddafi are among the subjects covered by the five titles up for the 2012 Guardian First Book Award. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There was no shortage of big books to talk about at this year’s BookExpo America. From art heists to mysterious islands, from the Cold War to the Iraq War, these are the 10 books that drew lots of attention at this year’s show. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 23/09/2011 - 10:45 Canongate has bought a collection of stories by a US marine and veteran of the Iraq war. Senior editor Francis Bickmore pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights to the untitled collection by Phil Klay through by Cathryn... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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