Reflections with John Pilger

FrontlineClubLondon

27/06/12 In association with BBC College of Journalism

Renowned investigative journalist, author and documentary film-maker John Pilger will be joining us in conversation with broadcaster, journalist and writer Charles Glass to look back on half a century of reporting from around the world.

Born in Sydney, Australia, Pilger arrived in London in the 1960s and joined Reuters later moving to the London Daily Mirror, then Britain's biggest selling newspaper and undergoing remarkable changes to a serious tabloid.

He has reported from all over the world, covering numerous wars, notably Vietnam and the Middle East. He was the youngest journalist to be named Journalist of the Year and the first to win it twice.

In the United States Pilger reported the upheavals of the late 1960s and 1970s, marching with America's poor from Alabama to Washington following the assassination of Martin Luther King. He was in the same room when Robert Kennedy, the presidential candidate, was assassinated in June 1968.

His newspaper reports and films from Cambodia and East Timor alerted much of the world to those tragedies and struggles He has won an Emmy and a BAFTA for his documentaries, which have also won numerous US and European awards, such as as the Royal Television Society's Best Documentary

Author, journalist, film maker John Pilger speaks at Socialism 2009 www.socialistworker.org; wwwhaymarketbooks.org Filmed by Paul Hubbard at the Womens Building in San Francisco 7-4-09.

 

Journalist, author, film maker John Pilger speaks in Chicago at Socialism 2007: Socialism for the 21st Century.
www.haymarketbooks.org

http://www.socialistworker.... Made by Platform Films. Documentary based on a lecture given by John Pilger at the Socialist Workers Party summer conference in July 1996.    John Pilger looks at world-wide propaganda surrounding the nuclear arms race. John Pilger's penetrating documentary which looks at world-wide propaganda surrounding the nuclear arms race. When the two American atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, they were code-named 'Fat Man' and 'Little Boy', and President Truman announced after the event: "The experiment has been an overwhelming success." "These", says Pilger, "were words used to describe the awful and horrific carnage of nuclear war. By using reassuring, even soothing language, this new kind of propaganda created acceptable images of war and the illusion that we could live securely with nuclear weapons". Official 'truths' are examined in connection with the bombing of Hiroshima, the build up of arms by Russia and America, the siting of nuclear bases by the US in Britain and Europe, Ministry of Defence statements about the Cruise missile base at Greenham Common, and other US bases, the amount of government money spent on weapo...all » John Pilger looks at world-wide propaganda surrounding the nuclear arms race. John Pilger's penetrating documentary which looks at world-wide propaganda surrounding the nuclear arms race. When the two American atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, they were code-named 'Fat Man' and 'Little Boy', and President Truman announced after the event: "The experiment has been an overwhelming success." "These", says Pilger, "were words used to describe the awful and horrific carnage of nuclear war. By using reassuring, even soothing language, this new kind of propaganda created acceptable images of war and the illusion that we could live securely with nuclear weapons". Official 'truths' are examined in connection with the bombing of Hiroshima, the build up of arms by Russia and America, the siting of nuclear bases by the US in Britain and Europe, Ministry of Defence statements about the Cruise missile base at Greenham Common, and other US bases, the amount of government money spent on weapons, 'Civil defence' arrangements and a NATO 'limited' nuclear and chemical war exercise in West Germany, which Pilger describes as 'a dry run for the unthinkable'. Many experts give their views, including Paul Warnke who thinks arms reduction is feasible -- 'All we need is the political will to go ahead with it'.«

Is the U.S. Annexing Mexico and Canada?

Tony Clarke, Founder and Executive Director of Canada's Polaris Institute, exposes the stealth attempt by corporate forces to 'integrate' the U.S., Canada and Mexico in an extra-legislative trade and defense pact called the 'Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America '(SPP) that would override the domestic laws and regulations of all three countries without public discussion or vote.

Nick Davis - Award winning Journalist visits CU

Nick Davies is the bestselling author of Flat Earth News, a book on falsehood and distortion in the media. Nick is also a former Journalist of the Year.

Falsehood, Distortion and Propaganda in the Global Media

In Flat Earth News, award-winning journalist Nick Davies takes the lid off newspapers and broadcasters, exposing the mechanics of falsehood, distortion and propaganda; naming names and telling the stories behind stories. This website is intended to be a focal point for exposing past, current and future media abuse.

Readers of the book can find more information about the book, the author and full coverage of the footnoted stories from the book as well as reaction to the book from senior Fleet Street figures, working journalists and reviewers. Readers are also encouraged to leave their comments on the book.

Journalists, and anyone else with direct knowledge of media malpractice, are invited to blog about examples of media falsehood and distortion; PR tactics and propaganda; and the use of illegal news-gathering techniques. All visitors are invited to make comments on these blog posts.

And everyone should read the truth behind some of the most controversial and distorted stories of the last decade: heroin, crime, police on the beat, education, Chernobyl, Zarqawi and Iraq.

Nick Davies: Bristol Festival of Ideas Book Prize 2008/09

http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/

Blackwater:The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army

Author Jeremy Scahill speaks in Chicago at "Socialism 2007: Socialism for the 21st Century" In his landmark book "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" Scahill details the Bush administration's accelerated program to privatize the US military through the use of a 'shadow army' of mercenaries in Iraq and else where, most notably New Orleans after the devastation of hurricane Katrina. Filmed by Paul Hubbard June 16, 2007

http://www.haymarketbooks.org/

Jeremy Scahill: "Obama, Blackwater, War Beyond Bush"

Journalist Jeremy Scahill discussion about American military power and economic imperialism in the coming years, related to Obama policies. He is is a correspondent for Democracy Now, and is a frequent contributor to The Nation.

Scahill documented the use of private military contractors in his award-winning book "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army,".

RebelReports

The Shock Doctrine

Naomi Klein, the world famous author of No Logo, appeared in Dundee to talk about her new book, The Shock Doctrine. Thrilling and revelatory, The Shock Doctrine cracks open the secret history of our era. Klein discovered information and connections that amazed even her about how the shock doctors were raking in billions out of the tsunami, plundering Russia, exploiting Iraq - this is the chilling tale of how a few are making a killing while more are getting killed. Klein made Dundee her only Scottish stop on a UK tour.