Revisiting Citizen Four

It's been ten years since its release and I finally got around to watching Citizen Four, the Snowden documentary by Laura Poitras. Why did it take me so long? I knew the story and had followed it closely at the time and the film didn't reveal anything new - but it was interesting to see the footage and relive the moment and re-catch the energy and zeitgeist of that time.

Scott Morrison, Dominionism, and Evangelical Politics in Australia (II)

Kovalik on the American Empire and its March to War (Part II)

Kovalik on the American Empire and its March to War (Part I)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/10/29/what-are-the-prospects-for-peace-an-interview-with-dan-kovalik/

This was a good and insightful interview with much to consider. Kovalik's 'The Plot to Scapegoat Russia' caught my eye a few years ago. Kovalik is one of the few voices on the Left that's critical of the Democratic Party and its increasingly hysterical Anti-Russia campaign. This conversation is wide-ranging and touches on several important issues, ones critical to understand if we're to navigate the present situation and filter the many voices that seek to dominate our thinking.

Opposition versus Oppositional Journalism

While complete objectivity is impossible, oppositional journalism expresses a certain degree of cynicism with regard to power, and thus in that posture can avoid many partisan traps. All power and all power players are suspect and their claims need to be investigated and challenged. Oppositional journalism will also recognise there are multiple sides to a story and multiple interests and their various concerns and angles ought to be explored – and such explorations will contextualise the proclamations and actions made by those in power.

The False Exposé (Part 3/Final)

In some cases, these books could almost be described as court histories, official narratives that reveal some juicy tidbits and offer some internal criticisms but largely they are revealed to be sanctions and apologias for the subjects and institutions they address. The approach they take is more a case of constructive criticism as opposed to a genuine adversarial exposé. They are not exposing the deeper truth, revealing true guilt, unleashing a story that's been suppressed and hidden.  

This is why they need to be identified as false exposé.

The False Exposé (Part 2)

Jeremy Scahill's book on Blackwater came to mind while reading the Dinges work on Condor. It represents a common type of criticism but still lands safely within the Establishment circle or consensus.

The False Exposé (Part 1)

The False Exposé. It's a concept I've talked about from time to time but it deserves a closer examination. What exactly is it?

An exposé by definition is that which make visible, in this case it's a reference to a work which reveals guilt or wrongdoing, it shines light on corruption. So how then can it be false?