When the multi-award-winning journalist John Pilger needed researchers for his latest film, The War You Don鈥檛 See, he turned to David Edwards and David Cromwell. The pair run media-analysing website Media Lens, which is set to turn 10 years old on July 9.
Here, they answer some of the 鈥渕ore interesting鈥 questions posed by their readers, plus a couple from 麻豆传媒 Weekly鈥檚 Mat Ward.
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Why did you start Media Lens?
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The Greek parliament defied huge popular opposition, including a 48-hour general strike, to pass the latest set of extreme austerity measures demanded by the 鈥渢roika鈥 (the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) in return for fresh loans.
However, many commentators have pointed out it is one thing to vote up the measures and another to force them on an increasingly discontented populace.
In June, four Australian set sail as part of the second Freedom Flotilla to Gaza with the aim of highlighting the suffering of its people at the hands of Israel鈥檚 illegal blockade.
The flotilla, involving a dozen boats with hundreds of activists from more than 50 countries, aims to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.
The convoy coincides with the deep process of revolt occurring across the Arab world 鈥 against regimes that often collaborate with Israel.
The fight to stop the James Price Point gas hub in the Kimberly in Western Australia's north reached a critical point on July 4 as police arrested dozens of people.
The 28th Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan was killed on July 4. In what is becoming a routine, Prime Minister Julia Gillard used the occasion of giving the nation鈥檚 condolences on July 6 to harangue an increasingly sceptical public about the necessity for the occupation to continue.
The Afghan war鈥檚 self-evident failure to achieve any of its shifting official objectives has meant questioning the war has become unavoidable.
Ever spent time in Dubai airport, on the shores of the Persian Gulf? You might have reflected that human beings can live quite well when temperatures exceed 50掳C.
鈥淯S computer giant Apple has culled a Palestinian application from its iPhone offerings at the request of Israel,鈥 a June 27 IOL.co.za article said.
鈥淭he Arabic-language app ThirdIntifada, released by Apple just days ago, provides users with details of upcoming anti-Israel protests, access to news articles and editorials, and links to Palestinian nationalist material.鈥
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators pointed out the term intifada, which means mass uprising, did not refer to violence.
No sooner had information come out that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was undergoing surgery in Cuba than the international media was full of speculation and rumours regarding his imminent demise.
Projecting their hopes that an illness could succeed in removing Chavez where military coups and assassination attempts had failed, the right-wing Venezuelan opposition went into overdrive.
They demanded the president step down and hand over power to the vice president.
The campaign of repression, slander and sabotage against the Freedom Flotilla II in its efforts to break the blockade of Gaza shows how desperately Israel and its supporters wish to keep the conditions in the besieged Palestinian enclave out of the world's view.
The Perth community has witnessed in past weeks an inspiring mobilisation of people affected by homelessness or as they like to be called, the 鈥渟treeties鈥.
It started as a small rally to protest against the treatment of those living on the streets during the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM), and against insensitive comments made by Liberal police minister Rob Johnson. Now it has broadened to challenge the government on homelessness.
Resistance organised a visit to Villawood detention centre on July 3. Twenty people came to show solidarity with the asylum seekers inside.
We visited four different 麻豆传媒 that house families and single people from many countries including Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iran and Iraq.
I spoke with a family who live in Villawood with their three young children. The youngest two had never known life outside detention.
They live in their own small house, and once a week a member of the family is allowed to go shopping, with guards, so the family can cook for themselves.
Community Voice 鈥 a united grassroots ticket to contest Wollongong City Council elections 鈥 was officially launched on July 8 at Wollongong Town Hall.聽
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