THERE IS A WAR COMING SHROUDED IN PROPAGANDA. IT WILL INVOLVE US. SPEAK UP
In this new essay, John Pilger recalls the 'electric' opposition of writers and journalists to the coming war in the 1930s and investigates why today there is 'a silence filled by a consensus of propaganda' as the two greatest powers draw closer to conflict.
THE TRUE BETRAYERS OF JULIAN ASSANGE ARE CLOSE TO HOME
This is an abridged version of an address by John Pilger in Sydney on 10 March to mark the launch in Australia of Davide Dormino's sculpture of Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, 'figures of courage'.
SILENCING THE LAMBS. HOW PROPAGANDA WORKS.
In an address to the Trondheim World Festival in Norway, John Pilger charts the history of power propaganda and describes how it appropriates journalism in a 'profound imperialism' and is likely to entrap us all, if we allow it.
THE US IS 'CLOSE TO GETTING ITS HANDS ON JULIAN ASSANGE'. AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN PILGER
In an interview with Oscar Grenfell of the World Socialist Website, John Pilger explains the latest manoeuvres by the US and UK authorities to extradite Julian Assange, journalist and publisher, to the US where he faces 175 years in prison for the crime of journalism.
WAR IN EUROPE AND THE RISE OF RAW PROPAGANDA
In his latest essay, John Pilger describes the changes in the reporting of war crises such as the 'imminent invasion' of Ukraine, and the rise of what he calls 'raw propaganda'.
THE JUDICIAL KIDNAPPING OF JULIAN ASSANGE
In the crudest, most political judgement in memory, two High Court judges in London have ordered the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States, where a trial in a kangaroo court awaits him, followed by a life lost in a barbaric prison system.
JUSTICE FOR JULIAN ASSANGE IS JUSTICE FOR ALL
Following the final High Court hearing to decide whether or not Julian Assange is to be extradited to the United States - for the 'crime' of revealing a landscape of government crimes and lies -- John Pilger looks back on the decade Assange has been fighting for his freedom, and the implications for independent journalists and the very notion of justice.
A DAY IN THE DEATH OF BRITISH JUSTICE
The pursuit of Julian Assange for revealing secrets and lies of governments, especially the crimes of America, has entered its final stage as the British judiciary - upholders of 'British justice' - merge their deliberations with the undeterred power of Washington.
THE MOST LETHAL VIRUS IS NOT COVID. IT IS WAR.
John Pilger describes the invisible weapon of past and current wars, and the threat of nuclear war, under cover of the Covid pandemic. This is propaganda, aided by censorship by omission.
BRITAIN'S CLASS WAR ON CHILDREN
In this abridged article published by the London Daily Mirror and based on his 1975 film, 'Smashing Kids', John Pilger describes how class remains the most virulent disease in Britain, resulting in record levels of child poverty.
EYEWITNESS TO THE TRIAL AND AGONY OF JULIAN ASSANGE
John Pilger has watched Julian Assange's extradition trial from the public gallery at London's Old Bailey. He spoke with Timothy Erik Ström of Arena magazine, Australia.
THE STALINIST TRIAL OF JULIAN ASSANGE. WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?
Today, at the Old Bailey in London, the extradition hearing of Julian Assange entered its final stage. Having reported the long, epic ordeal of Julian Assange, John Pilger gave this address outside the Old Bailey as the political 'trial of the century' got under way.
HOW BRITAIN COULD HAVE DEFEATED COVID. YOU CAN NOW WATCH "THE DIRTY WAR ON THE NHS" HERE, FREE
The Dirty War on the NHS was first broadcast in Britain on the ITV Network on 17 December, 2019. It was shown following the general election that saw Boris Johnson become prime minister - even though the future of the NHS was a major issue in the campaign.
The remarkable prescience of the film became clear when the COVID pandemic struck, and the NHS, crippled by bed shortages, the starvation of resources and accelerating privatisation, could not cope. This was the film's warning - a warning also delivered in 2016 when a full 'drill' for a pandemic showed the NHS would barely survive such an emergency. The politicians and managers did nothing; the report of the results of the drill was suppressed.
The ideological assault on the world's first public health service continued at the height of the COVID crisis with inept private firms given lucrative contracts for PPE and mass testing. The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, an arch privatiser, announced in August 2020 that in future most GP consultations would be be online. Hancock's association with the tech company, Babylon Health, is dealt with in The Dirty War.
WATCH THE FILM
The film's website is www.thedirtywaronnhs.com
The following review by Jean Shaoul appeared on the World Socialist Website- www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/10/dirt-d10.html
ANOTHER HIROSHIMA IS COMING… UNLESS WE STOP IT NOW
In a major essay to mark the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, John Pilger describes reporting from five 'ground zeros' for nuclear weapons - from Hiroshima to Bikini, Nevada to Polynesia and Australia. He warns that unless we take action now, China is next.
THE CIA COUP AGAINST 'THE MOST LOYAL ALLY' IS HISTORY'S WARNING IN 2020
A battle to disclose the content of secret letters between the Queen and the Australian Governor-General at the time of a coup against a reformist government in 1975 has been won - almost. But the most revealing story of the overthrow of Gough Whitlam's government lies elsewhere.
WHY BRITAIN'S COVID SUFFERING IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY
In this seminal essay, two NHS doctors, Bob Gill and Sarah Gangoli, reveal why the sixth richest country on earth, home to the world's first public health service, is near the top of the league of deaths and suffering from COVID-19.
THE DIRTY WAR ON THE NHS RELEASED BY UK CINEMAS FOR STREAMING FROM 13 APRIL
Next week Curzon Home Cinema will be streaming John Pilger's film The Dirty War on the NHS, which was first released last December. This re-release could not be more timely. The government is telling us to stay at home and "protect the NHS". John's film spells out the reason why the NHS might be overwhelmed by the impact of the coronavirus: the lack of resources which are the direct result of the policies of the last ten years and the devastation caused by sustained privatisation. At the end of the film Professor Danny Dorling foresaw what we are now going through: "The NHS gave us freedom from fear .... now that fear has returned." This is a film to enrage, but also to inspire: to make sure that when the pandemic is over, the NHS is rebuilt as a properly funded public health system.
The film will start streaming on Curzon Home Cinema on 13th April. And on the 15th April the screening will be followed by discussion with two of its main contributors - Professor Allyson Pollock and Dr John Lister at 8.30 pm.
WATCH THE TRAILER
A PANDEMIC IS DECLARED, BUT NOT FOR THE STARVING, THE PREVENTABLE SICK, THE BLOCKADED, THE BOMBED
A pandemic has been declared, but not for the 24,600 who die every day from unnecessary starvation, and not for 3,000 children who die every day from preventable malaria, and not for the 10,000 people who die every day because they are denied publicly-funded healthcare, and not for the hundreds of Venezuelans and Iranians who die every day because America's blockade denies them life-saving medicines, and not for the hundreds of mostly children bombed or starved to death every day in Yemen, in a war supplied and kept going, profitably, by America and Britain. Before you panic, consider them.
JULIAN ASSANGE MUST BE FREED, NOT BETRAYED
On Saturday, 22 February, in London, people will march to the centre of British democracy: Parliament Square. They will set out at the Australian High Commission, which represents Julian Assange's homeland. The silence on Assange and the meaning of his extradition hearing, starting 24 February, for justice and the freedom of all of us, must be broken.
ABC RADIO NATIONAL ON THE SUFFERING AND RESILIENCE OF JULIAN ASSANGE
Phillip Adams interviews John Pilger on ABC Radio National on the plight and hope and courage of Julian Assange ahead of his courtroom struggle to prevent extradition to the the United States. CLICK HERE to listen.
JOHN PILGER ON THE ASSAULT ON HEALTHCARE AND DEMOCRACY; ON AMERICA'S VIOLENCE; AND ON THE FIRES THAT ARE A WARNING
In a wide-ranging interview with Dennis Bernstein on Radio KPFA's Flashpoints, John Pilger talks about the wider meaning behind his new film, The Dirty War on the NHS; on America's violent attempt to restore its dominance over Iran; and on the spectral fires that ravage his homeland, Australia, and are a warning to all of humanity.
NEW JOHN PILGER FILM AVAILABLE ON ITV
On 1 December, the new John Pilger film, 'The Dirty War on the NHS', was released in cinemas in the UK. It was broadcast in the UK on ITV, STV and UTV on Tuesday 17 December 2019 and is now available as catch-up here.
Pilger investigates the long and often secret campaign to dismantle Britain's pioneering National Health Service and privatise it off 'by stealth'.
WATCH THE TRAILER
Visit the film's website at www.thedirtywaronnhs.com
JOHN PILGER'S NEW FILM IN CINEMAS AND ON TV THIS DECEMBER
The new John Pilger film, The Dirty War on the NHS, will be released in cinemas in the UK on 1 December and broadcast on the ITV Network on 17 December.
The film's launch will straddle an extraordinary period in Britain, especially an election campaign which, for the first time for years, offers voters a genuine choice. The film's theme, the privatisation and destruction of the NHS, is already a major election issue.
"The Dirty War," says Pilger at the beginning of the film, "is about democracy. Above all, it is a warning."
For screenings and tickets, go to www.thedirtywaronnhs.com
Did this happen in the home of Magna Carta?
In a special comment written for Consortium News, John Pilger describes the disturbing scene inside a London courtroom last week when the WikiLeaks publisher, Julian Assange, appeared at the start of a landmark extradition case that will define the future of free journalism.
A MESSAGE FROM JOHN PILGER ABOUT HIS LATEST FILM
My last film, The Coming War on China, was only completed because of the generosity and solidarity of the hundreds of people whose names appear in the end-credits. For me, watching those names roll is one of the proudest moments of the film.
Initially, I was reluctant to crowd-fund and said so in the preamble on the crowd-funding site; I believed most people needed the money in their pockets and it was up to me and my colleagues at Dartmouth Films to convince likely institutions or rich donors with a conscience (yes, they exist) to impart their loose change.
But when one of the major funders of the film suddenly pulled out, it looked like the film and its editing would grind to a halt.
The crowd-funders came to our rescue: people who gave a fiver or what they could afford (and often couldn't afford). What struck me was the entirely gracious way people offered to help. They weren't giving charity, they said; they were delighted, even honoured, to be partners in the making and success of a film they considered important.
Today, I am again making an appeal for support - this time for a film whose urgency touches all our lives, literally.
It's about the NHS, the last bastion of a truly people's institution without which so many of us would stumble and fall and perhaps not survive.
The film is certainly a tribute to the NHS; but, above all, it's a warning.
Under our noses, often secretly and deceptively, our National Health Service is being undermined and sold off: piece by precious piece to the likes of Richard Branson and the giant American health insurance companies that are at the root of the misery that is American healthcare.
The privatisation of the NHS has been mostly insidious - by "stealth", as one of Mrs Thatcher's cohorts once advised. But since 2010, the "reforms" have speeded up. It's got to the point that if we don't act now, we'll wake up one day to an unrecognisable health service that is no longer ours.
As with my previous films, this film will be in cinemas and on network TV, bringing a vital public message, and warning, to a mass audience.
With this urgency in mind, please support this work - again, with whatever you can afford. Your name will appear with special honour as the credits roll... https://igg.me/at/Pilgerhealthdoc
ROGER WATERS SINGS 'WISH YOU WERE HERE' FOR JULIAN ASSANGE IN UNIQUE EVENT IN FRONT OF THE HOME OFFICE IN LONDON
On Monday, 2 September, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd performed his classic 'Wish You were Here' outside the Home Office (interior ministry) on Marsham Street in the heart of London. John Pilger spoke. You can watch the event here. And read how the mainstream media completely ignored the event.
DO NOT FORGET JULIAN ASSANGE. OR YOU WILL LOSE HIM.
John Pilger has visited Julian Assange in Belmarsh prison, London. Follow John on twitter, especially this warning.
And watch the latest Going Underground interview with John Pilger as he discusses Julian Assange's condition.
JULIAN ASSANGE SUFFERING 'PSYCHOLOGICAL TORTURE' BY BRITAIN, US, AUSTRALIA, SAYS UN
The UN Rapporteur on Torture has issued an unprecedented statement on the persecution of the journalist and publisher Julian Assange.
Full UN statement: https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/05/1039581
Read also: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/31/pilg-m31.html
And listen to 'Countdown to Freedom' on Radio KPFA with Dennis Bernstein, Randy Credico and John Pilger.
THE WARS ON JULIAN ASSANGE AND VENEZUELA: THE ASSAILANT IS THE SAME
In this interview with the Australian Broadcasting Commission, John Pilger discusses the issue of political and media disinformation that blights Julian Assange and Venezuela and whose source they - and much of the world - share as a common enemy.
THE ASSANGE ARREST IS A WARNING FROM HISTORY
John Pilger describes the meaning of Julian Assange's brutal arrest at the Ecuadorean embassy in London and says it is not only the extraordinary story of one man's struggle but an echo of a past that carries a lesson for us all.
THE AUSTRALIAN KILLER OF 50 PEOPLE IS THE PRODUCT OF A RACIST HISTORY OF DENIAL
The massacre by an Australian of 50 people is the product of a nation in denial of a history built on racism and violence, with racist prime ministers and a media dominated by Rupert Murdoch. Read this brilliant piece by Chris Graham.
THE PRISONER SAYS NO TO BIG BROTHER
John Pilger invokes George Orwell in calling on his compatriots to stand up for the freedom of 'a distinguished Australian', the founder and editor of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and for 'real journalism of a kind now considered exotic'. Image © George Burchett 2019
THE WAR ON VENEZUELA IS BUILT ON LIES
In this analysis, John Pilger looks back over the Chavez years in Venezuela, including his own travels with Hugo Chavez, and the current US and European campaign to overthrow Nicolas Maduro in a 'coup by media' and to return Latin America to the 19th and 20th centuries.
CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF MARTHA GELLHORN, A TRUE JOURNALIST
In this BBC Radio 3 programme and podcast, the life and career of war correspondent and humanitarian Martha Gellhorn is celebrated, introduced by her friend John Pilger.
LISTEN HERE
THE SYMBOL OF A NEW YEAR IS THE COURAGE TO RESIST, OR IT OUGHT TO BE
Visiting Julian Assange; Trump and the Cold Warriors; Palestine; the war on healthcare. John Pilger talks to Dennis Bernstein on Radio Pacifica's Flashpoints about the struggles and dangers of the year ahead. (Image: on the beach in Gaza)
THE NEW COLD WAR HAS TURNED JOURNALISM INTO SATIRE
In two separate major interviews - the first published in India's leading news magazine, Frontline, the second broadcast on RT - John Pilger describes the rise of a second cold war and the conversion of much of journalism to unconscious satire - 'beckoning a real, unreported danger'.
Read the Frontline article
JOHN PILGER'S CALL TO 'BREAK THE SILENCE' AT THE POWER OF THE DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL IN SYDNEY
In a keynote speech at the 'The Power of the Documentary' festival he curated, John Pilger described the 'noise' of the media, its integration into national security aims of western states and its silencing effect across journalism, film-making, the arts. Over ten days, 26 documentaries, many of them rare and prescient, such as 'Hearts and Minds' and 'The War Game', 'The Quiet Mutiny' and 'Stealing a Nation', were screened to audiences at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Riverside Theatres.
READ THE KEYNOTE SPEECH
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE. THE REPORTERS ARE MISSING
In his foreword to a powerful new book by David Edwards and David Cromwell, the founders and editors of Media Lens, Propaganda Blitz, John Pilger asks what happened to an age of eyewitness reporting and to journalism that relied on evidence.
THE TARGET IS ASSANGE AND WIKILEAKS, AND THE ROLE OF AUSTRALIA
Listen to John Pilger interviewed on KPFA by Dennis Bernstein and Randy Credico. Also, listen to this interview on Sputnik Radio.
JOHN PILGER ON A HIDDEN HISTORY OF WOMEN WHO ROSE UP
John Pilger describes a women's rebellion in which his own 'intractable' forebear took part and which leads us to ask: where is such a spirit of resistance today?
'The Coming War on China' now available to watch free online
John Pilger's 2016 film - The Coming War on China - is now available to watch on this site. Pilger reveals what the news doesn't - that the world's greatest military power, the United States, and the world's second economic power, China, both nuclear-armed, are on the road to war. The film is a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.
Watch now and read a description of the film, its worldwide distribution and impact
Watch version with Chinese subtitles
Watch version with English subtitles
THE URGENCY OF BRINGING JULIAN ASSANGE HOME
A salute to Julian Assange by Rogers Waters at his concert in Berlin on 3 June
In this address to mark Julian Assange's six years of confinement in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, John Pilger calls on the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, to recognise the urgency of decisive diplomatic action and bringing Assange home.
JOHN PILGER AND ROGER WATERS BACK JUNE VIGILS AND RALLIES FOR JULIAN ASSANGE
On 19 June 2018, it will be six years since Julian Assange was forced to take refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London. He had been warned that the US planned an extradition warrant for his arrest. His 'crime' was that of a scrupulous editor - WikiLeaks had revealed the war crimes of the US. Today, Julian has never been more isolated, and his health is failing.
On Sunday 17 June, the SEP will stage a rally for Julian in the heart of Sydney, Australia, his homeland. This is backed by John Pilger, Roger Waters, Julian Burnside QC and Terry Hicks, father of former Guantanamo prisoner, David Hicks. John Pilger will address the rally from the steps of Sydney Town Hall, which starts at 1pm.
On Tuesday 19 June, there will be a rally and vigil outside the Ecuadorean embassy in London, beginning at 6pm. Other vigils will be held outside British embassies around the world on the same day. In Dublin, Nobel Peace Prize winner Mariead Maguire and members of the Irish parliament, Clare Daly and Mick Wallace, will speak in support of Julian outside the British embassy.
PALESTINE IS STILL THE ISSUE - WATCH THE JOHN PILGER FILM THAT DEFIED A CAMPAIGN TO BAN IT AND TOLD A TIMELESS TRUTH
John Pilger's 2002 film Palestine Is Still The Issue bore the same title as his film 24 years earlier. Shown on ITV in Britain and around the world, the film and Pilger were attacked by a virulent trolls' campaign in the US, including death threats, and finally vindicated by the Independent Television Commission as a work of "thoroughness and historical integrity". With the present-day massacre of Palestinians by Israeli snipers on the border with Gaza the film tells a timeless truth. You can watch it here.
Watch also The War You Don't See (2013) for how the Palestinians and their Israeli occupiers are reported in the media.
And read Gideon Levy, a rare voice in Israel, on the Israeli slaughter in Gaza.
THE WAR ON TRUTH: JOHN PILGER ON PSEUDO-JOURNALISM, THE PROPAGANDA OF POWER AND JULIAN ASSANGE
Watch John Pilger on RT's Going Underground discuss the claims of Theresa May, Syria, Iran, Korea and the silencing of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
You can also listen to Pilger's interview about new attempts to push Assange out of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.
ABORIGINAL PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO PROTEST THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES AS STOLEN WEALTH
Amy McQuire tears away the facade on the Commonwealth Games currently under way in Australia, on Queensland's Gold Coast. Australia has a long history of presenting a sunny, sporty picture of itself, complete with Indigenous icons and 'celebrating' native people. There is rarely a hint of the greatest theft of land in recorded history and the brutality that accompanied it, especially in Queensland, the bloodiest state, and which goes on today.
THE 'CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED DRAMA' OF THE LATEST ANTI-RUSSIA CAMPAIGN
Watch John Pilger in this commentary on the British Government's accusations against Russia over the poisoning of the double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, not far from the Porton Down facility where chemical weapons are developed.
JULIAN ASSANGE WAS SET UP FOR 'REASONS THAT ARE OBVIOUS'
On the day a London judge decided the bail case against Julian Assange would not be dropped 'in the public interest', John Pilger in this interview described the background to the latest revelations of collusion between the Crown Prosecution Service and the Swedish authorities.
LISTEN NOW
ROBERT PARRY 1949-2018, AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNALIST
John Pilger writes: Robert Parry, one of America's greatest journalists, has died, tragically. He was 68. I had the privilege of honouring Bob Parry in London last June when I presented him with the 2017 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. Bob's work for the Associated Press and as founder and editor of consortiumnews.com was a beacon of principled, often courageous journalism in a landscape of compliant, distorted anti-journalism that now misrepresents our craft in the misnamed 'mainstream'.
All of us at the prize-giving dinner were stunned by the power of his original thought, eloquence and historical understanding in the address he gave, off the cuff, in which he demystified and laid bare the rise of rapacious power in Washington. Following is a link to a fine eulogy by Bob's son, Nat Parry. I ask readers to take up Nat's suggestion and donate to Consortium News - https://consortiumnews.com/2018/01/28/robert-parrys-legacy-and-the-future-of-consortiumnews/ - and keep alive Bob Parry's legacy, also described here in Dennis Bernstein's tribute on Radio KPFA Berkeley, California.
BRITISH LIBRARY ACQUIRES JOHN PILGER ARCHIVE AND STAGES TWO-DAY 'POWER OF THE DOCUMENTARY' EVENT
The British Library has acquired John Pilger's entire written archive, with work reaching back to the 1960s, along with hundreds of his interviews.
The official announcement can be found on the British Library website.
To mark the acquisition of the Pilger archive, 'The Power of the Documentary', the Library has staged a festival of John Pilger's films and others representing the best of the craft. This was the first time the British Library has honoured a documentarian in this way.
As part of the festival, John Pilger gave this address: 'Why the documentary must not be allowed to die'. Read an edited version here.
You can also watch John Pilger interviewed about the British Library event on Going Underground and on BBC Radio London.
HOW THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA WERE MISLED AND CAN RISE AGAIN
Returning to South Africa, John Pilger delivers an inaugural lecture in Cape Town in memory of the anti-apartheid campaigner, Abdulhay Ahmed Saloojee. He asks why the struggle for freedom has yet to be won, why a form of apartheid still rules and why this oppression has become a model for much of the world in the 21st century.
WATCH THE LECTURE
You can also watch John Pilger's 1999 film Apartheid Did Not Die on this website.
THE COMING WAR ON CHINA - NEW SPECIAL SCREENINGS SCHEDULED
John Pilger's film, The Coming War on China, proves more relevant with every day of the Trump presidency. There are two special screenings coming up in London...
Rio Cinema, Tuesday 28 November, 6pm: Fundraiser screening for Stop the War Coalition. Followed by a Q&A; with John Pilger.
BUY TICKETS
The Barbican, Friday 8 December, 1.50pm: Screening as part of the Global Health Film Festival. Followed by a one-hour conversation with John Pilger.
BUY TICKETS
CLINTON, ASSANGE AND THE WAR ON TRUTH
John Pilger describes the obsequious media support for Hillary Clinton's score-settling book about her failed attempt to win the US presidency - title, What Happened - notably by the ABC in Australia. He analyses her attacks of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, whose disclosures of her warmongering and corruption were blamed for her losing to Donald Trump.
THE RISING OF BRITAIN'S 'NEW POLITICS'
As the Tories plot to get rid of Prime Minister Theresa May, John Pilger analyses the alternative Labour Party, specifically its foreign policy, which may not be what it seems.
THE KILLING OF HISTORY
Reporting from New York, John Pilger describes the re-writing of the history of the Vietnam War in the 10-part television series by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. Millions died "in good faith", they say. And so yet more wars are justified - as President Trump tells the world he is prepared to "totally destroy" North Korea and its 25 million people.
ON THE BEACH 2017. THE BECKONING OF NUCLEAR WAR.
In a new essay, John Pilger recognises Nevil Shute's novel, On the Beach - on which a Hollywood film was based - as a forgotten masterpiece, which conveys an urgent warning of how close we may be to nuclear war in 2017.
THE KILLING FIELDS OF AUSTRALIA - A MATTER OF ROUTINE
Chris Graham reports on the trial in Perth, Australia of the white man who killed Elijah Doughty, an Aboriginal teenager, and the litany of killings and injustice that preceded it and mark the other Australia behind the sunny mask.
Palestine is still the issue
Read the abridged version of John Pilger's address to the Palestinian Expo 2017 in London in July 2017.
ROBERT PARRY WINS 2017 MARTHA GELLHORN PRIZE FOR JOURNALISM
Read John Pilger's remarks in presenting the 15th Martha Gellhorn Prize to the American journalist Robert Parry at a dinner in London on 27 June 2017.
GETTING JULIAN ASSANGE: THE UNTOLD STORY
Following the news that Sweden has dropped its case against Julian Assange, John Pilger draws together his investigations into the pursuit and persecution of the founder of WikiLeaks.
TERROR IN BRITAIN: WHAT DID THE PRIME MINISTER KNOW?
In this investigation, John Pilger raises questions about the role of the British 'deep state' in the atrocity that killed 22 in Manchester on 22 May 2017.
The universal lesson of the courage of East Timor
On May 5, John Pilger was presented with the Order of Timor-Leste by East Timor's Ambassador to Australia, Abel Gutteras, in recognition of his reporting on East Timor under Indonesia's brutal occupation, especially his landmark documentary film, Death of a Nation: the Timor Conspiracy. The following was Pilger's response...
AS WAR IS THREATENED, 'THE COMING WAR ON CHINA' IS RELEASED IN CHINA, FREE ONLINE
John Pilger's prescient new film, The Coming War on China, has attracted huge interest in China, understandably. The original film has been 'pirated' and one version includes Chinese subtitles. With the world now approaching the edge of possible nuclear war - with threats to North Korea, and China - John Pilger and Dartmouth Films UK have decided to release the Chinese sub-titled version (also English subtitled) to Chinese viewers, to be downloaded online free of charge.
In China only, you can watch The Coming War on China here - www.reelhouse.org/dartmouthfilms/the-coming-war-on-china
In this conversation with US economist and broadcaster Jerry Robinson, John Pilger describes the issues raised in The Coming War on China, and discusses Trump's current threats to North Korea.
The Coming War on China is now available in the United States through Bullfrog Films. Contact John Hoskyns-Abrahall at [email protected]. On Easter Sunday, April 16, The Coming War on China was broadcast nationally in Australia on the SBS Network and received this 5-star preview from Sydney Sun-Herald, the Melbourne Sunday Age and other Fairfax newspapers...
THE COMING WAR ON CHINA
***** 5 stars
Acclaimed journalist and human rights firebrand John Pilger stares down those who would defend America's ongoing military presence in the Pacific at significant cost to the indigenous population. His expose of the atrocities still being committed there is just part of this far-reaching documentary about the relationship between the US and China since World War II, in light of recent inflammatory statements made by President Trump. Here are stories apparently left untold by the mainstream news media - fake or otherwise.
This latest John Pilger article, 'Trump's attack on Syria is a warning to China - and Australia' appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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For interviews, stills, assets and further information, please contact: Erin Jameson, [email protected], 0419 323 663
AUSTRALIA BECKONS A WAR WITH CHINA
Australia is sleep-walking into a confrontation with China. Wars can happen suddenly in an atmosphere of mistrust and provocation, especially if a minor power, like Australia, abandons its independence for an "alliance" with an unstable superpower.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM PRIZE AWARDED BY MEXICO FOR JULIAN ASSANGE INTERVIEW
John Pilger has been awarded the International Journalism Prize by the Press Club of Mexico in the XLIV National and International Competition of Journalism, founded in 1951 by Antonio Saenz de Miera. The citation reads, "The exclusive interview with WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, through which international public opinion was able to ascertain the extent of the key issues of the current political situation [is] journalism that allows people to defend themselves against powerful, clandestine forces."
Watch the interview
Read the transcript
Read John Pilger's 2011 report from Mexico
GRAHAM PILGER, CHAMPION OF THE DISABLED 1932-2017
I wrote this obituary of my brother Graham for the Sydney Morning Herald.
THIS WEEK THE ISSUE IS NOT TRUMP. IT IS OURSELVES.
John Pilger argues that the obsession with Donald Trump, as the liberals' ultimate demon, masks an enduring complicity in creating him and his predecessor in the White House.
JOHN PILGER GUEST EDITS DECEMBER ISSUE OF THE NEW INTERNATIONALIST
John Pilger says: "I am delighted to be back in the New Internationalist as guest editor. This issue's keynote and supporting articles are the result of two years' work on a documentary film about the shift of the world's economic power east, to China, and the US reaction to this challenge to its dominance. Losing its economic prowess, Washington has turned almost obsessively to its military might; and the prospect of nuclear war is no longer unthinkable. What I found in Asia, the Pacific and the US, was not only evidence of great risk and folly, but extraordinary resistance to a coming war among island people on the frontline: the Marshalls, Okinawa, Jeju: faraway places of which we may know little but which offer an inspiring example as they face the most powerful military machine. This NI is both a tribute to them and a warning, and will, I hope, raise an issue we all need to understand and act upon."
Keynote: The Coming War on China
Feature: Bikini was just the beginning
HOW THE LIBERAL CLASS ENABLED THE ELECTION OF DONALD TRUMP
In a filmed interview with Afshin Rattansi, John Pilger describes how the collusion and silence of America's 'enlightened' liberal elite, notably its journalists, helped create President Trump.
WATCH THE INTERVIEW
THE COMING WAR ON CHINA - A NEW PILGER FILM FOR TV AND CINEMA
John Pilger's new film - The Coming War on China - was in UK cinemas throughout December 2016 and will shortly be screened in Australian cinemas and on SBS TV. Find out more
WATCH THE OFFICIAL TRAILER
THE SECRETS OF THE US ELECTION: JULIAN ASSANGE TALKS TO JOHN PILGER
In this exclusive, revealing and moving filmed interview, Julian Assange discloses the truth behind the investigation of Hillary Clinton, and his own political refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador in London. The interview was filmed on 30 October 2016.
Watch the full interview here
Read the full transcript of the interview here
INSIDE THE INVISIBLE GOVERNMENT: WAR, PROPAGANDA, CLINTON & TRUMP
In an address to the Sheffield Festival of Words, in Sheffield, John Pilger describes the 'invisible' and all-powerful role of media propaganda.
Provoking nuclear war by media
In describing the exoneration of one of the West's demons, John Pilger argues that a western media campaign to demonise and goad Russia is leading inexorably to war.
Why the British said no to Europe
John Pilger argues that the referendum result represents a deeper, more dynamic anger than the reasons rehearsed by politicians and the media and offers a glimpse of hope.
Silencing America as it prepares for war
Writing from the United States, John Pilger joins a momentous election campaign - his fourth as a reporter - and suggests that the sound and fury may not be as it appears.
'Utopia', the film, can be viewed for the first time on this site
John Pilger's acclaimed film on Indigenous Australia joins his archive for public viewing. Watch now.
Starvation in Australia: Utopia's dirty secret
In this latest report on the vast Indigenous region in Australia known as Utopia, John Pilger reveals a dirty secret.
Trump and Clinton: Censoring the unpalatable
A virulent if familiar censorship is about to descend on the US election campaign. As the cartoon brute, Donald Trump, seems almost certain to win the Republican Party's nomination, Hillary Clinton is being ordained both as the "women's candidate" and the champion of American liberalism in its heroic struggle with the Evil One.
A world war has begun. Break the silence.
In an address at the University of Sydney, John Pilger describes the beckoning danger of a nuclear war and the propaganda that smothers dissent.
The rape of East Timor: "Sounds like fun"
John Pilger, whose film, Death of a Nation, revealed the atrocities and political machinations that befell tiny East Timor reports on the discovery of documents that reminds us of the enduring piracy of great power.
Freeing Julian Assange: the last chapter
John Pilger describes a landmark judgement in the Julian Assange case that may see the WikiLeaks founder walk free after five years.
Australia's day for secrets, flags and cowards
John Pilger describes the real meaning of 'Australia Day', a national day celebrated and mourned.
Paris, the Middle East and the propaganda of a coming war
John Pilger is interviewed on Russia Today's 'Going Underground' on the unmentionables in western political and media life and the rapid drumbeat for a major war.
From Pol Pot to ISIS: The blood never dried
Following the ISIS outrages in Beirut and Paris, John Pilger updates this prescient essay on the root causes of terrorism and what we can do about it.
JOHN PILGER'S FILM 'CAMBODIA YEAR ZERO' NAMED AS ONE OF ITV'S 60 GREATEST PROGRAMMES
On the 60th anniversary of the founding of ITV, Britain's and Europe's biggest commercial broadcaster, John Pilger's groundbreaking film, 'Year Zero: the Silent Death of Cambodia', has been named as one of the network's 60 top programmes.
'Cambodia Year Zero', as it became known, was credited with alerting the world to the suffering of the people of Cambodia under the fanatical regime of Pol Pot. It raised tens of millions of pounds for Cambodia's children - mostly unsolicited - and became the most watched documentary throughout the world.
Watch the film and read John Pilger's account in his anthology 'Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism and its Triumphs'.
Assange: the untold story of an epic struggle for justice
This is an updated version of John Pilger's 2014 investigation which tells the unreported story of an unrelenting campaign, in Sweden and the US, to deny Julian Assange justice and silence WikiLeaks: a campaign now reaching a dangerous stage.
Read the Spanish version of this article / Leer la versión en español
The message of Anzac: Put out more flags, or shut up
In this article for the Sydney Morning Herald, John Pilger compares the heroism of those with moral courage with the 'sludge' of fake patriotism.
The secret country again wages war on its own people
In a major article for the Guardian, John Pilger follows the release of his film 'Utopia' with an investigation into a new attack on Australia's indigenous people, which has been called 'cultural genocide'.
Why the rise of fascism is again the issue
In a major essay, John Pilger describes a 'Faustian Pact' that allows the suppression of a modern fascism in the West and its reliance on propaganda as news, and the beckoning of a war that rarely speaks its name.
The struggle of Venezuela against 'a common enemy'
Children in Venezuela benefit from the country's first free universal education. With a 'slow motion coup' under way in Venezuela, John Pilger is interviewed for Telesur, the Latin American TV network, by Mike Albert.
The Coming War between America and China - the new documentary project from John Pilger
'Journey' is an overworked word these days, but I can think of none other to describe the making of a documentary film. Ten years ago, a film of mine could be made in six months, even less. The main work was the research, the journalism.Whenever I felt confident I had the basis of a 'story', I would go to the ITV Network in the UK and seek a broadcast commission. If that was forthcoming, ITV would fund the production. The difference now is that I, the film-maker, must raise most of the production money. Also, my documentaries have changed considerably in recent years. They are now made for the cinema as well as TV, and for the internet.
I've made three films this way, The War on Democracy (2007), The War You Don't See (2010) and Utopia (2013). Utopia took more than two years to make.
In raising the money for these films, I've been fortunate to find sympathetic philanthropists and foundations, and persuade them to contribute without attaching any editorial strings. But these benefactors are rare, and tracking them down is probably the hardest part of film-making now and, frankly, not the kind of work I ever saw myself doing - I've always preferred simply to do the job I knew - journalism.
I've lately embarked on another film journey - this will be my 60th documentary. ITV has commissioned the film, and provided seed money. The working title is The Coming War Between America and China, and the film will tell the largely unreported story of a new US strategic policy known as 'the pivot to Asia'. In a nutshell, what this means is that the US is preparing for a new provocative cold war that has every chance of becoming a hot war. Washington has begun to move its main missile and naval forces into the Asia-Pacific in order to surround and 'confront' China, whose extraordinary economic rise in recent years is regarded in Washington as a threat to American dominance. For obvious reasons, I won't lay out here the 'where, what and why'. Suffice to say the film will be shot in some surprising places where I'll meet and interview extraordinary people. Above all, it will be revealing: that is assured.
Having read this far, you're sure to guess that this message is heading towards another modern cliché - an 'ask'. My colleagues at Dartmouth Films and I need to raise at least £60,000 or $100,000 in order to start making the film. This money won't meet unforeseen costs or pay for distribution and promotion, but it will allow for the promised philanthropy, on which the bulk of the film's funding depends, to come on stream and for filming to begin.
And that's where you come in.
This is known as 'crowd funding' and, as you can guess, it's my first day in this strange new world. If you can give £5 - that's about $10 - no more - I'll be grateful. For your part, you'll have made a vital contribution to a film whose disclosure and warning are, I believe, urgently needed. I'm hopeful you'll be proud of the result. Thank you.
You can contribute here
War by media and the triumph of propaganda
John Pilger's address to the Logan Symposium, 'Building an Alliance Against Secrecy, Surveillance & Censorship', organised by the Centre for Investigative Journalism, London, 5-7 December, 2014. You can also watch the address here
The siege of Julian Assange is a farce - a special investigation
John Pilger investigates the rise of WikiLeaks and the Kafkaesque saga that has enveloped its founder, Julian Assange, since he blew the whistle on the dangers and lies of great power and its courtiers.
The forgotten coup - how America and Britain crushed the government of their 'ally', Australia
In an article for the Guardian, John Pilger marks the death of former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam with the one story missing from the 'tributes' to a man whose extraordinary political demise is one of America's dirtiest secrets.
From Pol Pot to ISIS: “Anything that flies on everything that moves”
In his latest essay, John Pilger evokes the US bombing of Cambodia in the 1970s, which gave rise to Pol Pot and the genocidal Khmer Rouge, in examining the rise of the equally fanatical ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the role of Western governments, and the urgent need for solutions that include a truce in Syria, and justice for the Palestinians.
War, circus and injustice down under
In an article for the Guardian, John Pilger reports on how the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, seeks to regain his lost popularity with an outback circus in which he performs in the role of war leader.
John Pilger on the 'unmentionables' in Australia
On 31 August, following the release of his latest film Utopia, John Pilger spoke at the 'Festival of Dangerous Ideas' at the Sydney Opera House. In conversation with Liz Ann Macgregor, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, he discussed the devotion in Australian public life to the 'a status quo of unmentionables'. You can watch the conversation here.
Interviewed by Channel 7's Andrew O'Keefe in Sydney ahead of the FODI, John Pilger describes how an insidious censorship works in a free society such as Australia. Watch the extended online version of the interview.
On 11 September, John Pilger gave the Edward Said Lecture in Adelaide, in memory of the great Palestinian educator, writer, visionary. His subject was 'The Last Taboo: Gaza and the threat of world war'. Read an adaptation of the lecture.
UTOPIA, JOHN PILGER'S FILM ON 'SECRET' AUSTRALIA, RELEASED ON DVD
WATCH UTOPIA ONLINE | TRAILER | JOHN PILGER'S VIDEO MESSAGE | SCREENINGS | REVIEWS | BUY DVD (UK) | BUY DVD (AUS) | OFFICAL UTOPIA WEBSITE
John Pilger's epic new film, Utopia, had its premiere in the urban heart of Indigenous Australia, in Sydney, on 17 January 2014. A record crowd of 4,000 included Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians who came from all over the country to hear the call for a renewed struggle for justice and freedom for Australia's first people. Since then, Utopia has had a remarkable 'journey' across Australia's vastness, screening at packed events in cities, towns and remote communities.
On 30 January 2014, Utopia began its Australian cinema release at Cinema Nova in Melbourne.
Utopia was broadcast nationally on SBS Australia on 31 May.
Click here for a report of Utopia's impact.
The film, already released and broadcast in the UK in 2013, was named by the London Film Review as one of the five best films of the year.
For details of screenings of Utopia in Australia and New Zealand, visit the official Utopia website
For all distribution enquiries in Australia, contact Gil Scrine of Antidote Films on [email protected]. For community events, contact Paddy Gibson at [email protected]. For all other enquiries, please use the contact form on this website.
Reviews: CineVue | The Guardian | The Observer | Total Film | Metro | The Times (subscription only) | All reviews
Click here for more information about the film.
The return of George Orwell and Big Brother’s war on Palestine, Ukraine and the truth
In his latest essay, John Pilger describes the liberal "one-way, legal/moral screen" behind which great power and its Orwellian propaganda ensure an impunity for war and deception, dependent on what Leni Riefenstahl called our "submissive void".
Australia's boom is anything but for its Aboriginal people
In an article for the Guardian, John Pilger reveals that the story of the first Australians is still one of poverty and humiliation, while their land yields the world's biggest resources boom.
THE LIES ABOUT ASSANGE MUST STOP NOW
Newspapers and other media in the United States, Britain and Australia have recently declared a passion for freedom of speech, especially their right to publish freely. They are worried by the "Assange effect".
It is as if the struggle of truth-tellers like Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning is now a warning to them: that the thugs who dragged Assange out of the Ecuadorean embassy in April may one day come for them.
Breaking the last taboo - Gaza and the threat of world war
In this essay based on his Edward Said Memorial Lecture in Adelaide, John Pilger argues that the assault on Gaza represents a wider threat to us all, and with episodic dangers in Ukraine, and the accompanying propaganda, we are drawn closer to world war.
Once again, Australia is stealing its Indigenous children
In an investigation for the Guardian, John Pilger expands the evidence in his new film, 'Utopia', to reveal the scandal of a second Stolen Generation.
It's the other Oscars - and yet again the winner slips away
In his latest column for the New Statesman, John Pilger steals a march on the Oscars with the 'celebrity Oscars' - 'those whose ubiquitous self promotion demands recognition'.
Is media just another word for control?
John Pilger describes censorship in 'free societies' on a special edition of BBC Radio 4's Today programme guest-edited by artist and musician PJ Harvey.
How to support the Aboriginal people in their struggle for justice
The public response to the broadcast of Utopia on the ITV Network has been widespread across the UK. Many people have asked what they can do to support Aboriginal people in their struggle for justice.
I recommend that people write to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, calling on him to start, without delay, negotiations for a fully constituted Treaty between the Commonwealth of Australia and all the First Nations of Australia. This would included long overdue restitution and universal land rights.
The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Australia
I suggest you copy your message to the Australian press.
Watch this video by 'concerned Australians' calling for a Treaty with Australia's First People.
Please consider donating, or supporting the campaign initiatives from the following organisations:
Grandmothers Against Removals
http://stopstolengenerations.com.au
A growing national network led by Aboriginal grandmothers campaigning for an end to the forced removal of Aboriginal children
Culture is Life
The rate of youth suicide in Indigenous Australia is now the highest in the world. Indigenous Elders are calling for support to help them heal their communities. This is their campaign.
The Intervention Rollback Action Group
http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com
Campaign group in Alice Springs organising public meetings and protests to end the NT Intervention and win self-determination for Aboriginal people.
The new propaganda is liberal. The new slavery is digital.
John Pilger examines propaganda as not so much a conservative concept as a quintessentially liberal concept, an extremism that never speaks its name.
The pursuit of Julian Assange is an assault on freedom and a mockery of journalism
John Pilger describes the augmented Anglo-American government and media campaign against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as Assange is granted political asylum by Ecuador and remains in that country's London embassy.
How the chosen ones ended Australia's sporting prowess and revealed its secret past
John Pilger describes how sports-obsessed Australia's disappointing showing at the London Olympics offered a glimpse of a secret past.
You are all suspects now. What are you going to do about it?
John Pilger describes the politicising of the law in western democracies and the emergence of increasingly draconian police powers: the corollary of a contrived state of 'permanent war'. Why should this be accepted?
John Pilger's latest film 'The War You Don't See' available to watch online
John Pilger's latest film 'The War You Don't See' is now available to watch online (worldwide excluding Australia) for $4.99
'The War You Don't See' premiered at the Barbican in London on Tuesday 7 December 2010 and on British television on Tuesday 14 December 2010. It is also available to buy on DVD in the UK and in Australia
On 7 June 2011, the Lannan Foundation in the United States banned the film and cancelled a visit by John Pilger without explanation. Read John Pilger's response to Patrick Lannan's subsequent statement about the cancellation.
On 17 November 2011, John Pilger presented 'The War You Don't See' at its Indian premiere in Delhi. Read an interview with John Pilger in The Indian Express.
Reviews: The Guardian | Total Film | Time Out | Little White Lies | The Quietus | Cine Vue | ABC News
Watch the trailer | John Pilger - Why are wars not being reported honestly? | Watch Democracy Now! interview with John Pilger about the film | Read New Internationalist interview with John Pilger about the film | Listen to a BBC Radio 4 interview with John Pilger about the film | ABC Breakfast interview | ABC Late Night Live interview | ABC Book Show interview
More about the film.
Protect Assange, don’t abuse him
John Pilger argues that years of 'identity politics' have had a marked effect on those who might otherwise see clearly the principles raised by WikiLeaks and the need to defend Julian Assange.
Welcome to the new John Pilger website
Welcome to the new John Pilger website, a remarkable resource and historical record and now arguably the most comprehensive online collection of the work of a leading journalist. For the first time, the majority of John Pilger's 58 films for television and cinema can be viewed online. New features include a video and article search, a newsletter, social media tools and an RSS feed. The site's relaunch has been made possible by the University of Lincoln, which is preparing a complete digital archive of John Pilger's work.
The party game is over. Stand and fight
John Pilger describes the disenchantment with parliamentary politics as the British "coalition" government pursues its devotion to 'an extreme political cult of money worship'. He suggests there is only one course of action now.
Chile's ghosts are not being rescued
As the 33 Chilean miners are brought to the surface after ther epic rescue, John Pilger describes the unspoken life in Chile behind the media facade that the government of President Sebastion Pinera has skilfully exploited.
The BBC is on Murdoch's side
John Pilger says that while the dangers of Rupert Murdoch's dominance are understood, the role played by the respectable media, such as the New York Times and the BBC, notably in the promotion of colonial wars, is at least as important.
C'mon, time to rebrand your life!
John Pilger examines the effect of 'extreme corporatism' - money - on sport. He contrasts the last of the great sporting stars who were not celebrities in the modern sense with the enrichment of Rupert Murdoch and the corruption of sports like cricket.
Flying the flag, faking the news
John Pilger traces the history of propaganda to Edward Bernays, the American nephew of Sigmund Freud, who invented the term "public relations". Bernays believed in "engineering public consent" and creating "false realties" as news. Here are examples of how this works today.
Why Wikileaks must be protected
John Pilger describes the importance of Wikileaks as a new and fearless form of investigative journalism that threatens both the war-makers and their apologists, notably journalists who are state stenographers.
Tony Blair must be prosecuted
John Pilger writes about the "paramount war crime" defined by the Nuremberg judges in 1946 and its relevance to the case of Tony Blair, whose shared responsibility for the Iraq invasion resulted in the deaths of more than a million people. New developments in international and domestic political attitudes towards war crimes mean that Blair is now 'Britain's Kissinger'.
