Public Lecture by Robert Fisk (1 Viewer)

[thunda]

• Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies presents Dr Robert Fisk, giving a public lecture on his new book:
  
  “The Great War of Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East”
  
  
  
  
  
  Dr Robert Fisk is regarded as one of the world's foremost international journalists. Since 1988, Dr Fisk has been the Middle East correspondent for the Independent in the UK. He has been honoured with 28 British and foreign press awards, including the Johns Hopkins SIAS-CIBA prize for international journalism, and the Overall Winner of the Amnesty International UK Press Awards in 1998.
  
  At the risk of his own life, he has endeavoured to bring truth and understanding to international affairs and conflicts. He has resided in the Middle East for 28 years, and has covered the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War, three Gulf wars, and many other international confl icts. Dr Fisk is the author of two books on Irish history, as well as "Pity the Nation", tracing the history of the Lebanon war. He is about to release his new book "The Great War for Civilisation : The Conquest of the Middle East". Dr Fisk is in Australia to deliver the inaugural Edward Said Memorial lecture at Adelaide University.
  
  Wednesday October 5th, 2005
  
  12pm - 2pm
  
  Stephen Roberts Lecture Theatre
  
  Eastern Avenue, University of Sydney
  
  Cost: FREE
  
  RSVP to reign.haub@arts.usyd.edu.au
  
  ======================================

 

[Rafy]

What sort of view is he likely to take on that subject?

 

[Sarah168]

hmm im free around 1 so i think i'll pop in if i can

 

[thunda]

What is he lecturing about

if you read the post above, he is giving a lecture on his book entitled “The Great War of Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East”

What sort of view is he likely to take on that subject?

I have no idea.



btw- are there any good parking places at USYD, around the venue that this lecture is being held at?

 

[gerhard]

there is parking about 20 ish metres away, but its normally full or close to full.

 

[withoutaface]

Try Broadway.

 

[sly fly]

Hmm this should be interesting. I'll probably go if I actually study between now and then

 

[thunda]

Try Broadway.

Thats too faaar....coz i finish my tute at UNSW at around 11.55am and i wanna get to the lecture asap.

 

[stazi]

I think I'll come for sure. Sounds very interesting indeed.

 

[xeuyrawp]

I might come. Thanks for the info.

On another note, can I have a Usyder to tell me how far that lecture theatre is from the Museum that you have?

I'm not coming in just for that lecture, although I wouldn't mind checking out the museum's collection.

 

[nwatts]

Ah, this sounds great. It may even help me out a bit with the Arab-Israeli conflict module of the Modern History course, which I seem to be struggling with at the moment.

I go for my Ps on the Tuesday. If I get them, I'll be there.

edit: According to Wikipedia, he's pretty anti-Western. I found this article while searching 'The Independent' website. He's quite a good writer. No Hunter S. Thompson, but still, quite good.

This is quite funny -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,596271,00.html

The cries of retribution in the British press as the victorious hacks of the war party turn upon the peacemongers has marvellously and sometimes ludicrously echoed the behaviour of the Northern Alliance towards the vanquished Taliban. The lip-smacking repetition of each gloomy prognosis or pacifist appeal has been the equiva lent of the castrated penis being stuffed into the victim's mouth. I think that those of us - I suspect we were the majority - who felt that the Taliban and al-Qaida had to pay a price, but were naturally fearful of things going horribly wrong, should not join in. Having avoided all certainties, we should not abuse those who at least took up a position.

But I would like to pay tribute to my old friend Robert Fisk of the Independent. He and I worked together in Northern Ireland when he was with the Times. He had a limitless appetite for mayhem; we used to joke that his paper should put up placards on the lampposts, rather like those you see near football matches: "Robert Fisk is at this riot. Read his report, exclusive in tomorrow's Times". He was constantly in motion, constantly agitating for action. We even invented a dance named after him. "It's like beating eggs, without a whisk / D-d-d-do the Robert Fisk." Later he established himself in the Middle East, returning only to write the definitive history of Irish neutrality and to pick up yet another award for his brilliant and vivid reporting. One thinks especially of his description of the Israeli refugee camp massacres.

Yet old Bob has become something of a bellwether. At the time of the Gulf war he wrote incredibly despondent articles predicting the annihilation of the western powers. He found a group of British soldiers lost in the desert and extrapolated defeat for the whole of Desert Storm. At the time of the Kosovo crisis he reported that the bombing would only make things worse.

 

[rink]

Ooh it's on 2moro! I wanna go, should be v good

 

[rama_v]

This guy was on Lateline last night..Did anyone else watch?

 

[sly fly]

Damnnn I missed it - both the lecture and lateline. Who went? Was it any good? and btw, what was he saying on lateline?

 

[rama_v]

Damnnn I missed it - both the lecture and lateline. Who went? Was it any good? and btw, what was he saying on lateline?

He was talking about how the western countries are not tying in the stuff in iraq and afghanistan with the terrorism in the world, and how they are blaming terrorist ideology that supposedly has 'nothing' to do with the western presence in arab nations -> thats the gist of what he said anyway

 

[sly fly]

Ahh ok thanks

 

[Generator]

Damnnn I missed it - both the lecture and lateline. Who went? Was it any good? and btw, what was he saying on lateline?

Lateline has it's very own website with transcripts of its stories and interviews (who would have thought?!)

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2005/s1474704.htm

 

[nwatts]

He was just on Triple J. Sounds like a great speaker, shame I didn't go to the lecture.

 

[sly fly]

Thanks for that Generator

 

[Generator]

He was just on Triple J. Sounds like a great speaker, shame I didn't go to the lecture.

For those who may be interested...

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/podcast/wednesday.htm (today's programme should appear sometime tomorrow, Friday at the latest).