Snapshot of the author

A bit more about me...

So, just getting started here. Some of you may already know something about me, but for those that don’t, here’s a little bit about who I am, and what I do.

About 17 years ago, I embarked on an unconventional journey to explore the world of journalism, film, politics, and geopolitics. Perilous at times for sure, and maybe not the idea career path in pursuit of great financial rewards, but certainly rewarding in other areas ways. That’s why I decided to build a presence on this platform: to help organize some of my thoughts, reflections and observations, and hopefully share some of what I’ve learned with you.

I was born in a place called Nebraska, one of those “fly-over states”, and grew up both coasts of America, before attending high school and college in California. As it goes, I’ve most of my adult life living and working abroad, and am currently based in the UK, and have travelled and worked throughout Europe and the Middle East. When I can, I try my best to move to where the story is developing. That’s allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of people, politics and society in multiple countries, and across multiple continents. For better or worse, that’s led to a long string of ‘working vacations’. But the insights accrued inform everything I do in terms of journalism and commentary. In a funny way, I don’t consider it work, but rather, life education.

When doing media interviews, they will ask what title I prefer, or how I’d like to be introduced. Sometimes it’s ‘journalist’, or ‘global affairs analyst’, or ‘geopolitical analyst’, but mostly I’m known as the founder and editor of the news and analysis site 21st Century Wire, established in late 2009, initially as a blog site, but over the years it’s grown into small but powerful independent media outlet. Those of you who have followed our work over the years will know the kind of stories we’ve led with, from the long war on Syria, Israel’s occupation of Palestine, to the global financial crash (2008-2013), as well as breakthroughs in the Nord Stream sabotage investigation, Russiagate, Ukraine, the Great Reset agenda, to name just a few.

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One question I get asked is what led me to a career in media and journalism. I’d say it’s a combination of life experiences and influences, but one seminal event definitely stands out. In the run-up to the Iraq War in 2003, I was one of those 2 million people out on the streets of London railing against Bush and Blair’s WMD deception. I was more of a peace activist back then, and although I still hold that sentiment, twenty five years covering the Grand Chessboard has tempered a lot of my liberal idealism with a cumbrous dose of realism. So in the end, even the “million man march” didn’t deter the masters of war, and after much reflection, I recognized the decisive role which mainstream propaganda played in fortifying the establishment’s ability to manufacture consent for their war, making a fait accompli. It’s interesting how many other people I’ve met recently who felt the same way back then, and who then became more active in politics and media as a result. Lately, those same drums of war are clamouring again, this time for an attack on Iran, and I’ve been getting a sense of déjà vu. That familiar feeling of despondency, knowing another Middle Eastern country is going to be pulverized on the back of some faux intelligence of weapons of mass destruction. That gut-wrenching feeling that there’s really nothing we can do can restrain the dogs of war. That might be true to a certain degree, but I also believe that we’re evolving, and I truly believe the overall level of political awareness is higher than ever before, and have witnessed many small victories, and even a few big ones too. That’s why I hold much hope for the next generation.

If you’ve followed us over the years, you’ll know that free speech and censorship are important issues for me, and something I believe we have to be constantly vigilant on, as it cuts right to the core of everything, and ultimately determines who’s able to see the work which myself and my colleagues produce each day. Most grassroots independent media practitioners and content creators (especially those who haven’t migrated into this space from a mainstream platform) have to rely on the main social media and video sharing platforms in order to disseminate their work to the widest possible audience. From about 2017, many of us discovered a hard reality: corporate digital platforms, in collusion with the state, began sanitizing the internet of certain ‘controversial’ material, or what the establishment likes to casually label disinformation, or conspiracy theories. And it wasn’t just censoring information, they were going after the ad revenue of alternative media. Ultimately, this leads to the untoward phenomenon of self-censorship, and in the age of digital scrubbing and shadowbanning (visibility throttling), many successful content creators have decided that it can be more beneficial for one’s career trajectory and monetization of their content, to simply hang back and avoid certain topics which are deemed to be too hot or ‘radio active’. In other words: that which challenges the establishment’s narrative early on in the story arch. For my part, insubordination in this department has got be banned from some big platforms. For my transgression against the Ministry of Truth, I was even included in the notorious Twitter Files which uncovered a US government-funded blacklist shared among the main Silicon Valley social media sites, namely Twitter, Facebook/Meta, Google/YouTube, of proscribed journalists and social media accounts marked for suppression and deplatforming. I was even featured at a Harvard conference of ‘dangerous disinformation’, and targeted by mainstream journalists attempting to shut down our work. I may write more about these battles later on (although I try not to harp on these too much, because it often takes time and energy away from the real work). In addition to this, due to our critical reporting on US policy vis-à-vis Ukraine and Russia, I was placed on a number of dubious USAID funded ‘enemies of Ukraine’ lists’. Back in 2014, we warned about what would happen following the US-backed Maidan coup in Kiev, a stance that was extremely unpopular back then, and drew attacks and the usual epithets of nefarious ‘Russian disinformation’ etc. Eventually, we were vindicated when the Overton window finally caught up with reality, but that sometimes takes a very, very long time. The same was true with the whole Covid and vaccine debacle, and the list goes on. Big Tech and government were trying to discipline us, and the message was crystal clear: if one wanted to build a successful YouTube channel, then it’s advisable to keep one’s head below the parapet. In other words, self-censor and wait until it’s ‘safe’ before broaching anything which could threaten the establishment’s monopoly on the official narrative. If you get there too early, or wander too far ahead of the Overton window, then you risk being muted by the almighty algorithm, or even having your channel canceled completely. I’m told Substack is different, and has become a champion of free speech and expression. Based on what I’ve seen over the years, that seems true enough. But in general, it’s not really a level playing field out in the wild, but then again, maybe it never was. I’ve tried not to play by their rules. Instead, myself, and some of my esteemed colleagues, have always endeavored to be ahead of the curve on serious and consequential issues. And we’ve received considerable flack for it, but it really couldn’t be any other way. I can’t see the point in doing journalism if you are constantly having to water-down your commentary and reporting in order to placate some faceless algorithm or a anonymous content moderator working for Google or Meta out of some boiler room in Bangalore. I admit, I’m old school in that regard. I’m old enough to remember the term “selling out”. So I treat every breaking event or investigation as an opportunity to learn, and training for the next crisis. Each time, we learn more, see more; we get better and smarter, but most importantly, we keep pushing the envelope. When you commit to this way of working, you soon learn that more often than not, the truth is hardly ever black and white, or binary. Rather, it’s on a spectrum of confirmation and doubt. That spectrum can be complex, and with each new piece of information introduced, or old information that’s been ruled out, you move closer towards the truth. Sometimes getting closer to the truth is the best you can hope to do, for the time being. It requires curiosity and constantly pushing ahead towards it. That’s the only way to move the dial. That quest has taken me to some challenging locations to do on-the-ground reporting and analysis, including work in including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Russia, and the Donbass. What I learn, I will share with you here.

In addition to 21st Century Wire, also I’ve had the great privilege of helping to build some successful independent media outlets, including the Alternate Current Radio Network (co-founder from 2013), the UK Column (news anchor since 2012), as well as the short-lived but impactful TNT Radio (finished in 2024). Since 2013, I have hosted the popular weekly live radio/podcast the Sunday Wire Show, and the new Midweek Wire Show, as well as a frequent guest on some great podcasts. A few themes remain constant throughout my journalism. First and foremost, I am also including being a tireless advocate for free speech and freedom of the press. I see this as being at the core of everything I do, because without this, all of our other work would not be possible. I would also consider myself a fierce critic of western mainstream media propaganda, and an even bigger critic of US and western foreign policy. This has also allowed us to platform important voices from the Middle East, and Palestinian. Over the years, I’ve also been privileged to work with some amazing news teams at great international channels and publications like RT International, Press TV, Al Jazeera, CGTN, and Al Mayadeen, as well as the occasional appearances (although not often, for obvious reasons) on western mainstream outlets like The Guardian, ITN, LBC and GB News. Nearly every quarter, I also write quarterly for Australia's most daring printed publication, New Dawn Magazine. In addition to the media work, I also try to make myself available for as many public events as I can, as a keynote or panel speaker at international conferences, and festivals, especially those promoting a pro-liberty, and antiwar message, or exposing western media propaganda, was well as advocating for freedom speech and press. Some note worthy events, mostly in the UK. A few excursions of note: the Media on Trial series (2017-2018), Free Julian Assange (2019-2021), and Imperialism on Trial tour (2018-2021), Alternative View conferences, Beautiful Days festival, Glastonbury Symposium, and Anarchapulco in Mexico, and many more.

As far as formal qualifications go, I did not go to journalism school, nor did I work in the mainstream media. However, I did take the bold move of returning to higher education much later in life, and received an MA in International Relations (IR) from University of Plymouth in UK in 2018. This was a very humbling experience; I thought I knew it all, and that I could coast off my journalistic and life experience and somehow magically master this field on raw talent alone. Boy was I wrong, but in the end, these 18 months turned out to be one of the most valuable undertakings of my life, and through extensive reading and research into many of the leading thinkers and philosophers in the field of IR, I believe I gained a much better depth of understanding of the international system we live in. The world is complexed, and it helps to have big tool like frameworks and paradigms, a common intellectual vocabulary for navigating and conceptualizing the international system. That’s sort of what IR is, and it’s something I am still constantly drawing from in order to inform my work and worldview (which is still in flux). Long before this, I did a bachelors degree, graduating in 1993 from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, California in Applied Art and Design (a grueling five-year CSU curriculum). You read that right. One of my former lives was that of an artist and designer - a field of discipline which might seem unrelated to what I’m doing now. Little did I know at the time, that this was prodigious training ground for media and journalism, particularly with in-depth, granular studies in visual communications, and even Soviet era visual propaganda. And so much more. It turns out that having an trained eye across different epochs of graphic communication is a handy skill when reading political messaging, and certainly in deconstructing government and mainstream media propaganda in the 21st century. I was also extremely fortunate to have learned advanced black and white photography from one the world’s greatest living photo journalists, retired from the trade, but still teaching into his golden years (he hardly ever looked at our prints, and graded us in 2 mins based mainly on what he saw through his loupe on our negatives). I am very grateful that we were encouraged and given the space to create things from scratch; to disassemble, rebuild, and re-form an idea from its constituent parts, minimalist or maximalist, either way, but it was an exercise which we were encouraged to do almost daily. The only requirement is imagination and an ability to conceptualize ideas visually, and not being too bothered if you make a few mistakes along the way. If you hit the creative wall, then try something, anything, and keep trying until you find something that works, that has some utility. That’s the realm of possibility. You keep refining that process until eventually you attain some mastery. All of these things are transferable to writing and journalism.

Everyday I try and keep an open mind, and I’m ready to change my views and opinions if new insights arrive. I try to start with a blank canvas, painting with words; colored by politics and culture, underpinned by philosophy and history, and texture and depth given by a genuine interest in people, and sense of compassion for the human condition. That’s something I try to convey to varying degrees in everything I do. I admit, in this hyper-informational environment we’re now forced to swim in, I don’t always get there. But it’s always the direction we’re shooting for.

Next, I will share with you some ideas about the sort of content I’ll be posting here, and what you can expect going forward. Until then…

As always, appreciate your readership and support.