Journalist, Author, Filmmaker, Creative, Presenter
A very quick reaction post this one. I just read through the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime’s World Drug Report 2014… and I’m unsure whether the writers are being disingenuous or intellectually dishonest, or how many revisions and blue-pencillings it went through on its way to publication. Consider this tweet. …
If you really want to know about Nirvana – from who killed Kurt Cobain to the rise of grunge and the Generation X tag – don’t listen to the conspiracy theories; ask a historian. The news of Kurt Cobain’s suicide broke 20 years ago today. The anniversary of his death – which probably…
[Update to this story 12/1/14: The Notorious Mr Bout has just been added to the BBC’s Storyville season for 2015/16.] The Notorious Mr Bout, a feature-length documentary film on ‘Merchant of Death’ Viktor Bout – in which I appear and on which I consulted – is to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.…
Looks like someone’s finally catching on. This is the network my book is about: “#Horsemeat firms linked to Russian arms dealer #ViktorBout” http://t.co/e4xTQnls. Rebel militias, high street retail giants, Somali pirates, fashion brands, Peruvian drug lords, our own government, ready-meal makers, all depend on some of the same shady people, but we all get it…
Matt will be talking transnational crime, Russian gunrunners and the deadly compromises between narco-mafias, FTSE 100 businesses, terrorists, ‘big aid’ and our own government at Swansea University on 28th February. The event, titled ‘Free market mercenaries: Cocaine traffickers, Somali pirates, and how the Soviet Union won the Cold War’ is organised by Swansea University’s Research…
It started perfectly innocently. I was out with a friend on Thursday, and the phone rang. I didn’t pick up – it was ten o’clock, and I’d worked my way through six large glasses of what I remember being an increasingly smooth Italian red, and a couple of bottles of Grolsch for good measure.…
Who (or what) is behind Berlin’s bonfire of the coupés? This time, it was Porsche lighting up the night with its flames. A high-spec Cayenne, freshly waxed with all the extras. Its owner had parked it outside his apartment around midnight on the 21st September. By ten to five in the morning, it was just…
During last week’s promotional visit to the USA, I appeared as a guest on Fox News Live. On arriving, you tend to think Fox News studios at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan is an imposing piece of work… but then you meet the presenters. I’ll be posting it as an iPod-friendly MP4 for…
Crime & corruption: Are you a terrorist? If Yes, please tick box below…
Ever get the creeping feeling that the fight against corruption, money laundering and tax avoidance are doomed? Well, you’d be right. And here – in one phone call – is why. I had a conversation with my bank about money laundering today. I denied everything, naturally. Well, you would, wouldn’t you? These…