Overview

"Faced with the startling and blaring unity of global Western mainstream messaging, the public has become ever more distrustful of the MSM narratives--and with good reason. Authoritative sources have begun pushing back and offering cogent challenges to these proclaimed truths--and in turn, the digital gatekeepers have been increasingly cracking down on what they regard as unwelcome alternative views--irrespective of the stature of the persons providing them. In this collection of essays, former UN Independent Expert on International Order, Professor Alfred de Zayas, takes mainstream disinformation, fake news, censorship and self-censorship head-on. Stressing the importance of access to information and to a genuinely pluralistic spectrum of views as indispensable to every functioning democracy, de Zayas provides an insightful counter-narrative, shedding light on the key issues facing humanity today. This collection of essays spans a broad spectrum of issues, including - the need to overhaul the human rights apparatus, - the weaponization of human rights against geopolitical rivals, - the instrumentalization of domestic and international law for purposes of ""lawfare"", initiatives for world peace, - disarmament for development, - the sustainable development goals, - the information war, what and whom to believe, - the democratic function of whistleblowers, - the persecution of human rights defenders like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, - the destructive role of the military-industrial-financial complex, - the elevation of NATO to cult status, so that we must believe its narratives as a matter of faith, - the demonization of Russia and China and the consequences of incitement to hatred in escalating tensions world-wide - the Beijing Olympics - the evidence-free allegations of ""genocide"" in Xinjiang, and not least, - the war in Ukraine. The essays also explore moral, legal and philosophical questions on law and justice, law and punishment, and the rule of international tribunals. Drawn from de Zayas' recent contributions to the respected online news journal, Counterpunch, Countering the Mainstream Narratives provides an exceptional guide to unwinding the fakery that engulfs us. De Zayas' essays and op-eds have also been published in the Guardian, The Independent, Inter Press service, Truthout, Counterpunch, as well as in the Tribune de Genève, Le Courrier, die Welt, die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and other newspapers."

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9781949762662

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Reviews

A coherent and powerful pushback against manipulation by the media... A must read for anyone wanting to create a socially just world constructed from a holistic vision of the interdependency and indivisibility of human rights, this book is truly a tour de force. DR. JOSEPH WRONKA, Representative to the UN in New York, International Association of Schools of Social Work Alfred de Zayas is a precious resource of humanity as displayed in this wonderfully lucid collection of essays on the afflictions of our time. With the wisdom of a seer and the knowledge of a world class jurist de Zayas is an authoritative voice of reason and equity in this precarious period of dangerous warmongering untruths. Don't weep, read and then act. RICHARD FALK, former UN Special Rapporteur, Prof. Emeritus, Princeton University

"""Alfred de Zayas empowers readers to consume the mainstream media 'wise as serpents' (Jesus Christ, Matthew 10:16) and to see through Fake News, Fake Law and Fake Freedom. This immaculately documented book is at the same time informative, philosophical, concise, clever and amusing."" PROF. HARRO VON SENGER, Ph.D., D.J., Swiss jurist ""The ugliness of official lies and suppression of truth in our times is a serious threat to the possibility of a democratic society. Alfred de Zayas' book is a vigil for a society where press freedom means more than the freedom to buy the press and to lie without restraint."" VIJAY PRASHAD, Professor of International Studies, Trinity College, Executive-director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research ""An honest book that appeals to reason in dealing with diplomacy, peace, and war. Erudite and endlessly quotable, even aphoristic, this book champions academic freedom and the right to seek and impart information."" PROF. DR; ALEXANDRE LAMBERT, Geneva, expert in multilateral organizations and international security ""A book every peace and human rights activist needs. The intrepid de Zayas beats new paths, demonstrates why honest media is essential to democratic governance and illustrates how indispensable academic freedom and courage are to every democracy."" FREDRIK S. HEFFERMEHL, Norwegian jurist, former vice-president of the International Peace Bureau (IPB), founding member of the Lay Down Your Arms Association ""A coherent and powerful pushback against manipulation by the media... A must read for anyone wanting to create a socially just world constructed from a holistic vision of the interdependency and indivisibility of human rights, this book is truly a tour de force."" DR. JOSEPH WRONKA, Representative to the UN in New York, International Association of Schools of Social Work ""Alfred de Zayas is a precious resource of humanity as displayed in this wonderfully lucid collection of essays on the afflictions of our time. With the wisdom of a seer and the knowledge of a world class jurist de Zayas is an authoritative voice of reason and equity in this precarious period of dangerous warmongering untruths. Don't weep, read and then act."" RICHARD FALK, former UN Special Rapporteur, Prof. Emeritus, Princeton University"

A book every peace and human rights activist needs. The intrepid de Zayas beats new paths, demonstrates why honest media is essential to democratic governance and illustrates how indispensable academic freedom and courage are to every democracy. FREDRIK S. HEFFERMEHL, Norwegian jurist, former vice-president of the International Peace Bureau (IPB), founding member of the Lay Down Your Arms Association Alfred de Zayas empowers readers to consume the mainstream media wise as serpents (Jesus Christ, Matthew 10:16) and to see through Fake News, Fake Law and Fake Freedom. This immaculately documented book is at the same time informative, philosophical, concise, clever and amusing. PROF. HARRO VON SENGER, Ph.D., D.J., Swiss jurist A coherent and powerful pushback against manipulation by the media... A must read for anyone wanting to create a socially just world constructed from a holistic vision of the interdependency and indivisibility of human rights, this book is truly a tour de force. DR. JOSEPH WRONKA, Representative to the UN in New York, International Association of Schools of Social Work Alfred de Zayas is a precious resource of humanity as displayed in this wonderfully lucid collection of essays on the afflictions of our time. With the wisdom of a seer and the knowledge of a world class jurist de Zayas is an authoritative voice of reason and equity in this precarious period of dangerous warmongering untruths. Don't weep, read and then act. RICHARD FALK, former UN Special Rapporteur, Prof. Emeritus, Princeton University

Author Information

Alfred de Zayas is a former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order (2012-18), former senior lawyer with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Secretary of the UN Human Rights Committee and Chief of the Petitions Department (registrar).For more than two decades he inter-acted with experts, diplomats, and civil society. De Zayas holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School. and a Ph.D., modern history from University of Gottingen, Fulbright Graduate Fellow in Germany. He is author of 9 books and more than 200 scholarly articles.

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